Leaving It On or Shutting It Off

Is it better to turn off the computer or can I just keep it on all the time?

You obviously save electricity when you shut down the computer after you are done using it, potentially around $100 a year depending on your system. However, starting a computer up cold every morning wastes a lot of time.

On the other hand, turning your machine off at night clears up items in the computer's memory and gives it a fresh start in the morning, which may make it appear less sluggish if you generally have a lot of programs running over the course of the day.

If you are torn between leaving it on or shutting it down, consider the third option: setting the machine to hibernate or sleep for the night. The computer uses minimal power in this state, but starts much faster than if it was started up cold in the morning.