Quote:
Originally Posted by NyteOwl  While thermal stress from cycling is not a myth, it's considerably less a factor than it was in the past. Basically with modern machines (say 2000-2002 or newer) pick which suits you best. The component that suffers most from on-off cycles is the power supply itself. |
Indeed thermal cycling is almost a zero factor compared to the havoc it caused computing in the late 80's and early 90's. Heck, back then you actually needed to "warm up" your hard drives for optimal reliability. I could geek out for half a page on this topic, but I digress.
Hardware AND software has evolved to the point where it becomes a question of economic and thermal value to your domicile if you wish to power down at night or not.