Can a PC be left on overnight with a game running?

[GlennyDMB]

My friend almost never turns his PC off, plus 85% of the time that it is on he'll have a game running. I've tried to tell him that it probably isn't the smartest thing to have a game running on a PC for sometimes up to 48 hours but he hasn't really had any problems with his PC so he kinda feels like why stop. I was just wondering what to tell him in specifics to get him to stop.
*I posted this under graphics cards because he has a EVGA gtx 770 sc. his CPU and everything else is pretty crappy so he doesn't care about the other components as much as his GPU. Thanks.

 

[JBURNS489]

As long as temps are under control, I don't really see any issue with it. Heat is a PC's worst enemy, and more of it will wear down your system faster. If it's a laptop, he may be causing himself battery issues but from the post it doesn't sound like it.

 

[rcald2000]

I never turn off my PC nor my Xbox 360. My 360 replays my FIFA 15 games and plays music. MY PC is usually stagnant on the Windows desktop, but sometimes I leave it with GTA 5 or Witcher 3 playing. I've never had a problem.

 

[Enderstream]

He sure would enjoy the power bill, Just a question does he leave the monitor on too? If so that power bill would be terrible.. Anyway non-Server grade PC's are not built or meant to be left on 24/7, but it wont damage his components.. Just dont expect the power supply to last as long as it says, How are his temps etc?

 

[GlennyDMB]

He has a AMD a8-5500 that runs really hot, like at 50-60C idle, under load it actually surpasses the max temp by about 2c. Other than that GPU and everything else is pretty good (30-40c). (The CPU has an hyper n520 cooler)

 

[Enderstream]

Thats extremely hot for idle on the CPU, but if its on 24/7 it's not surprising, probably replace the thermal paste and add some out-take fans. Besides that he should be fine and you shouldnt worry.

 

[GlennyDMB]

Alright thanks for all the replies!

 

[Solandri]

Assuming this is in the U.S., if you pay the national average electricity price of about $0.115/kWh and you leave a device on 24/7 for a year, the number of Watts it consumes almost exactly equals the $ you'll pay in electricity for the year. The A8-5500 has a 65W TDP and the GTX 770 SC has a TDP of about 230 Watts. Add in a bit for the motherboard and hard drives, and you're at about 320 Watts.

So if he's leaving the computer on with a game running (thus using the GPU) 24/7, in a year the electricity it burns will have cost him about $320 (exact number is $0.115/kWh * 0.32 kW * 8766 hours/yr = $322.59/yr). If he lives in California where electricity is about $0.18/kWh, then he'll be paying $504.92/yr. If he lives in Hawaii where its $0.33/kWh, he'll pay $925.69/yr. And if he lives in a hot climate and has to run air conditioning, then it'll be even more because the A/C has to pump the heat his computer generates out of his house.