Do I need to shut down my mac?

[Dunebug38]

I am about to purchase my new mac and had a somewhat ignorant question. I was wondering if I should power off my mac when I am not using it. Of course my instinct says yes, but at the same time mac has a lot of cool features such as alarms (from iCal for example) which makes me think that leaving the machine on standby is okay. Not to mention when leopard comes out time machine can be set to backup every night at a certain time.

So those ideas are making me think it's OK to leave it on. But will this have any effect on how long my computer's life will last. What are the positives/negatives for either way?

If anyone can help it will be much appreciated. Thanks!

[tektonnic]

I have a Powermac G5, whihc I leave on pretty much all the time, turn it off every couple of days for one reason or another but once it was on for somethign like 22 days maybe...it used to go a bit mental and have kernal panics and whurr all its fans but 10.4.5 software update fixed that!

Also, 9 fans in a powermac (and I guess at least the same amount in the Mac Pro) make it a little noisy sometimes.

What mac you getting?!?:D

[Dunebug38]

What mac you getting?!?:D

I will be buying a top of the line iMac (everything upgraded except maybe keep the standard hard drive). I am not buying till the end of September so hopefully there will be a speed bump before then. But yeah 20 incher (unless there is a bigger one by then) upgraded video card and I will max out the ram (but not from apple).

[PlaceofDis]

i only turn off my iMac if i have to move it.
i only restart my iMac when an update requires it.

all other times its on or "sleeping".

no problems with this at all.

[jbusc]

I leave my macbook on all the time...it sleeps when it's unplugged.

The only reason to shut off the mac when not using it is power consumption, but in reality the imac is pretty good already. The screen automatically shuts off when not using it and the hard drive should spin down, and the core duo is pretty power efficient.

[FadeToBlack]

I usually always leave my computer on and just sleep it at night. I just got a new Mac mini yesterday and I was wondering if it was safe to leave on most of the time, since it has the external power supply? I have quite a bit of wires under my desk and some external power supplies can get quite warm. I was just wanting the opinions of other Mac mini owners.

[Dunebug38]

I leave my macbook on all the time...it sleeps when it's unplugged.

The only reason to shut off the mac when not using it is power consumption, but in reality the imac is pretty good already. The screen automatically shuts off when not using it and the hard drive should spin down, and the core duo is pretty power efficient.

That's what I was hoping to hear. Thanks. Surge protector of course, right?

[crazycat]

I keep my mac on for 2-4 days and then shut it off when i go to sleep. After a restart or shutting it down for a few hours it seems to run faster.

[furious]

i would only leave it on if you have a UPS for surge protection:)

[NATO]

My Power Mac G5 is on 24x7x365 with no issues. I keep it on for numerous reasons, the main ones being that I have a nightly backup script which takes place at 4AM, plus OS X performs its maintenance scripts overnight also. Sometimes I have downloads going which I would generally leave overnight to finish. I also like to be able to access files on my Mac from work when I have to.

There isn't any real downside, computers are designed to be run all the time anyway, but obviously I would sleep your computer unless you actually need it to be on just to conserve power.

[bluetorch18]

I have an iMac G5 and its been on for weeks...I haven't turned it off in a very long time...in fact I never turn it off, I usually just restart it every now and then for software updates and stuff...its a very solid machine.

[Warbrain]

Also, 9 fans in a powermac (and I guess at least the same amount in the Mac Pro) make it a little noisy sometimes.

I think there are only 2 or 4 fans in the Mac Pro.

But yea, I keep my iBook sleeping whenever it's not in use. I only shut it down when I'm not using it for a long time, like this past weekend when I was out of town.

[UnitedRed]

if i'm likely to be on it all day then i'll just keep putting it to sleep
Otherwise when I go to bed I turn mine off, plus it saves on the electricity bills

[the kid 05]

my friends dad has only turned his g4 off maybe 5 times in 4 years, and they were due to power outtages and him moving into a new house. i have yet to turn off my power mac and im on day 3 :p