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Swisha31

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 30, 2011
29
0
Some of you have had Macs for years now. I'm just now catching on lol. I saw someone mention something on one of the threads about which is better for the RAM, Startup, performance, etc. Whomever it was said that putting the computer to sleep over and over again instead of shutting it down and restarting every time was much better for the computer....any truth to this?
 

Hellhammer

Moderator emeritus
Dec 10, 2008
22,164
582
Finland
Neither of them will harm the computer but to be honest, today's computers and operating systems are more designed to be slept then shut down everytime. Just sleep it, it's faster and easier.
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
I haven't done daily shutdowns in over a decade. Sleep is the way to go. The only time I shutdown is air travel, required by an update, or doing a hardware upgrade. Otherwise I just close the lid when I'm done.
 

Dr McKay

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2010
3,430
57
Kirkland
My laptop goes into Hibernate every time, it's effectively shut down, but saves what was on the RAM to the Hard drive, which then loads back onto RAM.

You'll get very quick boot up times resuming from Hibernation, plus it doesn't use battery life.
 

snaky69

macrumors 603
Mar 14, 2008
5,908
488
Neither. Use your computer as you want to. Mine can go for weeks at a time without a reboot, I only reboot to bootcamp or for updates(software or hardware).
 

mbp17xxx

macrumors regular
Mar 23, 2011
105
19
Sydney
I haven't done daily shutdowns in over a decade. Sleep is the way to go. The only time I shutdown is air travel, required by an update, or doing a hardware upgrade. Otherwise I just close the lid when I'm done.

+1 same here.

but for work laptop (windows) i have to shut down / restart at least twice a week, as it gets slower by the day by just sleeping it.
 

Swisha31

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 30, 2011
29
0
+1 same here.

but for work laptop (windows) i have to shut down / restart at least twice a week, as it gets slower by the day by just sleeping it.

i have windows at the moment and i have to shut down this much as well....making the transition to Mac in just over a week. just fielding all the questions i can about it now before i get it. want to optimize it because it will be for music production/personal use
 

snaky69

macrumors 603
Mar 14, 2008
5,908
488
i have windows at the moment and i have to shut down this much as well....making the transition to Mac in just over a week. just fielding all the questions i can about it now before i get it. want to optimize it because it will be for music production/personal use

Here's my tip for optimizing it: just use it as you want to, and don't worry about it.
 

Swisha31

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 30, 2011
29
0
Here's my tip for optimizing it: just use it as you want to, and don't worry about it.

o_O i will be using how i want.......and anybody that buys any type of computer will want to maximize performance....you haven't really helped much with this
 

Rhyalus

macrumors 6502
Mar 4, 2011
423
40
You are looking for an answer that does not exist.

It just doesn't matter.

On the other hand, rebooting on occasion is good to let the OS reset, clear memory, etc.

In terms of negative effect on the computer one way or the other, there is no answer.

R
 

Rhyalus

macrumors 6502
Mar 4, 2011
423
40
Related question:

Do you hardcore "sleepers" close applications first or do you just leave them running?

For some reason I always close all of the apps before I put the computer to sleep.

R
 

Saturn1217

macrumors 65816
Apr 28, 2008
1,273
848
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Rhyalus said:
Related question:

Do you hardcore "sleepers" close applications first or do you just leave them running?

For some reason I always close all of the apps before I put the computer to sleep.

R

Nope. I think the beauty of using sleep is being able to start right where you left off. I never close any programs.

I would also recommend smartsleep to allow you to sleep very quickly (instead of the default safe sleep that takes a while longer). It also lets you put the computer in hibernate so you can come back to exactly what you were doing without losing any battery life. I hope that apple will provide the option to switch between the three sleep states in lion. It really helps my workflow.
 

mbp17xxx

macrumors regular
Mar 23, 2011
105
19
Sydney
Related question:

Do you hardcore "sleepers" close applications first or do you just leave them running?

For some reason I always close all of the apps before I put the computer to sleep.

R

I just leave em all open, so when wake it up i remember where i left.

I would say just do a sleep (mac or windows), and when you feel it getting slower do a reboot.
 

snaky69

macrumors 603
Mar 14, 2008
5,908
488
o_O i will be using how i want.......and anybody that buys any type of computer will want to maximize performance....you haven't really helped much with this

My tip still holds true, the best computing experience is when you don't have to worry about the machine, only about the work done with it. Hence what I said, use it, and don't worry about it, that's how it's always been with my MBP since I switched to it and OS X, and it has served me flawlessly for the last 3 years.
 

alust2013

macrumors 601
Feb 6, 2010
4,779
2
On the fence
o_O i will be using how i want.......and anybody that buys any type of computer will want to maximize performance....you haven't really helped much with this

It's already performance-optimized out of the box, there's really nothing more you need to do. I'd suggest sleep unless there's a reason for shutting down. I sleep it most of the time, unless it's unplugged overnight, as sleeping on battery will drain it a bit, especially with my computer.
 

mac00l

macrumors 6502
May 3, 2011
266
0
+1 same here.

but for work laptop (windows) i have to shut down / restart at least twice a week, as it gets slower by the day by just sleeping it.

OMG!!! I just had a nasty flashback...

After reading your post, for a second I thought I was using a windows laptop, and when I reached the pad I almost freak out cause of the smooth surface of the magicpad.

I guess I need to sleep... haven't for 20+ hours


And regarding the topic, just do as you please. If you think turning on and off is a waste of time, then just sleep it. If you somehow believe a mac is somehow similar to an HP laptop which may spontaneously wake up while in your bag and melt(Macs 99.99% of the times dont), then turn it off.

I personally always sleep it. Unless I know for sure I wont be using it in the next 12 hours, in which case I turn it off.
 

reclusive46

macrumors 65816
Apr 14, 2011
1,120
62
Canada
I'd say its probably better to shut it down but to be honest its not going to make any dramatic difference. Its not like Windows were you have to restart it every so often because the OS craps out.
 

Swisha31

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 30, 2011
29
0
I'd say its probably better to shut it down but to be honest its not going to make any dramatic difference. Its not like Windows were you have to restart it every so often because the OS craps out.

See this is actually what i'm used to so that's why i asked. Ive been on a PC since the 1st AOL(not kidding). I was like 12 then or something and I just have all PC habits so all my questions or inquiries about optimizing it are from a Noob, PC perspective.....
 

World Citizen

macrumors regular
Feb 21, 2011
168
1
See this is actually what i'm used to so that's why i asked. Ive been on a PC since the 1st AOL(not kidding). I was like 12 then or something and I just have all PC habits so all my questions or inquiries about optimizing it are from a Noob, PC perspective.....

Let it go you Apple Aprentice.

I forsee your future:

- Buy MBP
- 1 hour of configuring
- feeling awkward on the couch asking yourself what to configure next
- Realizing there is nothing to configure or add or change
- Trying to find a file system
- kind of scared of the way you don't have the same type of filesystem your used to.
- again look at the settings menu and realize everything is configured as needed.
- go create and share and work and stop thinking about your computer. Just using it.

I guess I want to say: welcome in another world, and unlike you said, "snaky69" gave you the best advise there is: don't worry about it. it will be fine.
 

Swisha31

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 30, 2011
29
0
Let it go you Apple Aprentice.

I forsee your future:

- Buy MBP
- 1 hour of configuring
- feeling awkward on the couch asking yourself what to configure next
- Realizing there is nothing to configure or add or change
- Trying to find a file system
- kind of scared of the way you don't have the same type of filesystem your used to.
- again look at the settings menu and realize everything is configured as needed.
- go create and share and work and stop thinking about your computer. Just using it.

I guess I want to say: welcome in another world, and unlike you said, "snaky69" gave you the best advise there is: don't worry about it. it will be fine.

lol....im not clueless about macs. i've just never owned one.
 

ohla313

macrumors 6502a
Apr 24, 2010
778
0
lot of sleepers here. didn't know that. I always shut down my MBP every night. I do it to clear out the RAM and give me a fresh start the next day. Also shutting it down and closing all open apps gives me a sense of completion of the day's work :D

I'd sleep an iMac or desktop that doesn't have a portable battery as calibration won't be interfered and such (a little paranoid).
 

wineandcarbs

macrumors 6502a
May 2, 2008
904
137
I pretty much always sleep it. And I'm always amazed by how quickly it's ready to go after I re-open the lid. I was used to waiting a bit on my (fairly new) PC.
 
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