Do you leave your iMac on 24/7? or turn off at night

[2012Tony2012]

Coming from the PC world, i havent turned off my computer in 3 years, except during hurricane sandy and 1 other time where there is a power outage. My pc is on 24/7 for pretty much 3 years straight, as i have instant message and various server software running on it.

So with this imac, it looks so delicate.. i am afraid to leave it on like that. Of course i will turn off the display, but currently i have computer sleep = never, do you think i can just leave it like that for the next couple of years? just turning off the display at night but leave imac on with sleep = never.

What does everyone else do?

This is what I do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU6NmiOUkfk

 

[stepshows]

Usually Left On

I leave my iMac on (Mid-2011). I only shut it down if I'm away from home more than a few days. Otherwise the display is set to sleep after 10 min or so. Never had an issue.

 

[Apple Fan 21]

So when going out of town for a week should I shut it (2011 27in i5) or just put it to sleep and check for updates when I get back? I won't need remote access. Also thinking of shutting down my AirPort Extreme.

 

[doobybiggs]

This thread needs a poll!

 

[seble]

I've always heard that keeping the motherboard and other circuits at a constant temp is better for them than going from hot to cold all the time and vice versa.

I find that sleeping doesn't tend to make a difference to this. On all my mac laptops I've had, if left to sleep, they are as cold to touch in the mornings (or when I first use them in the day), regardless of wether they were shut down or in sleep mode. Sleeping almost is like turning it off anyways.

 

[lucasfunkt]

What about you keyboard and trackpad/mouse do you leave them on all the time too?

 

[Bear]

I tend to sleep mine overnight unless I forget. I also sleep it when I am out of the house for more than a few hours. For more than a day, it would be a shutdown.

What about you keyboard and trackpad/mouse do you leave them on all the time too?

I presume you mean wireless mouse and keyboard? I switch between a wired mouse and a wireless mouse depending on what I'm doing. The wireless mouse goes in to a very low power mode when I haven't been using it so I don't usually bother with it's power switch.