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Is it OK to keep my Macbook Pro on indefinitely?

I

iHavequestions

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 23, 2011
279
15
I have a 5 year old Macbook Pro that I am starting to use again since my primary computer died. I'm wondering if I can keep it on indefinitely without it going to sleep as I like to just have the screensaver running at all times. Right now it's in clamshell mode with a spare screen I don't really care if burn in happens to it.

Can I just leave the MBP on forever without problems?
 
Last edited:
been there, done that. Apple has this page that explains about battery... but with your 5 year old pro, i dont think it would matter much...
 
iHavequestions said:
I have a 5 year old Macbook Pro that I am starting to use again since my primary computer died. I'm wondering if I can keep it on indefinitely without it going to sleep as I like to just have the screensaver running at all times. Right not it's in clamshell mode with a spare screen I don't really care if burn in happens to it.

Can I just leave the MBP on forever without problems?
Click to expand...

Unless you're rendering or something why do you leave it on all the time? Why not let it sleep? At the least you're not wasting energy by doing so.
 
Nothing wrong. In extreme cases, I suppose the fans can wear out more quickly, but I doubt it. LED screens don't burn an image, but you have to watch for that problem with OLED displays, in particular AMOLED.
 
goMac said:
Yes.

LCD screens also won't burn in.
Click to expand...

I used to think that. And I know everyone says that, and logic dictates that should be true. But my own eyes don't lie! On my four year old 26" IPS LCD display (the legendary DS-263N), I've noticed some burn-in. I think it mostly fades away after a few hours, and maybe it's called "Ghosting" but I've now enabled the screen saver because it seemed like it was lasting longer and longer. Maybe the display is just getting old, but it's becoming an issue.

However, I have to question the age assumption. My iPad 2 (purchased new July 2011) has burn-in issues. Like if I'm browsing Safari for a couple hours and switch to another app, I can still see all the safari controls ghosted at the top! It's particularly annoying when I'm drawing or looking at darker photographs. And the iPad is LCD, right? So why is it doing that? I mean, it's fairly clear—in some instances if I've been on the same site for a while I can clearly read the URL in the bar ghosted over other apps! Creepy. So what's going on? I'd write off the iPad display as being defective or using cheap parts—but I know that the DS-263N was a highly regarded monitor and it cost over $800 new! And that was in May 2008 before all the inflation.

However, I will say that I've never experienced ghosting with the actual MacBook Pro display, but I often have it docked to this display. That will change when my R-Type comes in the mail—so I guess we'll see!
 
1) LCDs do have burn-in issues.. just not as easily [ comparatively ] as Plasmas.

2) OP, I leave mine on [ sometimes sleep it ] all the time with Caffeine!
 
goMac said:
Yes.

LCD screens also won't burn in.
Click to expand...

It happens less often, but it can happen. Backlights also have a half life. They do dim to a fraction of their original brightness prior to failure assuming another part doesn't fail first. Previously with Apple it's been either a power inverter or those $2 parts (fried cable somewhere).
 
The computer itself should be fine, but you need to let the battery go through one complete discharge/recharge cycle per month.
 
I'v had my 2007 Macbook in consistent sleep mode for almost 5 years non stop. I usually only have rebooted it once every 6 months or so, and went almost 1 year without a power down recently :p. This probably wasn't great for the battery as now my original battery only holds a charge for 45 minutes of web browsing. Software wise, I had no stability issues with leaving it on 24/7/365. I'll avoid this on my next Macbook though.

Also, 1st post! I started reading the forums after the MBPR announcement and plan on getting one in August during tax free weekend :D
 
Been leaving all my computers on for over a decade. No problems at all. I generally have four to five in the household at all times, replacing them once every five years. I'll sleep the displays, but I'll never sleep the actual computers. Live feeds, 24/7 streaming, data transfers and a few other reasons are why I leave them on all the time. The only real reason why I sleep the displays is because it gets awfully bright when I'm trying to sleep. My rackmount RAID doesn't help with its constant flashing lights, though. :rolleyes:
 
5 year old MBP, does it have a removable battery? You might consider removing the battery. I kept my old 17" plugged in and on continuously for several months and the battery went bad and swelled up. I couldn't even remove it easily since it swelled so much. I did pry it out but it totally ruined the whole battery compartment. 17" still works great, it just has to be plugged in and has a large open empty space on the back.
 
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