Keepings Macs on

[SenatorBen]

hey, thanks to everyone who answered my last question, but I have another one! After browsing through these forums, it seems like there are a lot of people who are reluctant to leave their Macs on 24/7...why is this? Most people (including myself) who have PCs don't think twice about leaving them on...is there something about Macs that makes it better to not leave them on all the time? Or do Mac people just take better care of their machines? 😛 Does it actually hurt the Mac to leave it on 24/7? Thanks!

 

[heehee]

I don't know where you are browsing in, but I think most people leave their macs on 24/7 unless it's a laptop and they only shut it down when travelling. I keep my laptop on unless I'm travelling and my Mac Mini on all the time.

 

[miniConvert]

Most people don't leave their computer on, whether PC or Mac. Computer parts have a limited lifetime and it's also a massive waste of energy.

However, if your computer needs to be left on, as some of mine do, then a Mac can hack it just as well as any PC. The hardware is fundamentally the same and the operating system handles long periods without a reboot much better than Windows in my experience.

 

[omeletpants]

I leave my desktop Mac on all the time. The biggest wear issue is turning it off and on. If you don't believe that then look at your light bulbs. Seems like 90% of the time when a light bulb dies is when you turn the light on. It's the jolt of current

 

[CrzyCanuck72]

I keep my Macbook sleeping when I'm not using it...it hasn't been turned off or restarted for about 2 weeks now...I do notice a slight decrease in responsiveness when it's been on for a long time though, so it's probably good to turn it off every once in a while.

 

[VoodooDaddy]

I never shut my computer off. Only times I do is:

1) if there is a storm with the chance of a lightning strike

2) if Im going to be away from home for more than 24hrs

Other than that, its on. And for sure, I dont reboot my mac nearly as often as I did my last windows machine. As of now my uptime is 16days, 4hrs, and change. I know others have had uptime way, way longer than that. But I cant imagine ever having a windows machine running for 16 days + without having to reboot.

 

[Eidorian]

iMac keeps its power promise, PC challenge issued


Apple Makes the Switch: iMac G5 vs. iMac Core Duo

Put it to sleep and unplug your FireWire devices.

 

[UnitedRed]

Most of the time I turn mine off as i'm not using it so why leave it on, plus it cuts down on the electricity bills

Sometimes I put it to sleep if i'm going to be using it for many parts of the day

 

[dopey220]

Mostly, I shut my MacBook down whenever I'm not using it, but I'll let it sleep if I'm just stepping away for a few minutes.

With my eMac, I shut it down at night, but leave it on all day.

 

[Blubbert]

iMac keeps its power promise, PC challenge issued


Apple Makes the Switch: iMac G5 vs. iMac Core Duo

Put it to sleep and unplug your FireWire devices.

What's the problem with leaving FireWire devices plugged in? I'm asking because i leave my external disk plugged in constantly, unless im moving the computer.

 

[smurfjammer]

Leave it on!

I leave all my Macs at home and work on 24/7, the only time I restart are for updates (damm you Apple ruining my system uptime stats 😡 )

 

[Eidorian]

What's the problem with leaving FireWire devices plugged in? I'm asking because i leave my external disk plugged in constantly, unless im moving the computer.

FireWire is kept on in sleep. That's an extra 6 watts (4 watts for just the iMac) over just the iMac being asleep.

 

[MrSmith]

I understood that constantly restarting caused wear and tear, especially on the HD. Mine is put to sleep at night and I clean up with Cocktail so once a week the machine is restarted.