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Sleep or restart for long-term MacBook health

P

powpow

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 19, 2004
98
0
New MacBook 2.4ghz owner here.

I'm wondering if it is better to sleep my computer all day or shut it down and restart it. Basically, I use it for 30 minutes or so in the morning, then a couple of hours at night usually.

Which option is better for the long-term health of the computer. Which one requires more power?

Thanks!
 
Tallest Skil said:
Sleep.
Click to expand...

right...

I don't know what the deal is. But people who have been using macs for a long time seem to have forgot what the sleep function is.

Sure it's all nice and convenient.

But sleep is nothing different than Standby.

Ram is powered by the battery. Of course it does not consume a lot. Nevertheless power is used.

If you are not using your computer for a longer period, it is advisable to either turn the computer of or hybernate. (use the dashboard widget deep sleep to hybernate)

Otherwise just use Sleep.


Cheers
 
Sleep is nice because you have all your applications come up in the same shape, so it's more convenient than shut down. But specifically for the long term health I don't really know what is better.. Some say that Macs are better off not being restarted a whole lot... I am a new owner, so no experience here :(
 
To me this is a weird debate...

I dunno you guys but if I'm not going to use my macbook for the next couple hours I will defo turn it off...save energy and save components' life cycle..

What's the harm of turning it off to be honest? :confused::confused::confused:

it only takes 40 secs ish to turn it on....
 
ryanfong said:
To me this is a weird debate...

I dunno you guys but if I'm not going to use my macbook for the next couple hours I will defo turn it off...save energy and save components' life cycle..

What's the harm of turning it off to be honest? :confused::confused::confused:

it only takes 40 secs ish to turn it on....
Click to expand...


I believe the OP was asking which option was better for the long term health of the laptop. If you use your laptop a few times a day but go a few hours between usage, should you sleep or turn off? Does turning off and on repeatedly degrade the laptop?
 
For most components, going into sleep mode has the same affect as powering down then turning back on. The HDD, fan, optical drive, and other parts all get completely powered off when going into sleep mode. So for those components its no different.

Really, sleep mode is just about convenience for the user. Putting it to sleep often is just as bad for the long term health as shutting the system down often. So it really doesn't matter.
 
cycler15 said:
I believe the OP was asking which option was better for the long term health of the laptop. If you use your laptop a few times a day but go a few hours between usage, should you sleep or turn off? Does turning off and on repeatedly degrade the laptop?
Click to expand...

Sorry my bad, I was talking about my personal situation..
I need to work during day time so I only use my macbook from 5pm ish to 1am ish, if I go to cook or watch tv etc. I will put it into sleep mode then turn it off before hit the bed..
 
Personally I almost NEVER shut it down. I let it sleep even overnight, or when i commute to my office and back. I think the sleep option is one of the most attractive things about Macs (the ease of closing the lid, then open it and it's instantly on - no wait- and the fact that it doesn't really drain the battery that bad).
Also, i have one of the spaces set up with a few windows open (i'm translating a book) just the way I like it and I hate to re-open and re-arrange those.
 
Deep sleep hacks? wtf?:confused:

No need to hack the OS, just close the lid. or turn it off. It'll probably use as much power starting up as it uses during the day in sleep mode.

As far as component lifetime, I have no idea...
 
This article talks about the different sleep modes available. I think the default is Mode 3, but I like Mode 0 - instant on/off (no waiting for disc writing on every sleep).

http://www.macworld.com/article/53471/2006/10/sleepmode.html

As for long term health, the difference, if any, would be very small in my opinion. I'd rather enjoy using my computer in the most convenient way, rather than worry about prolonging its life. It is just a computer after all.
 
silverblack said:
As for long term health, the difference, if any, would be very small in my opinion. I'd rather enjoy using my computer in the most convenient way, rather than worry about prolonging its life. It is just a computer after all.
Click to expand...

Very well said.
 
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