To Sleep Or Not To Sleep

[Shrink]

Necessary information: I have a MacBook 13”. It is on A/C power virtually all the time. (I calibrate the battery once a month, every month) When I go to bed, I do a shut down. During the day, after use I put it to sleep until I need it again. This sleep–wake cycle occurs about 10 to 12 times a day.

I have been advised that it is “better the computer” to go into Preferences>Energy Saver and set sleep to “never”, as battery conservation is not an issue (alway on A/C power). Also to set the screen to shut down in approximately 10 min.

Which is “better for the computer”–to put it to sleep after each use, or to leave it running all the time until bedtime shut down.

Thanks for your advice…

 

[Hellhammer]

Well, sleeping it should be better than keeping it running because only the RAM will be powered when sleeping. When the parts are not powered, the risk of failure is smaller. In the end, all electronics have a limited lifespan. Of course, if you have a reason to leave it running then it is different (e.g. downloading something).

Personally, my iMac is always on when I am at home and awake. When I leave home or go to sleep, I sleep my iMac. Same goes for my MBA but it is sleeping unless I'm using it.

 

[GGJstudios]

When I go to bed, I do a shut down.

While you may shut down whenever you like, it's not necessary. Using sleep mode is perfectly fine.

I have been advised that it is “better the computer” to go into Preferences>Energy Saver and set sleep to “never”, as battery conservation is not an issue

Also not necessary. You can set sleep preferences for when you walk away, and temporarily override them with Caffeine.

(alway on A/C power).

It's not a good idea to always be on AC power. Your battery needs to be used/cycled to stay healthy. For details, see the AC POWER section of the following link.

Which is “better for the computer”–to put it to sleep after each use, or to leave it running all the time until bedtime shut down.

Either is fine.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[Young Spade]

Yea I'd suggest you sleep it, when it's always running the HDDs are spinning along with the fans and it's more uptime > sleep in terms of operation.

It won't kill the battery to sleep it multiple times a day, I don't sleep/wake it as mucha s you on a daily basis but you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[AWallen90]

Put her to sleep.

 

[MacmancUK]

Would not sleeping reduce the backlit illumination (flourescent tube?) life

Just what is the expected life of the backlight ?

I always sleep my iMac, with the keys combination, every time I leave my iMac, for this very reason, I don't want the tube burning out.

Nor the fans, nor the electronics

Plus, internet access is controlled to when I am sat at the iMac.

 

[GGJstudios]

Would not sleeping reduce the backlit illumination (flourescent tube?) life

The backlight is off during sleep. It's not a fluorescent tube and won't likely burn out during the lifetime of your Mac.

 

[Young Spade]

Agree with you.

It's funny because when I first got my Mac, I wondered if I could change it from sleeping whenever I closed the lid. Using Expose I'm able to turn the display off at any time (which was the whole reason for the questioning) and I find myself bringing my computer with me wherever I go. Being able to close it, take it, and open it with the same battery power and get back to working is a great feature I never really used (nor wanted) until now.

 

[TenderBranson]

definitely sleep the computer

 

[BiggAW]

If you're not using it, sleep. I leave mine on a lot to seed on torrent or something, but if I'm not doing that, I'll put it to sleep. No point in running the thing, sucking down power, and spitting heat out if you're not using it.

Also, no reason to shut down, sleep mode on these things works just fine.