[crooner]

I know this has been discussed and debated many times, but I thought I'd bring it up again.
Recently, my dual 1GHz QuickSilver had its mobo fail. My practice was to leave it on 24x7 as I've always been on the side of the fence that believes that letting your Mac sleep it off rather than daily shutdowns and Cold Boots is easier on the hardware. I came to this opinion after hearing from multiple sources that the single thing that puts the most wear and tear on a Mac (in regular us) is the surge of electricity that goes through it on boot up.

Now that I have my new G5, I’m rethinking my position.

Did leaving my QuickSilver on all the time shorten it's span? Should I be shutting down at night to prolong the life of my grape juice cooled G5?

Please cast your vote in the poll and post your comments and feelings.

Thanks!

[trevorM]

My general rule with Apples has been to always sleep them. All my powerbooks and all my powermacs (including my Dual g5) and even my iMacs are always put to sleep - the only time I have shut them down is when travelling abroad, knowing I will be away for a reasonable period of time.

I am of the opinion that it fine to sleep them and any back luck one may have is merely the luck of the draw.

Cheers
Trevor!

[Lateralus]

In my years of computer ownership, I have never shut my machines down or put them to sleep. And for the past three or four years, I've run one distributed computing project or another so my machines have all remained at 100% processor use 24/7.

And I've never had a machine die...

My machine is set to stay awake 24/7; only the display and hard drives are set to sleep in the Energy Saver panel. Haven't had any problems yet. Aren't Unix-based systems supposed to be on 24/7?

[yikes600]

No sleep, no shutdowns.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by yikes600

No sleep, no shutdowns.

Same here with my MDD, I restart about once a month or so.

ibook goes to sleep every night but hasn't been restarted in 240 days.

[jcadam]

A computer that is OFF is secure. I shut it down at night.

Unless you are running a server or like to do big overnight batch processing/rendering jobs while you are sleeping, there is no reason to leave your box on 24/7.

[bowwowman]

IMHO, the only REAL consideration here is power consumption. Even though computers dont use an extreme amount of power, it can add up over an extended period, jacking up your electric bill.....

and if you're worried about security, just unplug your net connections while not using the system.....

[tooki]

I use sleep mode. Best of both worlds!

tooki

[SirCastor]

I let my Macs sleep. That's more out of impatience for startup time than for safety reasons, but If I recall correct, Apple suggests you let your computer sleep.

[trevorM]

Apart from folk running servers and alike, what precisely is the reason for leaving your computers up and running 24 hours a day? Why not sleep em? Save a bit of energy too?

I forgot to add that I do run a web server and a webcam 24/7, so that's why I leave mine on.

Perhaps the poll should have a third option: ie., "I put my computer to sleep."

[Sourbook]

I'm on my third Powerbook in 10yrs. I always sleep.
At work we have an assortment of 20-25 Desktop Macs, some of witch haven't been shutdown or restarted in years. All just keep on ticking.

[Don Pickett]

99% of the time I sleep my machine. I went out of town this weekend, and turned it off – it was the first time I had turned the machine off since I got it in March.

[Flip500]

I was downloading a huge bit-torrent file and I left my computer on for 3 days... when ever I came back to it during the download it was a bit iratic, until I played with it a little and warmed it up... what does this mean?

[JMII]

At work all our Macs (mix of G4s, G5s and Minis) run 24/7 six days a week, only the monitors are set to sleep. They get shutoff automatically via a script on Sunday once thier network backup is complete. Our xServer runs 24/7/365, no sleep, no restarts... heck it's still run Jaguar!

At home my MDD G4 is set to sleep, it get restarted about once a month for updates and gets shutdown anytime I'm out of town. I actually have to flip the router on and off more then Mac as my DSL connection seems to hangs after long periods of being "on".

[dark3lf]

80% of the time I leave them running, 20% I let them sleep. I never turn off.

[G5man]

well never turn off if you got a web server running unless you have to do maintaining

[robertway]

Hi folks, I am new around here and although I have only had a Mac Mini for a few months I have a PM G5 2.3 which has been "sent to manufacturing" and should be here by the end of the week. Anyway, back to the poll, even though I have been a PC Workstation user for over 10 years I think my experience still applies.

I leave everything on 24/7, some spin down on drives and sleep for the LCDs but the machine stays juiced 24/7. The way I look at it is similar to a refridgerator, I never turn that off. In electronics, especially computers, I just feel every time you turn it off, let it cool, then hit it with juice to turn back on presents an opportunity for something to go wrong. Everything in a box has some ungodly meantime between failure statistics and I'll never have a single unit long enough to exercise those limits even being on 24/7.

The only scenario I would consider powering off is if you have real crappy power coming into the house meaning your area gets a lot of brownouts or surges. If that is the case, at least a decent line conditioner/UPS should be used as it takes the brunt of the iffy current.

Just one man's opinion...

By the way, I may wind up sleeping if I have good experience with it on the G5, PC's are just to groggy for me when they come out of sleep. The sleeping that the Mini does is quite nice.

[Maflynn]

At night I shut it down, why waste electricity, I mean if its on for a purpose,like computing the mass of the sun and what not that's one thing, otherwise its a waste. Like leaving your car running when you go to bed, you wouldn't do that especially at the price of gas lately. Well for most electricty is generated by oil so the car analogy (imo) is close.

The frig analogy isn't a good fit as its on for a purpose - not letting food spoil. For some (most?) the computer is idle and there's no real need or justification other then laziness.

The issue of its a shock to the system when its completely off, is just BS. Computers have been designed to be turned on and turned off. The actual shock (if you want to call it that) is so small and negligable that its not a valid arguement. I've had computers, and computers in the office that have run fine for well over 7 years even though they get shut down every night.

Mike

[robertway]

Valid points Mike, everyone has their own experiences and opinions. The reason I used the frig example was not based on the purpose of the device, only the fact that it runs 24/7. In regard to electricity, not knowing any real hard numbers, I wonder what a machine draws when it is completely idle, disks spun down and LCD asleep, I would venture to say not all that much.

[I was David B.]

Cooling down and warming up of the circuits lets the computer age faster than a constant temperature. So switch off is worse than sleep, sleep is worse than let it run.

But the normal mac lifetime of 2-4 years will be easily reached also if you shut down the machines every day. If you want maximum lifetime it is best to let electronics switched on. In a lab environment computers and other electronic devices run 10-15 years when they are not switched off. They never reach that age when they are switched off every day.

So if you want to save energy I would say yes, switch the mac off. And disconnecting the network is also a good advice.

[window24me]

Unlike my lazy PC, the PowerBook wakes up from sleep with NO issues (PC with Win2K often fails to recongnize USB keyboard and mouse when trying to wake it). PowerBook cools down while asleep, consumes less power while asleep, and saves on boot time etc.

[astepanuks]

I restart Mac now and then to re set RAM consumption by Safari, Entourage etc which do soak it up after a while. Furthermore, our friendly power company has power failures about once a month, so this forces us to reboot the macs.

[Eriamjh]

Sleep.

I only use shutdown when there is a nasty storm outside and the threat of power going out (lights flickering, etc.).

[zac4mac]

I run DC projects on my mini home network. My Macs stay on 24/7. The 8500 has been shut down for the summer, but I leave the G4DP up front running(Einstein) and my bedroom has a window unit A/C so the 7500(SETI), iBook(Einstein) and G5DP(Einstein) stay cool. All networked via AirPort Express plugged into the cable modem.

Z

[JoshuaZ]

Leave on, in sleep mode.

[trevorM]

Originally Posted by astepanuks

I restart Mac now and then to re set RAM consumption by Safari, Entourage etc which do soak it up after a while. Furthermore, our friendly power company has power failures about once a month, so this forces us to reboot the macs.

Holy cow. A power failure each month is very poor. Are you in a LDC or NIC or something, or is your energy from the sun or wind or something?

[astepanuks]

Originally Posted by trevorM

Holy cow. A power failure each month is very poor. Are you in a LDC or NIC or something, or is your energy from the sun or wind or something?

What is LDC or NIC?
Energy supply is very hot issue here. Our suppliers haven't invested into infrastructure for a while and demand outsrips supply, especially in newly developed suburbs. I am seriously considering buying an UPS.

[SpaceMonkey]

Originally Posted by robertway

In regard to electricity, not knowing any real hard numbers, I wonder what a machine draws when it is completely idle, disks spun down and LCD asleep, I would venture to say not all that much.

I read somewhere that a boot-up uses about the same amount of energy as 8 hours of sleep. I don't know how much energy is expended in waking from sleep, though.

[trevorM]

Originally Posted by astepanuks

What is LDC or NIC?
Energy supply is very hot issue here. Our suppliers haven't invested into infrastructure for a while and demand outsrips supply, especially in newly developed suburbs. I am seriously considering buying an UPS.

Less Developed Country
Newly Industrialized Country

I'd personally never pay for a service if I was getting a regular power outage.

[astepanuks]

Originally Posted by trevorM

Less Developed Country
Newly Industrialized Country

I'd personally never pay for a service if I was getting a regular power outage.

As you know, we don't have much choice, either accept what and how electricity is being delivered or don't have it at all.
Current situation isn't as bad in Brisbane as it was when I was living on Kangaroo Island. It was a shocker! Constant power outages and brown outs.
Sometimes we take things for granted.

[trevorM]

Originally Posted by astepanuks

As you know, we don't have much choice, either accept what and how electricity is being delivered or don't have it at all.
Current situation isn't as bad in Brisbane as it was when I was living on Kangaroo Island. It was a shocker! Constant power outages and brown outs.
Sometimes we take things for granted.

Yes I agree, there is little choice, and it is basically a "take it or leave it" situation.

Your in Brisbane? I am in Tasmania. I probably haven't had a power outage this year, 1 last year and then probably not one for good few years. I suppose its luck. I can imagine the power situation at smaller locations such as that of Kangaroo Is.

[HHogan]

I leave all my systems on

[ReggieX]

Why is there no Sleep option?

[bembol]

I just got the Mini a few weeks ago and after reading forums like this...I leave her on and put her to sleep when I hit the bed/go to work

[Macpilot]

Always on, never sleep.

AFAIK, Mac OS X performs maintenance scripts on itself automatically in the early morning, but won't do these scripts if the machine is Sleeping or Off.

Doesn't it do more wear and tear starting up and shutting down any piece of machinery?

The only good reason for sleep is for laptops when traveling.

[Barry]

alway on, never sleep, screen dimed at night...BUT it is hooked up to a heavy duty UPS. In this part of the country, thunder and lightening, and the associated power glitches, are a real threat. Anyone who leaves there computer on 24x7 should invest in a good quality battery based UPS...power strips just don't cut it.

[beverson]

I almost never shut down, but I sleep it at night 99% of the time (and other times of the day). I'm only on a PowerBook now, but before that I had various simultaneous groupings of iBooks and iMacs — same plan. I don't want to sound judgmental, but I think it's a little irresponsible and wasteful to just leave my Mac on and awake all the time. I only ever leave it on overnight if there's a very specific task it needs to accomplish, and often I'll set it to sleep after it's done. As for the maintenance scripts, run MacJanitor or Cocktail or any number of other apps, or re-schedule the scripts to run during the day like I did.

Sleep is great. Leaving it on all the time just doesn't make sense.

[Big Fat Octopus]

iMac G4 gets turned off at night to conserve power. I leave my work Powerbook running or in sleep mode (on battery overnight) all the time. The PB only gets a reboot when a software update demands it.

[thekapper]

I've been running a slut-loaded G3 450mhz iMac as our basic web/email server at my family's small business for the past 6 years or so. The only times it has ever been off have been when there has been a power outtage. It has run fine, starting with 9.1 and has been working fine for the last 3 years on 10.2.8. I don't remember it ever crashing, but i do restart it periodically out of paranoia's sake.

In all honesty, after six years of being constantly on and only convection to cool it i'm kinda stunned that the 10 gig hard drive in the thing hasn't failed yet. I guess I vote for "sleep" even though I never do so with that machine.

As for my own compuiter, I leave my AlBook on 24/7 when I'm at work or at home, usually don't even let it sleep (other than the screen, of course). I had my first Kernel panic about three days ago, but I'm pretty sure that was caused by Virtual PC doing something really weird. I also had it totally freeze up about two weeks ago. Other than those two incidents the powerbook has been fine running almost totally on for the past year.

[ebow]

I put my new iMac G5 17" to sleep every evening and during the day when I'm at work, just as I did for 5 years with my G3 iMac. I think this approach is a happy compromise between the convenience of not waiting for startup (and leaving apps running with docs open) and not wasting power. I'm not concerned in the slightest about the "wear" caused by putting it to sleep and waking it up. From what I've read, this notion is a fallacy that has been debunked repeatedly (though I can't cite write ups of the debunking).

I've found this page to be an interesting and informative discussion of computers' electricity use.

p.s. thekapper--I never found any sluts in my G3 iMac. You may want to have it checked out at a VD clinic or something...

[ScreamingM]

All i have to say to everyone who thinks that leaving your tower on 24/7 shortens it's life....

I currently run a G4 dual 450. Now, if you all think back to when this first came on the market... it was November 99. I purchased mine in December 99, and besides a month or two when i moved to Hawaii it's been on, 24/7. With 1.12 Gig of RAM, a few HD's and 10.4.2... i feel the slowdown from time to time (10.3 ran a bit better). I've spilled all amounts of beer, alcohol and food on the tower and my girlfriends cat uses the DVD player (yes, no superdrive) as a scraching post. , But for everyday things that i do i still really have no plans on upgrading this guy anytime soon. Oh, my everyday things include modeling and rendering using Lightwave 8.3. EyeTV works great, as does Airport, isight, with really minamal slowdown. I mean... my truck is 4 years old, and i use my computer so much more that my truck.

You can put my vote in the "24/7 always on" box.

PS, my current "System Uptime" as told by the SysStat widget.... 14 days, 6 hours, 54 minutes (i haven't updated the new security update yet).

[bradoesch]

Originally Posted by Flip500

I was downloading a huge bit-torrent file and I left my computer on for 3 days... when ever I came back to it during the download it was a bit iratic, until I played with it a little and warmed it up... what does this mean?

Your inactive apps may have been "paged out" to your hard disk to free up RAM for Bit Torrent. It would take a few moments to get your apps responsive again.

Or if you have an older Mac a huge torrent may just slow it down a little. Who knows.

[Warrenpeace]

I'm surprised to see that no one has mentioned the reason for leaving the machine on all the time.

It's made of metal. Every time it warms up, all the metal expands. Then you shut it down and it cools and all the metal contracts. When this happens every day, it's hard on your machine. I was told this is why motherboards fail -- the copper connections have broken.

Also, Unix runs maintenance scripts early in the morning to clean out logs and stuff.

I leave my Dual 500mhz G4 tower from 2000 on all the time. I just make sure to open it once in a while and blow all the dust out and make sure there isn't fur on the fans at the back. And I bought one of those blowers that fit in the PCI slot to get rid of any more hot air. And the machine runs great. I'm really lucky I don't have any weird power outages to deal with. That would also take it's toll on a machine.

[IceEnclosure]

On all the time, usually sleep at night, Dedicated UPS Battery Backup.

[iomatic]

Five years:
350Mhz G4 Server

Two years:
17" iMac G4 1GHz

One year:
12" PowerBook G4 1.33GHz

Restarts, sure. Always on or sleeping.

So far, so good.

[akseeker]

PM8500 (SonnetG3 Upgraded), Pisimo G3/400, Lombard (400/G4 upgraded), B/W G3 (G4/(400 upgraded), PB 17"/1 GHz that sleeps while travelling (6 hrs/week), all have APC Back/UPS Pro 500's, running DC App (SETI) 24/7/365.

Never any problems, though the UPS has run out of juice once or twice during extended power outages.

[bebito07]

Well I leave mine on 99% of the time unless I am to leave for a few days OR when I want (need) some peace and quiet in the house!
Anyway, I have been a sys admin for over 8 years, and I rarely had a Mac go down for unknown reasons, so I really don't think it reduces the life span of the MB. A constant temperature is a good thing for electronics, but remember that the environment the Mac is used in can play a significant role in how long the computer will run without problems. And the Quick Silver Mac's tended to get how and had many fans... maybe one went bad and it over heated? G5's are also pretty hot so make sue ventilation is good...
HD's and monitors are another story however...

bottom line is that dirt and dust DO accumulate and can reduce heat dissipation so you should clean your comp once a year...

[lamewing]

Originally Posted by jcadam

A computer that is OFF is secure. I shut it down at night.

Unless you are running a server or like to do big overnight batch processing/rendering jobs while you are sleeping, there is no reason to leave your box on 24/7.

Just disconnect it from the ethernet socket or turn off airport.