[votoms888]

I was wondering if it is a problem if I leave my iMac C2D on 24hrs a day. I have my Energy Saving set to "Never Sleep". Is that ok? I am downloading a large torrent, if my mac sleeps the downloading times out.

Thanks

[Goldfinger]

No problem. It won't kill your iMac. I'd set the energy saver setting for the LCD tough. Let the monitor sleep after 10min or so. That won't affect your download and it'll save your backlight.

[larrinski]

I agree. I have had my intel imac running 24/7 with seti/boinc since I got it.

[Cassifire]

I leave my Mini running all night sometimes, but this will shorten the life of the computer.

I wouldn't reccomend doing it for it's entire life.

[kmkkid]

As someone stated above, set the LCD to turn off after a period of inactivity. #1 it'll save the backlight, #2 it will prevent the known image persistence issue.

[RodiAndori]

I have a 1.25Ghz PB and I dont really remember when i turned it of the last time. It is always on, day and night. Of-course i set the display to go to sleep. I have had the comp for 3,5 years almost and still no problems. I guess that if it works with a PB it shouldnt be a problem with the iMac or any other computer for that matter. Dont forget the screen though.

[macintologist]

Originally Posted by larrinski 

I agree. I have had my intel imac running 24/7 with seti/boinc since I got it.

Same here

[centerchannel68]

My old G3 iMac is now my webserver, and it'd been on STRAIGHT for over 60 days without a reboot or anything.

[TomR]

Originally Posted by Cassifire 

I leave my Mini running all night sometimes, but this will shorten the life of the computer.

I wouldn't reccomend doing it for it's entire life.

I don't believe it'll short the computer's life at all. My PPC Mini has been running 24/7 for nearly 2 years now. I only shut down the monitor.

I say don't sweat leaving it on....just my opinion!

Tom

[polendo]

If you do not want to mess around with energy settings, just lower the brightness of the LCD monitor until its dark.
regards

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by polendo 

If you do not want to mess around with energy settings, just lower the brightness of the LCD monitor until its dark.
regards

The LCD is still using the backlight. It's best to let the monitor sleep.

[CheesePuff]

Originally Posted by Cassifire 

I leave my Mini running all night sometimes, but this will shorten the life of the computer.

I wouldn't reccomend doing it for it's entire life.

Are you kidding me? I have had a G4 800 MHz tower on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (not sleep, but on) since I purchased it brand new probably 5+ years ago.

OK, granted I shut it down for RAM and other hardware upgrades but none the less...

[brokenbells]

Actually it is supposed to be good to keep your system ON all the time. The more number of power on and power off cycles, the lesser the life of the processor and the logic board.

A regular CPU is supposed to run for 10 years continuously, without the system being shut off.

So ON is good, as long as you have good battery backup and surge protectors or spike busters installed too.

[iMacYouMac]

Originally Posted by CheesePuff 

Are you kidding me? I have had a G4 800 MHz tower on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (not sleep, but on) since I purchased it brand new probably 5+ years ago.

OK, granted I shut it down for RAM and other hardware upgrades but none the less...

Of course it'll shorten its life. All computer components have a failure rate based on the amount of time it is used. That's why power supplies have a MTBF (Mean-Time Between Failure). Leaving it on all the time shouldn't give you any issues but he IS right that it will shorten the life but it should still last longer than you'll need it. I know, a minute detail, but gotta be correct.

[HunterWare]

Originally Posted by iMacYouMac 

Of course it'll shorten its life. All computer components have a failure rate based on the amount of time it is used. That's why power supplies have a MTBF (Mean-Time Between Failure). Leaving it on all the time shouldn't give you any issues but he IS right that it will shorten the life but it should still last longer than you'll need it. I know, a minute detail, but gotta be correct.

If you read the fine print on the MTBF for power supplies they also have the frequency that the power is cycled during that test. Classically machines that are left on run (on average) far longer than machines that power up and down regularly as the inrush current while turning on is decently rough on electronic components. Yes, they are designed to take it, but it is still a large contributer. The best example I can think of to bring this into the realm of most peoples experience is to compare the PSU to a light bulb. Everyone can agree that while lights do fail when left on, they usually fail while being turned on.

- Hunter

[dimmer]

The worst thang you can do to a power supply unit is turn it off, let it sit, and power on again. The worst thing you can do for chips is let them come up to heat, then switch them off and cool everything again. Simple expands when hot, shrinks when cold physics.

The hard-drive, if active, is the only item likely to have issues as is common with all moving parts (fans too you could argue, but the complexity of a hard drive vs. a fan are rather extreme.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by votoms888 

I was wondering if it is a problem if I leave my iMac C2D on 24hrs a day. I have my Energy Saving set to "Never Sleep". Is that ok? I am downloading a large torrent, if my mac sleeps the downloading times out.

Thanks

Prior to deep sleep, I used to run my Macs on essentially all the time. It's not harmful to do so, but as others have said I would definitely set a display sleep time to save the LCD. You definitely want to try to maximize the life of your iMac's display, since replacing it would be a costly endeavor. One final note: torrents don't timeout (unless the client you're using sucks), they just resume downloading when the connection is reestablished.

[hldan]

It's actually better to leave the computer running all the time. Like others said just set the monitor to shut off soon so no image is burned onto the screen. Why is it good to leave it on all the time? Because OSX is designed to manage the memory and unnesessary cached files. This process is generally done by the computer automatically during the middle of the night. The memory that's been used up will return to available state and cached files are cleared to make room for needed programs. This is why programs like Cocktail and Cache cleaner stay in business.

This process hardly ever gets done by the computer because most of us have a tendancy to put the Mac to sleep which prevents this needed operation. It's almost never if you have a laptop.

Corporations keep server computers running 24/7 so components are designed to last. I have never had a computer component die from over use.

[Castor Troy]

You definitely want to sleep the LCD to save the back lights, especially on the iMac since replacing the bulbs is probably a pain in the butt.

[flgator]

I leave my 17" iMac G5 Rev A on all the time. I have to...if it goes to sleep it shuts down. Then it won't power back up...not at least for a few hours.

There is something wrong with my power supply. If I have a firewire device plugged in the iMac will never, ever turn on. If I unplug everything except the keyboard and mouse, it sometimes turns back on, but more often than not all I hear is a soft-clicking sound coming from the iMac.

Been this way since May 06. My solution...never let the iMac sleep. I do let the screen dim to save the backlight, but I've been running this way since May 06.

I've tried calling Applecare, but all they ever offered were software solutions to a definite hardware problem. Enough was enough. Today, I convinced Applecare to replace my power supply.

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by iMacYouMac 

Of course it'll shorten its life....

Untrue. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but reality is that in general leaving a properly set up Mac (screens and hard drives spinning down) on 24/7/365 does not shorten its life. The many Macs I manage have all always been run 24/7. The only mobos I have ever lost have been on laptops that were not run 24/7.

-Allen Wicks

[gregarios]

Originally Posted by Cassifire 

I leave my Mini running all night sometimes, but this will shorten the life of the computer.

I wouldn't reccomend doing it for it's entire life.

Actually, I think it has been proven that the heating/cooling cycle of shutting down a computer nightly has negative effects on the microscopic transistors of the main processor, shortening the life of the computer as a whole. Fans run out of life, as do hard drives, but the CPU chip is expensive and sometimes an impossible thing to replace.

[The Placid Casual]

I have a Macbook Pro with 56+ days uptime, with it up for 22+ hours a day, the other 2 hours in clamshell mode. No issues so far. I also run an Intel iMac 2.0 that I have not shut down since I bought it in February...

I'll be honest and say I am more wary of doing this with the Intel ones than the PowerPC Macs, but no adverse effects so far.

[Welnic]

Originally Posted by gregarios 

Actually, I think it has been proven that the heating/cooling cycle of shutting down a computer nightly has negative effects on the microscopic transistors of the main processor, shortening the life of the computer as a whole. Fans run out of life, as do hard drives, but the CPU chip is expensive and sometimes an impossible thing to replace.

Of course, just not turning the computer off doesn't totally fix this problem. It also heats up and cools down if you change the load on the processor. The solution? Run a distributed computing project like folding at home or one of the BOINC projects and keep that chip at the same temperature all of the time. Just make sure the monitor goes to sleep.