Power off or Sleep better?

A friend of mine told me never to shut down the computer, it will last longer just putting it to sleep. Which method would be better for my iMac 24 inch? I can feel it getting very hot at the top of the back when it is working and I am concerned just putting it to sleep would not benefit my iMac. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Sleeping is fine. "Sleeping" does not create heat...so the computer totally cools off during sleep.

Restarting should still be done every once & a while (I probably do it every 2-3 weeks). But I almost never completely shutdown my Mac computers.

Sleep...Sleep...Sleep.

- Nick

Your friend is wrong that you should never shut it down, but it isn't usually necessary. You can just put the computer to sleep when not in use and you'll be fine. The computer should get hot when you are working on it and if it were to go to sleep and stay asleep for a little while, you should note that it's cool to touch.

It should NOT stay hot when asleep..

I've been doing this with all of my computers for a long time without any problems. I do this with my 2009 27" iMac, and my daughter's 2009 21" iMac without any problems..

The iMacs are rebooted during updates or what have you and the only time I shut it down is when I'm going to be away for a few days or something like when I go on vacation..

All good advice above.... I'll add one more thing: Buy an UPS for your iMac to protect it from power glitches and outages. Also, shut your iMac down during real bad weather - thunderstorms. Lightning strikes even close by are not good.

chscag said:

All good advice above.... I'll add one more thing: Buy an UPS for your iMac to protect it from power glitches and outages. Also, shut your iMac down during real bad weather - thunderstorms. Lightning strikes even close by are not good.

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Great advice about a UPS and bad weather. Many times when my area has thunderstorms...I even pull the MagSafe connector out of my laptops just in case.

- Nick

Find the iBox UPS from iDowell, which Apple used to sell, works great with iMac. Only get turned off when updates are installed, maybe once every few weeks or so.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc...ing/power-supplies/idowell-ibox-593619/review

I'm also one of those that never shuts down a computer except when I need to for new software installs, etc.

The primary reasoning for that stems from the "old" days (80s & 90s) when it was deemed better by most not to shut down due to the expansion and contraction of the equipment heating up and cooling off.

We have at least a couple "enviromentalists" that have popped up from time to time saying they shut down to conserve energy. So, was wondering, just how much money am I throwing away not shutting down my computers. Enter Googe - found the avg cost per kwh in the U.S. and the power consumption of a 27" iMac (the '09 model) and a calculator to figure out how much it costs to sleep your iMac instead of shutting it down.

For both figures - I'm using 24 hrs a day for a year.

When shut down - total cost per year is $0.87.
When asleep - total cost per year is $1.83.

So, it'll cost ya $0.96 per year (with an '09 27" iMac) to have an instant on computer instead of having to wait for it to boot up every time you need to use it.

Someone that shuts down that iMac for 10 hrs a day instead of letting it go to sleep will save $0.0011 per day which adds up to $0.40 savings per year. I believe I'd be described as being one that is quite happy to spend that 40 cents a year.

I believe I'd be described as being one that is quite happy to spend that 40 cents a year.

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I don't know Tom... If you saved that up for 6 years you could get a small Starbucks Coffee (assuming prices don't go up by then). ;P

Rockman53 said:

A friend of mine told me never to shut down the computer, it will last longer just putting it to sleep.

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My 2007 Mini is still going strong, and it gets shut down when it is not in use. I do let it run backups before I go to sleep, so it stays on all night. Other than that, unless it gets forgotten, it gets turned off every night, and back on in the early evening on weekdays, the early morning on Saturdays, and about noon on Sundays.

I also do not leave my car running in the garage, and turn off lights in any room that is not occupied by a living, breathing person. But that's just me.

Some pretty involved calculations there Tom! I know that you probably had to gather those details from various sources before doing the calculations.

Thanks for putting a "dollars & cents" value to the sleep vs. shutdown comparison!

- Nick

The point Tom was making, toMACsh, is that Macs today are ridiculously energy-efficient compared to almost anything else. The light in your fridge uses as much power as a typical Mac, and iOS devices use only a fraction of even THAT.

So you're not actually "conserving energy" by shutting off the Mac. Unlike if you left your car running, or all the lights in your house on.

In fact, if you have one of those new Macs that does "power nap," you're actually WASTING power by shutting off the Mac, because "power nap" can do things in the sleep state that you would normally have to do while the Mac is at full power.

So there. Nyah.

Yep, leaving lights on in rooms where you're not can add up quick.

With just a 60w bulb and most fixtures nowadays having at least 2 bulbs in them, leaving those 2 bulbs burning in just 3 rooms for 10 hrs a day is going to run you over $157 a year vs the $0.96 extra a year to leave an iMac in sleep mode vs leaving it turned off 24 hrs a day.

For those "really" concerned about power consumption on computers and many other electronics since they continue consuming power even when turned off (unlike light bulbs), you really need to unplug it, not just shut it down when you walk away. Then you can double your savings up to $2 a year.

Apple's own advice on this matter used to be printed in the booklet that came with new machines, but of course they don't do that anymore. The short version of it was that the company recommended sleeping it i normal use, but if you're going to be away from it for a longer time (not specified, but let's say three days or more), turn it off.

'cmon, man! I used the "wink"!

My real point, for those who skimmed past it, is that my old Mac is doing just fine, thank you, although I shut it down regularly, and have been doing so for for almost 6 years. That's over 2,100 times.

Ya know, I just had to cover those hard core environmentalists out there.

There are lots of folks that shut down every day.
Don't see that as a problem either - personal preference here.
Think the main issue would be those that start and shut down multiple times a day.
And with the improvements in electronics over the last 30 years, even that is not likely to be the issue it use to be.

Yes, nobody said you can't shut the machine down if you prefer. Just don't hit the kill switch on the power strip (and yes, I've run across people who do this to turn off all their "home office" stuff simultaneously), that will ruin a Mac in no time at all.

It seemed fairly obvious, after getting acquainted with Macs, that they are designed to sleep on low power for your convenience, which I thought was cool. Probably nothing wrong with shutting it down (properly) every day, but I'm an impatient guy. I just don't like waiting for a computer (as fast as Mac boots up) to boot up every **** day. I can't even stand how long it takes to swipe out of the lock screen on my iPhone. No way I can bring myself to use the passcode lock so I need to punch in a number every time I need to get in...

MacShane said:

It seemed fairly obvious, after getting acquainted with Macs, that they are designed to sleep on low power for your convenience, which I thought was cool. Probably nothing wrong with shutting it down (properly) every day, but I'm an impatient guy. I just don't like waiting for a computer (as fast as Mac boots up) to boot up every **** day. I can't even stand how long it takes to swipe out of the lock screen on my iPhone. No way I can bring myself to use the passcode lock so I need to punch in a number every time I need to get in...

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I bet I know what your favorite flower is!