Mac laptop - to sleep or shut down?

Question

I've had 3 mac laptops in my time, im on my 4th. all my other ibooks sadly died of logic board failure, I don't know why, but they did. I want to take extra special care how I can with this one and i wondered if i had worn out the logic board by leaving it in sleep most of the time. I started shutting this one down in the day when im not using it, is that better? because I always believed and heard and said...macs prefer to be but into sleep than rebooted.

Answer 1

It's generally better for any computer to shut it down when it's not in use. Some people maintain that computers are meant to be left on all the time; however, I've noticed that system board and hard drives in particular fail far more often in PCs that don't get shut down when not in use.

Macs are much better than PCs in terms of coming back from standby or sleep modes, but they still benefit from being shut down completely. In sleep mode, most of the computer's functions are shut down, but the computer is still technically on and is still heating up certain parts of it. If the laptop is in a bag, it traps this heat and the computer basically cooks.

When you shut the PC down, all of the parts are given a chance to cool down and stop running completely. It also gives the OS a chance to clean itself up a bit and run some checks to make sure it's working right. Rebooting allow it to run through and do much the same thing.

I generally recommend that people physically shut down their computers if they're not going to use them for over an hour. If you're coming right back, go ahead and leave it on or put it in sleep mode. Any longer than that and it's probably better for the computer to turn it off.

Answer 2

Your problem with failed hardware isnt because of your choices of leaving your computer when your done with it. Mac computers like all pc's suffer more due to thermal shock (the micro expansion and contraction) of having the system start from cold and then heat up. Transistors, capacitors, and transformers and connecting chipsets die faster when put through consistant thermal changes. So its actually more benefitial for anyone to leave their pc on. What kills components are these specific things. A) dusty envirnmoents or salty air. Computers generate huge magnetic fields that suck up all non ionized particles in the air and make them stick to the source (pc parts) forming a sheath of insulation on your pcs innards. This sheath adds to thermal shock of the components like ive mentioned already. B) Power issues. Having unconditioned power will cause faults in power supplies in computer systems and will lead to product failure. If your in an older building this is likely the cause. I recommend a UPS. Uninterrupted power supply. It goes beyond a power bar in that it purifies temporary burnouts and spikes in the power stream from your wall that you could otherwise not detect. If youve ever seen the lights dim for a split second when some certain appliance clicks on this is likely whats killed your old PC's. C) EMI. I wont get into this issue only that you should keep in mind that you shouldnt have computers near any other large electronics. Especially microwaves, power mains (like a buildings main supply or feed in your wall) or speakers. Large bookshelf speakers, or floor speakers will create sizable problems over time with PC components. A, B, or C. Its guaranteed to be one of these issues. Good luck.

Answer 3

Personal opinion is that the CMOS and motherboard on any computer need to be able to cool down to avoid wearing out the resistance on the tracks of the silicone. Heat will cause the tracks to disintegrate eventually because heat accelerates the release of atoms from any molecular structure.

Answer 4

There are two schools of thought on this and it boils down to a matter of choice.

Personally, when I am finished for the day, I turn everything off. If I will be away for a couple of hours, I leave the PC on and turn the monitor off.

However, there are those who leave everything on all the time. I don't subscribe to this train of thought. My choice.

Answer 5

One of my laptops also died this way. I now shut down at night nad when I am not using it, the heating damages parts, plus why waste the electricity if you are not using it?