Turn off Mac at night?
- Thread starter Rhisiart
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DeltaMac
Tech
Sleep is a very low power mode. AFAIK, the only power is used to maintain power to RAM.
Anything that uses a lot of power - fans, drives, etc - do not run at all during sleep.
So, if you sleep your Mac, then it's not "running overnight" at all.
However, if you mean "sleep the display" - then only the display is off (backlight is off, and no video to the display), but other power remains on.
There's really different ideas about leaving the computer on 24-7 (and not sleeping during hours when not in use)
Although you use more power, leaving power on means that you don't have to start up your Mac when you want to use it.
That's when the most stress is placed on the system, due to small power surges as various parts of the system get powered on from completely off.
Waking up, from sleep mode, is much less stressful on the hardware, and waking up the display (from "display sleep" mode) is somewhat less stressful.
So, my opinion, if you use your computer every day, then shutting off completely each night puts more stress on the system, compared to other power modes.
And, sleep mode gives you a real advantage - as you can go to normal use within a couple of seconds, where a complete power off means waiting the full boot time until you can use your Mac (along with somewhat more stress to the system for a full boot)
Anything that uses a lot of power - fans, drives, etc - do not run at all during sleep.
So, if you sleep your Mac, then it's not "running overnight" at all.
However, if you mean "sleep the display" - then only the display is off (backlight is off, and no video to the display), but other power remains on.
There's really different ideas about leaving the computer on 24-7 (and not sleeping during hours when not in use)
Although you use more power, leaving power on means that you don't have to start up your Mac when you want to use it.
That's when the most stress is placed on the system, due to small power surges as various parts of the system get powered on from completely off.
Waking up, from sleep mode, is much less stressful on the hardware, and waking up the display (from "display sleep" mode) is somewhat less stressful.
So, my opinion, if you use your computer every day, then shutting off completely each night puts more stress on the system, compared to other power modes.
And, sleep mode gives you a real advantage - as you can go to normal use within a couple of seconds, where a complete power off means waiting the full boot time until you can use your Mac (along with somewhat more stress to the system for a full boot)
Adding to Delta’s good explanation...
Putting your monitor to sleep will save your monitor, extending its life. You can schedule the screen saver to turn on five to ten minutes before allowing the monitor to sleep.
Since OS X, there are several maintenance jobs that the system does to keep it running smoothly, including clearing the cache and logs. There are monthly, weekly and daily routines that get done usually in the middle of the night. Shutting down your Mac, or putting the drive to sleep before these jobs are done prevents those routines to be completed. This is similar to Time Machine clearing out files and only saving one file for the month.
I have a program called Macaroni (there are others) that runs on my machine at work because I need to shut it down daily. My home machine is on 24/7.
You make your decision by your needs.
Putting your monitor to sleep will save your monitor, extending its life. You can schedule the screen saver to turn on five to ten minutes before allowing the monitor to sleep.
Since OS X, there are several maintenance jobs that the system does to keep it running smoothly, including clearing the cache and logs. There are monthly, weekly and daily routines that get done usually in the middle of the night. Shutting down your Mac, or putting the drive to sleep before these jobs are done prevents those routines to be completed. This is similar to Time Machine clearing out files and only saving one file for the month.
I have a program called Macaroni (there are others) that runs on my machine at work because I need to shut it down daily. My home machine is on 24/7.
You make your decision by your needs.
To amplify Cheryl's point, she is talking about the Periodic Tasks. As she accurately pointed out, they are designed to be performed late at night when all good people are safe in bed. However, Apple no longer requires that they be performed late at night. Although it is preferred that you logout but leave your computer running 24/7, it is not required. The Periodic Tasks will be performed when your computer is powered-on. Understand that this is an accommodation to users who insist on shutting their computers down. It is not a safer computer practice.
I cannot emphasize enough that Macs are UNIX-based computers. Unixen have uptimes measured in months and, in some cases, years. The standard for proper Mac practice is not a MS-DOS PC; it is a Unix server.
I cannot emphasize enough that Macs are UNIX-based computers. Unixen have uptimes measured in months and, in some cases, years. The standard for proper Mac practice is not a MS-DOS PC; it is a Unix server.
My best OS X uptime of a few years was interrupted by having to move a desk (a few times, so several over a year of uptime).
So machine on 24 7 for me, but if it's a work machine, ideally it's just screen locked, display to sleep, and everything else runs normal under it.
So machine on 24 7 for me, but if it's a work machine, ideally it's just screen locked, display to sleep, and everything else runs normal under it.