SOLVED Is it better to shut down, or put the computer to sleep

[Jack Slone]

Which is better, shut the computer down, or put it in sleep mode? and which is better for conserving energy?

 

[Ian]

If you want to conserve energy, shutting down the PC will mean it's using almost zero power (as it's off). In sleep mode, it will use a small amount of power to keep things ticking over - on modern systems it's a very low amount (maybe 5W).

If you're turning the PC off overnight, I'd suggest doing a full shutdown. However, if you're talking about leaving the PC for a reasonably short amount of time (an hour or two), it may be worth leaving it in sleep mode - as it'll resume to the desktop very quickly.

 

[Tim Locke]

We do a full shutdown of our main PCs including turning off the monitors every night. But the USB 3 attached ( not self powered) external disks just go into standby. Our aging NAS stays on, the Wifi attached printer stays on and all the networking hardware (cable modem, router, switch) all stays on. Probably we may be saving 1/2 the power.

 

[davehc]

I leave my working Laptop, and my wife's, on all day, and turn off at night. I also have the HDs running all the tile, in the Power settings - no hibernate. I haven't, truthfully, noticed any scary increases in my Electricity bills. I would pay particular notice to that, as I am on a low British
pension.

 

[Norton]

I leave my PC running, I just sign off. I believe that turning the hard drive on and off daily is hard on the drive. Also the inrush current surge, is especially hard on the electronics, chokes, transformers... The heating and cooling cycles breaks down the ground wall enamel insulation and the smoke gets out. Modern PC LED monitors use far less power than the CRT monitors. I guess its a personal choice.

 

[Defender01]

I never turn my pc off only a restart when needed to install / update.
Mainly because i have a CCTV camera running 24 / 7 on record.

 

[lvlpost]

.Ii usually set my computer to sleep. After 2-3 days, I will reset computer

 

[Bif]

I've always been a "shut er down at night" kinda guy...good or bad, that's what I do.

 

[Trouble]

Me too.
I turn my computer on to..... use it, so.....
When I'm not..... I turn it off and also switch off the powerstrip that attaches it to the wall outlet.
Never actually saw any point in doing otherwise.

 

[acerguy]

I always turn my computer off each night. During the day when working, If I go away for a reasonable time, I close the lid, which puts it in sleep mode. I've always turned it off at night for as long as I can remember. ( Yes, I can still remember ! ) I suggest that turning off the computer would use less power than left on all the time. Cheers.