Letting a mac run 24/7

HI,

No problem if you allow the drive to sleep.

System Preferences/Energy Saver.

If it's a laptop, make sure it's connected to a power source, not just on battery.








Carolyn 🙂

Hello theBman

No

It uses energy

No

Set the display to sleep after 10 minutes or use a Hot Corner before you get up, it will prolong display life, help prevent image persistence and save energy.

Dennis

No, not a problem with modern Macs if you wish to do so. But be aware of point / counterpoints. As always there are trade offs. Some different issues with desktops & laptops (batteries) though.

Basically it is your choice. If you are going to be away for many hours or days, why not turn it off? If you are coming right back to the computer to use again in minutes or an hour or two (or someone else is) leaving it on might make sense.

PRO: convenience, always available, quick wake up
CONS: powered device always uses power Security issues with an unattended powered computer.

hardware standpoint:
PRO: Some argue leaving hard drives on & spinning lessen stress on mechanical moving parts (heads) and maintains lubrication on bearings. Less voltage transients on components, power supply etc by avoiding startup demands. Thermal stress of heating & cooling of components is less by leaving it on. Older CRTs (I should think LCD less so) definitely hit by thermal stress & hard drives as well for many on & off cycles.

CONS: Alway on does use energy. Always on units subject to outside voltage and power spikes & outages (unless you have UPS) with power grid problems and thunderstorms. Always on means heat, and constant air flow cooling wear & tear on fan motors, and constant introduction of dust & dirt with air drawn in. Energy Star SLEEP functions should lessen both power consumption and dust & dirt accumulation. Dust drawn into or over electronic components are often attracted by static charges and accumulate like a coating on components and more of a problem with Always on devices.

My G5 has been running continuously for 3 1/2 years (except for power failures). It seems to be fine. Maybe it will die earlier than one that is continually turned on when you want to use it and turned off immediately afterwards, but as long as mine will make it the 4 years I keep one, I'm happy.

I'm getting ready to replace it with a new 27" iMac.

theBman wrote:
Just curious, Is there any problem with letting Macs run 24/7?

It would be good to clarify what you mean by "run." If you mean running without sleeping, then the Pros and Cons above apply. But if you mean leaving it powered up but fully sleeping during inactivity (not just display or drive sleep), I don't see a problem with that at all.

star-fish wrote:
It's a good idea to shut down once a day to reduce possible damage to the CPU.

Source for this claim? What possible damage could that be? It's far more common for people to say you'll damage the hardware if you cycle it, that it's better to keep them running at a constant temperature.

There certainly isn't damage happening to the thousands of us Mac users who don't shut down for weeks.

It's no problem, just turn the setting off that puts your harddrive to sleep. It's what I always do with my computers - even my macbook. It helps extend the life of the harddrive. It provably doesn't help with energy savings though.

If you want to do it, go to:

System Preferences - Energy Saver - Uncheck the book next to "Put hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" and you're done!

star-fish wrote:
It's a good idea to shut down once a day to reduce possible damage to the CPU.

Well, honestly I am not certain about that. However, I do know that restarting your mac every so often can really improve system performance. Trust me, I have seen it's effects first hand.

I've run mine continuously for over 3 years, only turning it off to add ram, and when on vacation, and the odd power outage. No problems, knock on wood. In energy saver settings I have default checked normally if not doing something where I need to make sure the computer doesn't sleep. Otherwise, the screen goes to saver in a couple of minutes and it and the computer go to full sleep a few minutes after that. Default setting includes stopping the HD from spinning when possible.

It's a good idea to shut down once a day to reduce possible damage to the CPU.