John Cellario1
Level 2 (235 points)

Q: Shut down, sleep or leave on?

I should have asked this question when I first stated using Mac's, 10 years ago but better late than never!

 

I have just had to have my graphics card replaced. Presumably all parts in the Mac have a working shelf life and once they reach that their dead. So what is recommended?

Dual G5 2.5Ghz, Mac OS X (10.5.8), 3Gb ram, 2x250Gb drives, Leopard, FCE4

Posted on Feb 17, 2012 10:59 AM

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John Cellario1

Q: Shut down, sleep or leave on?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Feb 17, 2012 11:22 AM in response to John Cellario1
    Level 10 (123,895 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 11:22 AM in response to John Cellario1

    Hi John,

     

    Unless it's going to be off for days at a time, I'd just sleep it.

     

    Two biggest problems with G5s... #1, the Lead-free solder issue, continued heating/cooling, expansion/contraction can cause the logic board to lose it's internal logic board connections.

     

    #2, G5s are great Air Cleaners, be sure to blow the dust out at least every 6 months to aid cooling, don't forget the Power Supply.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Feb 17, 2012 12:16 PM in response to John Cellario1
    Level 6 (14,279 points)
    iPad
    Feb 17, 2012 12:16 PM in response to John Cellario1

    I, usually shut my G4 down if I am going to be away for more than a full day.

    Usually, I just let it run/sleep. Been doing this with this Mac for all of the almost 10 years I have had this Mac.

    My G4 is no slouch as an an air cleaner,either. I, usually, once a year, blow all of the lint, dust and whatever else builds up inside my Mac over that time.

  • by Ramón G Castañeda,

    Ramón G Castañeda Ramón G Castañeda Feb 17, 2012 9:27 PM in response to John Cellario1
    Level 4 (1,468 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 17, 2012 9:27 PM in response to John Cellario1

    I never, ever let my computers "sleep."  The monitors, of course; but never the CPU.  If I'm going to be gone for more than a day, I just shut everything down and off.  Otherwise, I only let the displays sleep.

     

      There's just way too much grief often associated with the CPU "awakening." 

  • by Texas Mac Man,

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Feb 18, 2012 5:44 AM in response to John Cellario1
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Feb 18, 2012 5:44 AM in response to John Cellario1

    When you shutdown the Mac, leave it connected to AC power. Otherwise, the internal PRAM battery will discharge.

     

     Cheers, Tom

  • by japamac,

    japamac japamac Feb 18, 2012 6:42 AM in response to John Cellario1
    Level 7 (24,390 points)
    Feb 18, 2012 6:42 AM in response to John Cellario1

    I sleep all my machines except when leaving for more than a day or during lightning storms.

  • by whatchawearing,

    whatchawearing whatchawearing Feb 18, 2012 6:49 AM in response to John Cellario1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 18, 2012 6:49 AM in response to John Cellario1

    My machine has been on for 3 years(late2009iMac). I let my display sleep only and the only shutting down I do is is when I do a quick restart to free up disk space. I shut down once to max out my memory and once to move.