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Gemigene Author

Level 1

8 points

Should I always leave my iMac on?

I read in other forums (MacNN, etc.) that it's a good idea to leave your iMac on all the time because OS-X does maintenance work (nightly, weekly and monthly), is this correct? By doing so, won't it wear down the computer faster (MTBF)?

Thanks,
Gemigene

iMac 17" Intel Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Aug 6, 2006 2:05 PM

25 replies

Gemigene Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 7, 2006 10:06 AM in response to JMEH

Presently, I am now in the 3rd week of allowing my
machine to go into sleep mode. I have found wake up
temps can be as low as 120 - 122 F, my average
working temps are usually between 132 - 136 F and
rarely go above 142 F even when doing extensive photo
editing. The mac is a bit quieter.

OK, I've just switched to Mac (Newbie) and I sure would like to know how you get your CPU temperature, is there a utility that does that?

Also, if the temperature exceeds a certain level, does the machine turn itself off (or give you some kind of warning)?

I lived in Central America for 4 years (3 in Costa Rica and 1 in Panama). In certain areas of Costa Rica, the temperature rises above 45C during the day but I wasn't too concerned, I had a Windoze box with a tower case, thus plenty of ventilation. I plan on moving to either Argentina, Nicaragua or Honduras (haven't made up my mind yet) and I wonder how the heat and humidity will affect my iMac.

Gemigene

iMac 17" Intel Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Marty J

Level 4

3,020 points

Aug 7, 2006 10:19 AM in response to Gemigene

There are a number of widgets such as iStat nano and iStat pro that are capable to giving temperature readings if the computer has the correct sensors.

According to Apple, the environmental tolerances of the iMac are as follows:

Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
Storage temperature: -40° to 185° F (-40° to 85° C)
Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
Maximum altitude: 10,000 feet

An external fan to cool your Mac down on hot days might be appropriate if the temperature is going to exceed these limits. As far as I know, the iMac should shut itself off if it overheats.

Dah•veed

Level 9

65,461 points

Aug 7, 2006 10:42 AM in response to Marty J

These widgets do not report temps from iMac Intel Core Duos, at least not on mine.
The only temp widget I have found that gives an Intel readout is Temperature Monitor which appears to be reporting the Hard Disk's operating temp.

oldie

Level 1

0 points

Aug 7, 2006 3:46 PM in response to Gemigene

I read in other forums (MacNN, etc.) that it's a good
idea to leave your iMac on all the time because OS-X
does maintenance work (nightly, weekly and monthly),
is this correct? By doing so, won't it wear down the
computer faster (MTBF)?

Thanks,
Gemigene

iMac 17" Intel
Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I have measured the power consumption of my Intel i Mac and found it to be 65 Watts fully operational without further attachments,except mouse and keyboard.
In sleep mode the power consumption drops to 8 Watts ( power consumed by a night light ) which is next to nothing.
So turning a computer off to save on electricity is not a consideration.
Mine is on all day and off during the night.

oldie

2006 Intel duo core IMAC 20 inch 2 Ghz 1GB Sdram Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Marty J

Level 4

3,020 points

Aug 7, 2006 3:55 PM in response to oldie

In Canada, there are 16,000,000 computers (source). If all of those computers consume 8 Watts on standy (and that's a very generous estimate), that's 128,000,000 Watts, which is a rather substantial amount of energy.

Steve M.

Level 5

4,758 points

Aug 7, 2006 3:59 PM in response to Marty J

It adds up.

noshooz

Level 1

30 points

Aug 7, 2006 7:24 PM in response to Steve M.

I log off and put mine to sleep when finished at the end of the day. I never turn it completely off unless going away from home for more than two days.

bmoraski

Level 1

140 points

Aug 8, 2006 5:49 AM in response to Dah•veed

hey dave
you getting cpu's and hard disk temps
with temp monitor ?

Dah•veed

Level 9

65,461 points

Aug 8, 2006 5:56 AM in response to bmoraski

No, just what appears to be the HD temp.

bmoraski

Level 1

140 points

Aug 8, 2006 6:01 AM in response to Dah•veed

huh
i am able to get both cpu's and disk temps
but i had to play around in preferences a bit
and i can only get one cpu temp in the dock
i open up with Sensor Overview
and System Information. both in the Window pull down menu
there are a lot of sub menus so im still playing around
let me know

Should I always leave my iMac on?