Which is Better: Shut Down or Sleep Mode?

[monkfailz]

I am always sitting at my pc. I pretty much live at my pc. So my pc is pretty much always on. (I like saying "pretty much".) Then when I feel I need a break from staring at my computer monitor all day, I play a video (a movie or tv show mkv most likely tv show mkv) in VLC media player. And after the video finishes playing and my computer pc detects inactivity say after about 15-30 minutes of inactivity detected, it puts itself into Sleep mode.

Is this alright to do this? Is Sleep mode the same as Shutting down your PC via the power option in Start menu? Or is it better to completely shut down/power down your PC?

The only time I really shut down my pc is to clean out the case, take my can of compressed air and blast out all the dust balls that's been living inside for so long. Which I need to do right now lol.

Also you should give your a computer a break sometimes and let it rest.
Let your computer rest sometimes (put it in Sleep mode or shut it down) from being on all the damn time. Let the thing rest!
I say about at least 15 minutes in Sleep mode (or shut down completely) should be enough to let your computer components rest.

Anyways, which is better for your pc: Shut down or Sleep mode? Or are they pretty much the same thing? Is there no difference other than your PC has to boot up (shut down option) which our PCs literally takes no time to do now (in my other thread "How fast does your PC boot up?")

[marulol]

i've always heard that starting and shutting down your pc is hard on computer components. I have no idea if that is true or if that's just a myth. But I leave my computer on all the time. I only turn off my monitor.

[VinceVega]

I always use both. Sleep when under the week and shutdown on sunday to monday.
The power consumption of running the PC in sleep every night, while small, is not nothing.

But i always shutdown if i know i won't be using the pc for more than 8 hours.

Edit: Sleepmode has the added danger if you have powerspikes. I never have them but if you life in an area with older infrastructure...

[Unlimited Power]

I always shut down the computer before going to bed. Why leave it up? Takes about half a minute to reach the desktop anyway.

[Nerph-]

I always shut down when I'm not using it, don't see the point of it being on when I'm asleep or out and about.

[Strawberry]

I always shut down when I'm not using it, don't see the point of it being on when I'm asleep or out and about.

My PC is always on. It's never ever off.
I use it as a Plex server and also mine with it. It must stay on.

[Nerph-]

My PC is always on. It's never ever off.
I use it as a Plex server and also mine with it. It must stay on.

I have a linux server running plex, which I also leave on 24/7. But my normal gaming/work computer I don't leave on unless I'm actively using it.

[Boddhi]

i've always heard that starting and shutting down your pc is hard on computer components. I have no idea if that is true or if that's just a myth. But I leave my computer on all the time. I only turn off my monitor.

Jesus christ, what an energy waste because of such a stupid belief. That's like believing the computer has to work harder the fuller the hard drive is.

Personally i don't have any auto sleep mode stuff enabled, i switch the computer on when i want to use and switch off (completely) when i won't use it for more than an hour. I got a modern PC, i just takes 10 seconds to be completely booted up.

[Strawberry]

I have a linux server running plex, which I also leave on 24/7. But my normal gaming/work computer I don't leave on unless I'm actively using it.

How does it manage burning subtitles? On my PC, burning subtitles uses 100% of 4.8ghz (all core) 9900k. High bit movies hang up after a couple of minutes and it's really annoying. I suspect it's because the CPU is overloaded.
I don't use burning subtitles often, only when subs are lagging and there's no offset option.
I have no idea why such high CPU usage when burning subtitles. If I turn that on CPU usage goes down to almonst nothing and the movies don't hang up.

[Nerph-]

How does it manage burning subtitles? On my PC, burning subtitles uses 100% of 4.8ghz (all core) 9900k. High bit movies hang up after a couple of minutes and it's really annoying. I suspect it's because the CPU is overloaded.
I don't use burning subtitles often, only when subs are lagging and there's no offset option.
I have no idea why such high CPU usage when burning subtitles. If I turn that on CPU usage goes down to almonst nothing and the movies don't hang up.

I've never tried that so can't say, but it does sound mighty odd.

[Daedius]

My PC sometimes stalls on boot up, even if it just takes 15 or so seconds otherwise... so I just use sleep mode. I could easily fix it swapping out the boot drive using another for the OS but I cba.

[Temp name]

i've always heard that starting and shutting down your pc is hard on computer components. I have no idea if that is true or if that's just a myth. But I leave my computer on all the time. I only turn off my monitor.

It's a myth.
Shutting it down once in a while is actually pretty healthy since it allows your PC to clear out RAM

[caninepawprints]

I always shut down my computer if I'm not going to be using it for more than a couple of hours. When I use Sleep Mode, Windows automatically wakes it up periodically, so putting it to sleep doesn't work well for me.

[DarkAmbient]

Sleep it during the day when I might need it, otherwise shut down. Except when I accidentally hit restart, that's always annoying.

[chazus]

Jesus christ, what an energy waste because of such a stupid belief. That's like believing the computer has to work harder the fuller the hard drive is.

It really doesn't use much energy at all so it's not really a waste. People generally throw away more money in leftover food than power on an unused computer.

Also, while a computer doesn't work 'harder' the fuller a drive is, it definitely can and will slow down, especially with SSD's that are nearly full. So.. yeah thats kinda true.

It's a myth.
Shutting it down once in a while is actually pretty healthy since it allows your PC to clear out RAM

It is and isn't. These days, it really doesn't matter, but systems from the 90s and early 2000s actually the hardware wasn't as robust, and I have definitely handled a lot of systems that literally crapped themselves on startup powering.

I think it should also be worth mentioning again and again... By default clicking 'shut down' doesn't shut down anymore, and doesn't go through the process of clearing cache, ram, and the like. Thanks fast boot.

[kranur]

Either is fine ... I personally use mostly the Sleep set to 2-3 mins because I tend to leave my PC a few times and while it takes only like 15 sec to boot, I prefer to have my stuff open.
While the cost may not be high to have it open all then time (maybe around 8 euros per month), I find it too distracting since I have pretty much everything RGB.

As far as components breaking from powering it on and off ... nah .. really these days the only things spinning are the fans.

[potis]

Sleep mode is a pointless leftover from 15 years ago, aka pre-ssd period.

Also for me its the common denominator for RAM failure, in multiple cases i have experienced.

[RadasNoir]

I tend to leave my computer on during the entire day, and put it to sleep if I know I'm going to be away from it for an extended period of time, like when I go to work. I only shut it down when I go to bed.

No doubt people more computer-savvy than me will correct me, but while I don't think it's necessarily "bad" to shut your computer down, I do think it's healthy to put it to sleep from time to time. Kinda like the human body, I think there's certain types of maintenance that the computer can only do while it's sleeping and not fully turned off.

[SinR]

My home computer I keep on all day, Monitor set to go off after 15min, otherwise turn it off at night unless I'm downloading a game at 5mbit/s (#RuralAmerica)

I really don't see the need for Sleep Mode

[Temp name]

It is and isn't. These days, it really doesn't matter, but systems from the 90s and early 2000s actually the hardware wasn't as robust, and I have definitely handled a lot of systems that literally crapped themselves on startup powering.

I think it should also be worth mentioning again and again... By default clicking 'shut down' doesn't shut down anymore, and doesn't go through the process of clearing cache, ram, and the like. Thanks fast boot.

There's a reason I turn off fast boot myself.. I can afford to take the extra 10 seconds or whatever to actually turn my PC all the way off.