Always turn off the Imac everyday?

[Wolf1701]

That‘s exactly why I used a power meter and measured it for myself. An Intel processor rated for 65 watts uses 65 watts under full load, not when idling around.

uhm intel TDP is a little different

"
Under a steady workload at published frequency, it is TDP. However, during turbo or certain workload types such as Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (Intel® AVX) it can exceed the maximum TDP but only for a limited time , or

• Until the processor hits a thermal throttle temperature, or
• Until the processor hits a power delivery limit. "

I shut mine down too everyday, boot is within 30 seconds and my system seems to have way less problems (a friend of mine keep it in standby and after some days he must reboot because something is starting to behave strange).

I think that *all* electronic stuff could benefit from a restart once in a while.

 

[MandiMac]

uhm intel TDP is a little different
I think that *all* electronic stuff could benefit from a restart once in a while.

About TDP: A functioning, idling processor does not use anywhere near its TDP. If it's doing a workload like you're describing it is not idling.
And yes, if there are strange issues, a restart works wonders - true that!

 

[macintoshmac]

The only reason I shut off my MacBook at night is to stop the fans from spinning for those many hours that I am not working on it, and to also allow components to cool down. I live close to the equator and in a dusty environment, so I consider this more of a necessity than anything else that the computer and the battery get some rest and cool down.

I am not religious about it. In the end, it is a tool and if I need to baby it, it has no place with me. I realised I was having to worry about and baby the 2016 MBP owing to its faulty keyboard among other things that served as serious issues, so I sold it off.

It really depends on where you live, how you work. If you were running a server off that Mac, you wouldn't worry about shutting it off each night, would you?

 

[Wolf1701]

About TDP: A functioning, idling processor does not use anywhere near its TDP. If it's doing a workload like you're describing it is not idling.

yep, true, I was referring to your statement "An Intel processor rated for 65 watts uses 65 watts under full load".

 

[Wolf1701]

It really depends on where you live, how you work. If you were running a server off that Mac, you wouldn't worry about shutting it off each night, would you?

I have a mac mini as server, and you are right, I don't shut it down everyday but... once in a while... I do. No need to 'baby it' just facing the reality that machines and software are not perfect and sometimes a reboot do wonders (This is true also for network related stuff... switch, router, wifi, ...).

And, if the machine is not a server, it is so exhausting push the power button and wait 20-30 sec?

 

[macintoshmac]

I have a mac mini as server, and you are right, I don't shut it down everyday but... once in a while... I do. No need to 'baby it' just facing the reality that machines and software are not perfect and sometimes a reboot do wonders (This is true also for network related stuff... switch, router, wifi, ...).

And, if the machine is not a server, it is so exhausting push the power button and wait 20-30 sec?

Yep, if the machine is not being used as a server, I do personally recommend a shutdown just to save off some radiation in the house.

 

[Lankyman]

I use 'sleep'. The only time the iMac's get rebooted is for a software update or something similar.

 

[SalisburySam]

My iMac tends to crash a couple times a day, usually related to the VPN or Transmission. So it gets rebooted frequently. If it keeps going, I don’t typically reboot. MacOS and Norton updates do require reboots also.

 

[||\||]

SSD technology and 15-second start times have made sleep mostly irrelevant. Shut down every night.
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Sure, but isn't that mitigated by wear and tear on the computer starting up from a cold boot?

This is mostly a myth.

 

[MisterSavage]

It really depends on where you live, how you work. If you were running a server off that Mac, you wouldn't worry about shutting it off each night, would you?

Exactly what I was thinking. I never turn off my machines at work and they run for years.

 

[MandiMac]

SSD technology and 15-second start times have made sleep mostly irrelevant. Shut down every night.

While this is true from a (minimal) energy saving point, do not forget this:

However, there are a lot of housekeeping tasks that run in the background and these tasks can't run if the machine is turned off.

 

[Wolf1701]

While this is true from a (minimal) energy saving point, do not forget this:

onyx is your friend, once in a while a little maintenance should do even better than simply let the system do his basic clear log routine.

 

[||\||]

While this is true from a (minimal) energy saving point, do not forget this:

They run when the machine is on.

Not only does shutting down save energy, it reduces wear and tear on hardware.

 

[MandiMac]

onyx is your friend, once in a while a little maintenance should do even better than simply let the system do his basic clear log routine.

Not a fan of third-party cache cleaners if there is no problem with the machine personally.

 

[revmacian]

Not a fan of third-party cache cleaners if there is no problem with the machine personally.

Agreed. The system handles things on its own.. whereas third-party cache cleaners can make a mess - not a chance we should be willing to take. There is nothing wrong with keeping a BSD-based machine powered up all the time.

 

[macintoshmac]

Not a fan of third-party cache cleaners if there is no problem with the machine personally.

Agreed. The system handles things on its own.. whereas third-party cache cleaners can make a mess - not a chance we should be willing to take. There is nothing wrong with keeping a BSD-based machine powered up all the time.

I have used Onyx whenever I remember it for years now and have found it to be reliable. I trust no other than this piece of software for a cleanup and it does the job well. It is free, no ads, just a trustworthy utility for people to use. The developer has been doing this for years, dating back to the earliest versions of Mac OS X.

 

[vkd]

That‘s exactly why I used a power meter and measured it for myself. An Intel processor rated for 65 watts uses 65 watts under full load, not when idling around.

Fair enough, but what is it burning on sleep?

 

[MandiMac]

Fair enough, but what is it burning on sleep?

Standby about 1-2 watts. Idling (not standby) with the display off around 15-20 watts.

 

[iemcj]

I haven't read anything from apple that says you should turn it off.

FWIW the only time I'll ever turn off my computer is if I'm going to be taking an extended leave (4+ days), or if there's an active bug in a program that I just decide the computer needs to reboot otherwise there's really nothing to gain.

Yay saving 10 cents a week on electricity by having it off instead of in sleep mode. My time is valuable, simply typing at my keyboard and getting to work is more logical than having to reach around, press a button, wait for it to start, and THEN log in.

 

[jerwin]

This is mostly a myth.

A myth created in the days when large unix servers and big iron weren't turned off-- because actually booting them up was a half hour process.

 

[_Skyfire_]

Idling (not standby) with the display off around 15-20 watts.

Do you have a source for this? I have tried find this info but e.g. Apple only report the display on power consumption

 

[donkuok]

It is better to shutdown regularly to avoid unnecessary cooling fan spinning which may catch a lot of dust.

 

[MandiMac]

Do you have a source for this? I have tried find this info but e.g. Apple only report the display on power consumption

Well, I measured it with a power meter on my wall plug ... I have an 27-inch Late 2015 i5 with i5-6600 and an AMD Radeon M395X, if that is of any help. If I let run BOINC (CPU usage 100 %) with the display off, the iMac needs around 65 watts.

 

[vkd]

Standby about 1-2 watts. Idling (not standby) with the display off around 15-20 watts.

Sounds more like a guesstimate than factual data. What I did was I took readings of my electric meter over a set period with the iMac in sleep and then turned off to calculate the actual power burned in my house by it.

 

[MandiMac]

Sounds more like a guesstimate than factual data. What I did was I took readings of my electric meter over a set period with the iMac in sleep and then turned off to calculate the actual power burned in my house by it.

You mean a guesstimate with a power meter? See above:

Well, I measured it with a power meter on my wall plug ... I have an 27-inch Late 2015 i5 with i5-6600 and an AMD Radeon M395X, if that is of any help. If I let run BOINC (CPU usage 100 %) with the display off, the iMac needs around 65 watts.