"Sleep" or "Shut Down"?

[NJRonbo]

I was sort of shocked when after posting on one of these
forums that I shut down my Mac Pro after each use that
someone replied that doing so was harmful to my computer.

Is this true? Am I better off putting my Mac in "sleep" mode
instead of shutting it down?

I know that on PCs, it was never a good idea to constantly
put your computer in hibernation or standby. Even I noticed
that after doing so for a few days, Windows just started acting
flaky.

...but this is OS X and Mac Pro. Perhaps I need to rethink
how I operate my hardware.

Would love to hear advice on the proper way of turning off my
computer.

Thanks!

 

[72930]

1. You don't have to bother pressing enter after each point, it is automatic in this forum...
2. Please search before posting...
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/274309/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/272369/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/251935/

 

[EricNau]

To summarize: do exactly what the manual says. If you'll be using it within a few days, put it to sleep, but if it will be sitting idle for about a week or more, shut it down.

...And don't worry, your Mac won't start acting flaky. Welcome to OS X.

 

[Sherman Homan]

I think you will find that Sleep is the most common answer.

 

[FadeToBlack]

Sleep. No need to turn it off and shut it down all the time. I used to do that when I used PC's and since I switched to the Mac, I usually just shut down if I'm gonna be gone a while. I'll also restart when there's an update that requires it.

 

[synth3tik]

I only shut down when I go out of town or if I am installing hardware.

every so often I have to restart, but this is mainly because my Firewire audio device has issues sometimes when its mad or something......

 

[NJRonbo]

Appreciate the help guys!

And Psycho, this is my typing style.