laptop screen up or down when not in use?

I just got a new MBP 15 inch, and I was just wondering...what are the advantages/disadvantages of closing the laptop screen all the way down when you aren't using it?

With my old laptop, I kept the screen up all the time, and just turned the computer off when I wasn't using it. I kinda felt like it was better to do this, to just leave the screen up, because I didn't want to put pressure on the thin screen by moving it up and down on a daily basis.

But now that I've got a new computer, I'm wondering if it's better to close the screen down when it's not in use. Would this help conserve power in some way? Cut down on dust getting into the keyboard? Cut down on dust on the screen?

What do you guys think? Up or down when not in use, and why?

 

If you close the lid on a Macbook, it will go to sleep, unless if you have InsomniaX installed, or if you have it plugged into an external screen+keyboard.
That said, I always close my lid (with the external stuff plugged in). No problems so far after doing that for a year. It looks nicer with the lid closed, it's just a small box sitting next to your screen.

 

Closing the lid would be helpful when putting it in your backpack... lol.

Budding's answer is what I do with my MBP. Close the lid when using external monitor, and even when turning off the laptop or putting it to sleep.

 

I leave mine open all day and close it at night (sometimes leave it open). But I hardly ever turn it off. Its really just a preference thing. I like to be able to just sit down and have everything be ready (usually leave my speakers on to).

 

If you turn your computer off there's no need to keep the lid up. Maybe just for looks or something, but there's no real advantage.

So you might as well just close the lid when it's turned off.

 

I always keep mine on an M-Stand with the screen open

 

i read a couple of posts of people using an external monitor and having their MBP screen closed. Question to you - when you're in the midst of some really processor intensive work that raises the temperature of the MBP to the 70's or so... do you think there are any adverse effects of having the screen closed? I've noticed that the area near the left speaker grill gets quite hot ... wonder whether the screen coming in contact with such a hot surface for a prolonged period of time could have any adverse effects on it.

 

i usually have mine open all the time except when the computer is shut off so i can stay connected to the internet.
if youre going to keep your lid open all the time just made sure theres nothing around that can fall and damage your laptop!

 

Well I keep my laptop on all the time, so the screen is open all the time unless I'm transporting it.

As for running it while the lid is closed, I've mentioned it before, but if you play games or anything thats using the GPU, while the lid is close, your temperatures are probably gonna be higher then when the lid is open. If we didn't have the problems of video cards, you'd be fine, but since they die after lots of heat, you'd just be shortening its lifespan if you played games with the lid closed.

But yea, I always keep my lid open now, my mbp is on all the time, so I leave it open, even when using an external monitor.

 

Thanks guys, glad to hear the different opinions.

If I ever hook my laptop up to an external monitor, I think I'll probably want to leave the screen up, as from what a couple of you guys said, the computer can get pretty hot, and you don't want to mess up your screen with all the heat up against it.

 

My WiFi signal is awful down in my basement with the screen down, since the antenna for WiFi I believe is in the screen. So necessity dictates I must leave my MBP screen open.