Extending laptop longevity - power down or standby mode?

My new XPS laptop is just a few days old and I'd like not to kill it prematurely. What is current consensus on best practice to extend useful life? Shut it down after session completed (i.e., in AM when leaving for work) or leave in standby "sleep" mode? I leave my employers Dell Latitude computer powered up in a docking station during the week but power it down for the weekend. With current electronic semiconductor technology, is there a negative aspect on longevity (inrush current, for example) by daily shutting down and powering up? TIA!

 

I dont think there would be a real correlation between longetivity. You have more ware and tare on the hard drive by shutting it down and restarting it more often than you would with standby, however, you have more ware and tare on the ram as it is left powered on in low power mode in sleep. The choice is yours. Personally, i would choose sleep for the convince.

 

I do it by the electric bill. During the day, I usually let it sleep if I know that I will be using it fairly often. I only shut down completely at night. I think that as a general rule, laptop cooling systems are poor and so they run significantly above ambient temperature. Shutting it down / then turning it on represents probably more thermal stress overall then simply putting it to sleep.

For that reason I minimize startup and shutdown. With my desktop, which runs a good deal cooler, I am less adverse to frequent shutdowns and actually prefer it. That and it is drawing a lot more electricity.

The choice is yours, however I would also note that most people probably do not keep the same pcs for much more than a few years (so why shoot for longer?). They simply become obsolete too fast!

 

I see that a forum moderator moved this thread from generic "Dell" to "Dell XPS". Although my new laptop is XPS, I purposely posted where I did since the question is generic as relates to current laptop electronics technology (not specific to XPS or even Dell, FWIW). Nonetheless, I appreciate comments thus far and welcome more based on knowledge - not just personal habits or opinions. I suspect others might be interested in the outcome.

 

i use sleep the most. it hardly uses any power, just enough to power the RAM. occasionally i'll restart to refresh windows.

i recommend not worrying so much about it. unless you spill water on, drop it, or leave it in extreme heat - your laptop shouldn't break. if it did - there would've been nothing you could've done to prevent it since the part is faulty from the start.

i say enjoy it as it is. the xps should be designed to run 24hrs day for every day of the year without failing. most computer parts are rated, in theory, to run under those conditions.

 

Well, I have had my lappy for a little while.

During the day, because I am away from home...I simply power it down.

When at home, and in the evening it go's into sleep mode!

No known issues, noticed as of yet (and I try not to look for any, if somethings gonna happen, I will deal with it then)


Cin

 

also in most cases, the mechanical parts will break way before the electrical parts will fail. take care of it physically, but don't be too anal. lol. it's only a laptop.

 

Further, the hardware is likely to become unsuitable/marginal for future OS changes and/or software before it breaks. I'm with the folks above. Use it however you want to without abusing it.

 

Before awaking my M1530 from overnight sleep mode this morning, I felt the palm rest and it was stone cold. Now that I'm using it, I can feel warmth building. In the end, I'm convinced and agree with the collective comments. Use it but don't abuse it and just enjoy my new laptop!

 

Yes, those are great words to describe using your lappy

Be good to it, and it will be good to you! Aaah....just enjoy it per se!



Cin

 

Which uses less power consumption over time? Sleep, Hibernate or Stand By?

 

Hibernate.. Because it doesn't use any power at all..

Standby and sleep are the same thing, and it uses very low power..