Is it true that computers consume less energy if left on for several hours than turned off and on several time

Question

Is it true that computers consume less energy if left on for several hours than turned off and on several time

Answer 1

That was true with old computers. It hasn't been true for about more than 10 years (I'm inclined to say 15) and frankly, nobody still has the same computer they had 10 years ago except me.

Answer 2

If your operating system is set to hibernate if a key is not pressed after a certain time, yes.  The "hibernate mode" keeps the existing data in memory, but otherwise shuts pretty much everything down, so it uses almost no power--so little it even shuts off the fan--not enough heat to need it.

But each time you turn the computer on or off, it has to start up the hard drive, etc.

Answer 3

Absolutely not.