


#HIBERNATE VS SLEEP SSD WINDOWS#
Introduced in 2007 as part of Windows Vista, hybrid sleep attempts to merge the benefits of both standard sleep and hibernation. Just be prepared to wait a bit to resume working after deciding to wake up a hibernating system. As mentioned above, hibernation uses almost no energy and is therefore recommended for laptops as well as for energy-conscious desktop users. The advantage over simply shutting down the computer and restarting, however, is that a user’s data is restored to the point at which they entered hibernation, allowing the user to pick up where they left off. Depending on the amount of data in active RAM and the speed of the hard drive, this process can take as little as a few seconds all the way up to a minute or more. Hibernation uses almost no power but takes longer to start back up because data must be read from the hard drive back into RAM before the system will be usable. Unlike sleep, which keeps active data stored in RAM, hibernate writes all active data to the hard drive and then powers off the components as if the computer were fully turned off. Some laptop manufacturers have compensated for this risk by configuring the system to automatically enter hibernation mode (discussed next) if the battery nears empty. Laptop users can also use sleep, but they risk losing their unsaved data if the battery runs out.
#HIBERNATE VS SLEEP SSD PC#
As a result, sleep is primarily beneficial for desktop PC users, who have a relatively unlimited source of power from the wall. If power is lost at any time, however, data that was stored only in RAM will be lost.Ĭonsidering this risk, the benefit of sleep is that it allows a user to resume their computer almost instantly, as all the data is still in RAM and only power to the display and other components needs to be restored. Conversely, a file saved to a hard drive will not be lost in the event of a power failure.īecause sleep keeps active data stored in RAM, this means that as long as power from the battery or wall remains available, the computer can remain in a sleep state indefinitely while protecting user data that was active at the time of sleep. In other words, if a user has a file open that has not been saved to a hard drive and exists only in RAM, that file will be lost if the computer loses power. This compares to hard drives and solid state drives, which are non-volatile and do not require constant power. Active data is kept in RAM as a computer is used, but RAM is volatile, meaning that it cannot maintain data without power. Sleep turns off most computer components except for RAM. Here’s a look at each power saving option. There are several different ways that a computer can enter a low power state, and while Macs automatically manage power options by default, Windows gives users control over which method to use. Putting a computer into a low power mode while not in use can save energy, reduce noise (if you have a particularly loud device), and help increase the longevity of components. Comparing Sleep, Hibernation, and Hybrid Sleep on Windows
