Does standby mode really save power?

[yoda313]

Hi,

I have windowsXP SP2. I am starting to use the STANDBY mode a little more frequently (especially since I have dsl an always on internet connection). Does this mode actually save power? I mean is it a no power consumption mode? All that I have shows a little light blinking on the cpu and monitor. Is that essentially no power?

Kevin

EDIT - is it less jarring to the computer for a powerup after a standby session than a complete shutdown?

[redwudz]

If I recall correctly, it depends on your BIOS settings and your motherboard. If you use S3 and have a power supply that can supply idle current, it should just keep the RAM alive and shut down most everything else. Restart is quick, especially if you set to no password for restart.

Starting up from standby is less stressful to the system than a full power shutdown and boot. You do have to do a full shutdown occasionally to reset and update the automatic OS settings. The major power savings would be the drives shutting down, though I think just about everything on the MB is shut off. With one of my systems the CPU and PS fan shuts off and except for the blinking power light, the systems seems completely off. I'm not sure how much power it's using, but it's very little.

There is also a hibernate that stores the last settings on the HD and restarts where you left off. Never had much luck with that as it seems fairly slow to come to life.

[yoda313]

Hi,

Thanks redwudz.

I kind of thought it was something along those lines. Maybe I will start using standby more often.

Kevin