Monitor Question

[Hitokiri Battousai]

Is it better to physically turn off your monitor (like push the button) or let windows turn it off for you? Is there an advantage of one choice over the other?

 

[Gosharkss]

It is essentially the same thing. When the VC turns puts the monitor in power save or "OFF" mode the monitor consumes just enough power 3-5 watts in order to keep the circuit alive that detects the presence of either the H/V sync signals from the video card. This is how the monitor know to wake up when you hit a key or move the mouse.

On a TV the infra red sensor from the remote is the only circuit that consumes power in "OFF" mode. Again the sensor is needed to detect when you push the "ON" button from the remote control.

Jim Witkowski
Chief Hardware Engineer
Cornerstone / MonitorsDirect.com