Hibernate:

Hibernate option in your OS makes an image of the present RAM information on your hard disk. This lets you save a state, remembering all the applications that were running. Windows claims that hibernate even saves the mouse coordinates. When you turn on the system using power button, the data from the hard disk loads on to the RAM thus resuming all your open applications.

Advantage: You won’t have to face loss of work due to a power outage. This works even if there is no power supply to the system after hibernation.

Disadvantage: It takes much more time than sleep option to resume the work. This time is taken to load on the data to the RAM from the hard disk.

Sleep (Recommended): Sleep option on your computer switches the system to a very low power mode. The power drawn is very small. Enough to keep only the essentials running. The power supply to the RAM is on during sleep mode. RAM remembers all the present running applications. When you press a key on the keyboard or the power button. The system quickly resumes to the previously saved state.

Advantage: Sleep mode resumes the saved state very fast as compared to hibernate.

Disadvantage: Sleep mode won’t save the work if there is a power outage. Once the power supply to the RAM is lost, you loose the saved state.

Sleep mode is recommended as it is fast. Also the power outage won’t effect most of the people. Most of the desktop users use a UPS with their computer.

Recommended power settings for a desktop PC: Turn off monitor: 5 minutes, Sleep: 15 minutes, Hibernate: 60 minutes Laptops nowadays have a built in feature called hybrid hibernate. As the name suggests it is a hybrid of both hibernate and sleep.

Laptops save the state even if the battery drains. Once enough charge is restored it quickly returns to the previously saved state.

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