My laptop gets into standyby after 15 minutes of inactivity, and only uses 1%-45% of the processor power to save Battery powered. I also set the monitor to as dim as it can go while maintaining readablity for text and pictures.
My desktop is set to "always on" when it is on since my desktop gets it power from the wall, so battery power is not a problem unless there is a power outage.
I turn my laptop off when I'm finished using it. I have all of the power saving feature of my desktop turned on. Yes it gets it's power from the wall, but I'll do as much as I can to help reduce our energy bill.
My own laptop goes to a black screen when left unattended, and goes on standby when the battery power is low.
As for my family's desktop PC, the power saver isn't active, it's set to normal power use but the screensaver starts up about 20 minutes after inactivity.
