Shutting Down PC vs Standby to save powerand wear & tear

Hi All,
I've heard some people say it's better to let your PC go into standby
rather than manually shutting it down if the PC won't be used for a
long period of time. I usually shut my PC down manually to save on
electricity as well as wear & tear on the PCs fan & hard drives
although I know the HDs would be spared w/standby mode. Some say that
the act of shutting down and booting back up later puts stress on the
PC and therefore its better to let the PC run and use standby. Also,
what's the difference between "sleep" mode and "standby"?

Is that true regarding the stress put on the PC at startup? If so,
what is it that's stressed and/or why else is it stressful? Thanks!
.

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