Screen savers (XP2 Pro Box)

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I’m not sure where to post this question but since it concerns the software side of a system, this seems a good spot!

Why are screen savers so hard on a system’s performance? I have Marine Aquarium which seems to be a pleasant thing to have going when I am not playing on my computer but it causes some problems. When I click on it to halt the screen saver, then my desktop has to take a long time to appear. I have plenty of RAM available so that’s not an issue. Screen savers have always been notorious for trouble and I was curious why this is so? And is there any way around the problem?

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A screen saver does two things, each of which uses resources (memory, processor capacity):

1) It monitors keyboard and mouse usage frequently to see if the user did anything and the screen saver should be suspended. The overhead is relatively modest.

2) It draws something on the screen. The “cuter” the screen saver is, the more resources this takes. A simple screen saver such as “Blank”, which merely puts up a black screen, uses relatively little overhead, and causes few or no problems. But many screen savers use advanced graphics (and sometimes sound) which use a considerable percentage of processor time. This may conflict with other processes running on your PC.

Since most monitors have a function to go into standby or to turn themselves off after a period of no keyboard or mouse activity, there is no real need for using a screen saver. They are just for fun…

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Hi Hans and DaveA

They are just for fun…
Yes indeed that is exactly why I wanted to use it…..

I bet in my case it is the CPU that is probably letting me down? because I have 1G of RAM. According to Belarc Advisor – I have an Intel Celeron Processor 1.00 GHZ – 32 Kb of primary memory cache and 128 Kb secondary memory cache. I probably won’t use the screen saver much because the aggravation it causes is greater than the pleasure!

Thanks for the replies!

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1 GB of RAM is ample for Windows XP, but a 1 GHz Celeron processor might be a bit underpowered for graphics-intensive applications.

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Hans – I think I’ll just put this screen saver away until I get a new “super duper” computer some point later in my life! And then hope that the O/S recognizes the software! Fortunately this piece of software didn’t cost much.

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Rather than using a Screensaver, I use Screen Wallpaper, which gives me a really nice desktop background, as opposed to the drab Windows, single color default.

Check out the pics at WEBSHOTS

Sample of a corner of my current desktop:

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Do they still offer their screen saver? – I can’t check until I get home – my workplace has clamped down as to which sites we can visit. Below is the version I’m using.

The difference between Genius and Stupidity:
A Genius knows their limits.
- Albert Einstein

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ED,
Yes, they still offer screensaver options.
The current version is at 2.5.1.7008. From 7/3/06

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Double drat – now I gotta jump thru a couple of hoops to get the newer version on my work machine

The difference between Genius and Stupidity:
A Genius knows their limits.
- Albert Einstein

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[indent]

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now I gotta jump thru a couple of hoops to get the newer version on my work machine

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[/indent]Don’t! My version is older than yours and does its thing alright. I bet a newer version would be a heavier burden with no significant improvement overall.

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I do not notice any heavier resource consumption in the latest release on the one PC where I have this installed. I think it is insignificant if you are just using it to switch wallpaper. Anything else I don’t know.

Joe

--Joe

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(Edited by joeperez on 20-Feb-07 15:17. added link to update page)

I think if you go to Webshots – Software Updates the current version is 2.5.1.7009. I have no idea what the difference is . I quit using this when I got a new PC. Just didn’t feel like loading it and my wife did not insist.

Joe

--Joe

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Right you are, Joe.
I just updated it but haven’t really seen any noticeable change between V7008 and 7009. Judging by the Version number change, it couldn’t have been anything huge.

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Since both you and Joe agree there isn’t much overhead to this program, I’ll “look” into it! Thanks for the additional information!

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Hi Bob,

Thanks for the pointer to an alternate pepper-upper to the desktop. My only concern is how intensive is its use of resources? As you see, I seem to be lacking fire power and I don’t want something that will bog down my computer.

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I think you’ll find that Webshots is insignificant in its resource usage when all you are doing is rotating wallpaper. As long as your rotation period is reasonable (every 10 – 15 minutes) I doubt you’ll notice the impact.

Joe

--Joe

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Skitterbug,

It looks like Webshots only uses about 3.6K, so no big deal there.

As Joe says I have it set to rotate on a daily basis rather on an hourly change. I’ve lost track of how many different scenes I have DL and saved. Just about any subject too. Start a search for whatever you like and sure enough, there seems to be a good selection.

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I finally downloaded Webshots (build 2.5.1.7009) and have it running using only the “desktop wallpaper” feature! I like what I see and I haven’t noticed any problems with system performance so far!

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I can’t resist a little plug. Back when I was employed at KET (Kentucky Educational Television Network) I helped get a little screensaver project started. I found the software and got it working in my “lab” first to give it a solid test. It was then taken over by some of the folks in television production or whatever their division is, and some publicly available screensavers have been made available on the KET web site ever since, of course.

They are all scenes from around our Commonwealth and the photos they used are beautiful. If you go here and download one, I think you’ll go back for the others.

KET Screen Savers

Footnote: The company that produced the software was called Midnight Blue Software and unfortunately they no longer exist. Their software was called SST (Screensaver Toolkit). They also produced what was, at the time, a very good graphics viewer called SuperJPG. After I “retired” I bought my own personal copies of both and I still use them all these years later. Such a shame when a good software group doesn’t make a go of it.

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We traveled through your state of Kentucky the first week of February! I think the scenery is beautiful even in the middle of winter! I’ll take a look at the screensavers you recommend and I certainly appreciate your info regarding the beginnings of good software products!

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If you EVER come anywhere near Lexington, you and your mister better call me and get together for a burger and cup of coffee at Cracker Barrel or someplace like that!

Talking about winter scenery. On my daily route to see Billie, I pass a number of thoroughbred horse farms, not the least of which is Ramsey Farm along US 68 from Lexington to Wilmore, Kentucky. For the past two weeks, in one of the Ramsey pastures, there have been at least three mares with their young foals, frolicking in the field. Unfortunately, the roadway has no shoulders right in that stretch, so I am unable to pull over and watch the fun. This morning, one of the moms was nursing her baby and the other two pairs were running around, as if practicing. The beauty of God’s work is unbelievable!

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You can bet Dennis and I would be tickled to get the chance to meet you! I’ve been trying to get him to take a day or two off so we could visit the horse park there in Lexington! Spring would be a grand time since that’s when the foals seem to be most plentiful! You are right, it is grand fun to watch them play. Thanks for the invitation – hot coffee and burgers would be fun to share!

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Al,
Down loaded a couple those screen savers and they are neat.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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I concur with Hans, and yes “Marine Aquarium ” uses a LOT of memory, disk action and CPU resources. It has always been slow about returning to the desktop. The longer it has run, the longer it will take to restore the desktop.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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