Is it ok to have screensaver on all day?

Steven J Lowe · 08-30-2003, 01:31 AM

I have my pc running from about 6am to 11pm daily and wondered if it does any harm to leave MA 2 running most of that time when the pc is not in use? ( I am in and out all day getting invoices etc) I was advised by an engineer not to leave this screensaver running all day as it is too cpu intensive? What do you people do?

Tiny Turtle · 08-30-2003, 03:00 AM

Running in unbridled mode the SS consumes quite a lot of CPU power (although it really doesn't need it). By using 16 bit color and tick the "limit framerate to..." box you should be off just fine.
Is the PC straining to cope with the SS today? How about some specs?
If you're running Win2k/XP you can press [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] once and then choose "Task Manager". on the "Performance tab you should be able to see how much your CPU has to work (run the SS in a window using the "F" key) to watch these simultaneously.

/Tiny CPU Load

feldon34 · 08-30-2003, 09:34 AM

I don't know what kind of computer, CPU, and video card you have, but some general guidelines exist.

If you change the following settings, CPU usage on the Aquarium should stay south of 20% and be plenty safe to run all the time:

Set the Aquarium to 16-bit color
Turn off Anisotropic Filtering and Antialiasing on your video card (either for the Aquarium or globally)
Make sure there is no 'status' line at the upper left. Press 'S' to remove it.
Set Limit frame rate (fps) to 58.

Steven J Lowe · 08-30-2003, 11:21 AM

My computer spec is- Xp2000 cpu,Radion 9000 128mb ddr Graphics card, two 80gb hds, 512mb ddr ram, 15in TFT ctx screen, running xp home.

feldon34 · 08-30-2003, 02:25 PM

More computer power than I have.

Steven J Lowe · 08-30-2003, 02:28 PM

Do you leave yours on screensaver?

Jav400 · 08-30-2003, 03:33 PM

In the past I have let mine run 24/7. I did that for several years without any side effects. But I have large fans and keep my system cool. Now I have it set to run for an hour and then go into sleep mode.

clifdene · 08-31-2003, 03:57 AM

I have 40% CPU usage on SS but when I go to windowed mode usage goes to 100% and the fish come to a virtual standstill. Naturally I never use it. Would the changes above correct this?

CPU AMD Athlon XP 2003 MHX ( 7.5 x 271) 2400+
Motherboard Leadtek WinFast NVIDIA N Force 2
512MB DDR PC 2700 SDRAM 160gb hard drive
Video Card ATI Radeon 9500 (R300) 128MB
Sound Card NVIDIA Sound Storm
Direct X 9.0b

Tiny Turtle · 08-31-2003, 05:40 AM

Cliffdene (Cliff?),
A Radeon 9.5k should be able to run the SS without breaking a sweat. I suspect there's something fishy (no pun intended) with your vid card drivers. Perhaps there's some sort of conflict with the onboard NForce2 graphics? I suggest you try and update the ATi drivers...

/Tiny Sweat

P.S.
Try the above recommendations out aswell, – Should look fine and run a bit cooler...

clifdene · 08-31-2003, 06:20 AM

Many thanks. Clifdene is part of my address and I live in Northern Ireland. Norman is my first name.

Tiny Turtle · 08-31-2003, 03:05 PM

Check

/TT

patscarr · 08-31-2003, 11:08 PM

I used to leave mine on 24/7 and never had any problems, but that's when the PC was in the same room as my bed and TV so it was nice to be watching TV or reading a book and look over to see the fish swimming around, and it also acted as a nightlight. Now the PC is in the office and I don't look at it unless I'm using it, so I use my all time favorite screensaver "flying through space" more often because it uses such low resources.

08-30-2003, 01:31 AM	#1
Steven J Lowe Blue Angel Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 45	Is it ok to have screensaver on all day? I have my pc running from about 6am to 11pm daily and wondered if it does any harm to leave MA 2 running most of that time when the pc is not in use? ( I am in and out all day getting invoices etc) I was advised by an engineer not to leave this screensaver running all day as it is too cpu intensive? What do you people do? Steven J Lowe

08-30-2003, 03:00 AM	#2
Tiny Turtle is pleased Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7,365	Running in unbridled mode the SS consumes quite a lot of CPU power (although it really doesn't need it). By using 16 bit color and tick the "limit framerate to..." box you should be off just fine. Is the PC straining to cope with the SS today? How about some specs? If you're running Win2k/XP you can press [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] once and then choose "Task Manager". on the "Performance tab you should be able to see how much your CPU has to work (run the SS in a window using the "F" key) to watch these simultaneously. /Tiny CPU Load Thanks to Morgan, Tiny Snapshots is up and running again with "Tiny Järvafält" as the latest addition – Go have a look and tell me what you think. "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." /Robert Oppenheimer on witnessing the first thermonuclear detonation in history.

08-30-2003, 09:34 AM	#3
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,938	I don't know what kind of computer, CPU, and video card you have, but some general guidelines exist. If you change the following settings, CPU usage on the Aquarium should stay south of 20% and be plenty safe to run all the time: Set the Aquarium to 16-bit color Turn off Anisotropic Filtering and Antialiasing on your video card (either for the Aquarium or globally) Make sure there is no 'status' line at the upper left. Press 'S' to remove it. Set Limit frame rate (fps) to 58. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

08-30-2003, 11:21 AM	#4
Steven J Lowe Blue Angel Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 45	My computer spec is- Xp2000 cpu,Radion 9000 128mb ddr Graphics card, two 80gb hds, 512mb ddr ram, 15in TFT ctx screen, running xp home. Steven J Lowe

08-30-2003, 02:25 PM	#5
feldon34 Forum Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 10,938	More computer power than I have. "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations." - George Orwell "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." - Emma Goldman

08-30-2003, 02:28 PM	#6
Steven J Lowe Blue Angel Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 45	Do you leave yours on screensaver? Steven J Lowe

08-30-2003, 03:33 PM	#7
Jav400 Administrator Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9,725	In the past I have let mine run 24/7. I did that for several years without any side effects. But I have large fans and keep my system cool. Now I have it set to run for an hour and then go into sleep mode. Michael Administrator of Inside:SereneScreen Aquarium Forum, Chatroom, Fan Site & *Gallery* DVD Collection

08-31-2003, 03:57 AM	#8
clifdene Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: UK Posts: 168	I have 40% CPU usage on SS but when I go to windowed mode usage goes to 100% and the fish come to a virtual standstill. Naturally I never use it. Would the changes above correct this? CPU AMD Athlon XP 2003 MHX ( 7.5 x 271) 2400+ Motherboard Leadtek WinFast NVIDIA N Force 2 512MB DDR PC 2700 SDRAM 160gb hard drive Video Card ATI Radeon 9500 (R300) 128MB Sound Card NVIDIA Sound Storm Direct X 9.0b

08-31-2003, 05:40 AM	#9
Tiny Turtle is pleased Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7,365	Cliffdene (Cliff?), A Radeon 9.5k should be able to run the SS without breaking a sweat. I suspect there's something fishy (no pun intended) with your vid card drivers. Perhaps there's some sort of conflict with the onboard NForce2 graphics? I suggest you try and update the ATi drivers... /Tiny Sweat P.S. Try the above recommendations out aswell, – Should look fine and run a bit cooler... Thanks to Morgan, Tiny Snapshots is up and running again with "Tiny Järvafält" as the latest addition – Go have a look and tell me what you think. "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." /Robert Oppenheimer on witnessing the first thermonuclear detonation in history.

08-31-2003, 06:20 AM	#10
clifdene Registered Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: UK Posts: 168	Many thanks. Clifdene is part of my address and I live in Northern Ireland. Norman is my first name.

08-31-2003, 03:05 PM	#11
Tiny Turtle is pleased Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7,365	Check /TT Thanks to Morgan, Tiny Snapshots is up and running again with "Tiny Järvafält" as the latest addition – Go have a look and tell me what you think. "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." /Robert Oppenheimer on witnessing the first thermonuclear detonation in history.

08-31-2003, 11:08 PM	#12
patscarr Pet Shark Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Back in Buffalo Posts: 5,455	I used to leave mine on 24/7 and never had any problems, but that's when the PC was in the same room as my bed and TV so it was nice to be watching TV or reading a book and look over to see the fish swimming around, and it also acted as a nightlight. Now the PC is in the office and I don't look at it unless I'm using it, so I use my all time favorite screensaver "flying through space" more often because it uses such low resources. Patrick