These days screensavers don’t offer the same protection as they used to in the past, when they indeed saved your screen from something known as “image burn-in”. On particular kinds of computer screens, an extended, non-moving image would actually be burned into the screen if it was left on and no screensaver was used to replace the image. Today as the technology in computer and handheld screens has been sophisticated, this kind of ‘screen burn’ has become rare, and so, you may wonder, why to use a screensaver?
Pros and Cons of Using a Screensaver
Pros
No matter what disadvantages they have screensavers have been popular for a reason – they can be extremely entertaining. They come in a range from paradisiacal photographs to slideshows to story-telling animations, and so, there is something for everyone. The screensavers can even serve as decorations and festivity during holidays or can just add life and colors to a room by featuring just a virtual fireplace for example on the screen.
Moreover you can have password-protected screensavers so that no one can access your computer once the screensaver starts. Some screensavers can even perform a useful task of scanning of your hard drive for malware or participating in a distributed computing project, whereas some others may even be educational or informative for example, offering news headlines.
Cons
If you are mainly concerned about either longevity of your screen or conservation of energy, the best way to “protect your screen” is to switch it off. Turning your screen off either automatically or manually after a stipulated time saves power and prolongs the life of the device.
In addition, whenever a screensaver is used, a particular amount of processing power (CPU) and memory (RAM) is brought into use to create images on the screen. The amount depends on the kind of screensaver; for example, a complex, animated or 3D-rendered screensaver will use considerably more resources than an uncomplicated slideshow of images. However, this is becoming less of a worry since modern computers are getting increasingly efficient and powerful in their usage of energy.
It’s Up To You
Whether to use a screensaver or not totally depends on what you think about it. While its original purpose has a bit lost during this age, it is still a fantastic way to personalize your computer, like other desktop enhancements like wallpapers.
To get the best of both worlds, you can merge your screensaver with powerful energy management settings. You could make use of a screensaver for short term inactivity and then let your computer turn off the screen for longer periods of inactivity.
All in all, a great screensaver can make your computer look fun and do other useful tasks too. So you should decide whether to use it or not.
