A screen-saver which simply blanks the screen may actually speed aging of the cathode, since the electron beam is being held in cut-off and the electrons emitted by the cathode are simply "hanging around" - and can re-impact the cathode surface, causing wear.
Not all screen-savers are equally good in terms of extending tube Life In general use of a screen-saver will NOT save the electron gun cathode. IMHO the best screen-saver is one with a relatively small, moving image. The motion prevents phosphor burn, and the reduction in video helps save the cathode.
Another thing that will save the life of your monitor is to simply turn the contrast down. Most office environments are over lit, try reducing the ambient lighting in the area where you use your monitor.
Using the DPMS modes (Display Power Management System) is also very good.
DPMS ON – Unit on full power mode.
In power save, suspend or “OFF” mode the monitor consumes just enough power 3-5 watts in order to keep the circuit alive that detects the presence of either the H/V sync signals from the video card. This is how the monitor know to wake up when you hit a key or move the mouse.
On a TV the infra red sensor from the remote is the only circuit that consumes power in “OFF” mode. Again the sensor is needed to detect when you push the “ON” button from the remote control.
Jim Witkowski
Chief Hardware Engineer
Cornerstone / MonitorsDirect.com
<A HREF="http://www.monitorsdirect.com" target="_new">MonitorsDirect.com</A>