The Top Ten OS X Screensavers
Screensavers have become, in a way, a relic. Today, their original use of “saving screens” from burn-in and ghosting is no longer needed with modern monitors, and screensavers have become used solely for entertainment or security purposes (lock out strangers). That having been said, they’re still enormously popular, even built-in to Mac OS X, and since there are literally hundreds of them out there I decided to share my personal list of my ten favorite ones. All Intel compatible, all top notch in coolness, quirkiness, or the relaxation factor, and ultimately gathered through what probably amounts to many hours of screensaver crawling. Enjoy!
The List
The “Warp” screensaver that comes bundled with Windows probably has the honor of being one of the most overused screensavers in existence. You know what I’m talking about, the one with the white “stars” flying past you. Well, forget about warp. Welcome to Hyperspace, originally created by Terence M. Welsh and now ported to a Universal Binary by Nick Zitzmann. Basically, it’s, uh, Warp taken to warp speed. With cool nebula like things flying past, pixel and vertex shaders for those with compatible graphics cards, and a bevy of options for changing the number of stars, speed, depth of field, field of view, and more. The result is a pretty impressive, psychadelic rush through outer space, towards somewhere deep inside your Mac’s monitor.
I think most Simpsons fanatics out there can agree that the episode, “In Marge We Trust”, ranks among the top for the entire series. In the episode, the Simpsons discovers an advertisement on TV for a Japanese detergent featuring a mascot named Mr. Sparkle who looks eerily close to Homer. Relive the craaaazy visuals with “Mr. Sparkle!” by Big Fat Stinking Software, one of the more hilarious OS X screensavers out there.
It may be nearly a month since July 4th’s fireworks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sit back and enjoy the show during your next break at work. There’s a lot of fireworks screensavers out there, but this one takes the cake for me in terms of slickness and visual spectacle. I’d recommend unchecking “Earth” option, as it looks a bit cheesy, but once that’s turned off the screensaver is pretty spectacular. Enjoy dynamic camera angles and slow-mo effects with a few checks, not to mention you don’t have to worry about mosquitos. Again, originally created by Terrance M. Welsh and now ported to a Universal Binary by Nick Zitzmann.
It’s kind of nice walking back to my room-heating Macbook in a central air-less house in 90+ degree heat to see some virtual snowflakes leisurely drifting down my screen. There’s been a lot of variants of this idea in screensaver form before, but as far as I know this is the best, and the only one working on Intel machines. Props to Dag Agren, as this is the first of two of his creations on this list. More information is here about LotsaSnow.
If Flurry hadn’t been built-in by Apple as of 10.2, I would’ve included it in this list. But it is, so it counts as an Apple screensaver. Instead, I present “Sparkly”, a QuartzComposer creation by Patrick McMichael that’s hosted on the ResExellence screensaver page. (PS, MAN I am going to rip on Resex and Bryan Lund soon.) Anyway, Sparkly features Flurry like particles of light floating around your screen, except in a much more sparklier fashion. This one’s simple, but with its clean OpenGL graphics, it looks just great.
Ok, so the last two movies sucked, but the Matrix was undoubtedly one of the coolest Sci-fi movies to come out in the 90′s. And perhaps its most iconic visuals were the scrolling green glyphs that represented the code of the Matrix’s virtual world. I wouldn’t be surprised if Matrix inspired screensavers are among the most popular screensaver searches. Anyway, I’ve tried quite a few, and my favorite has been the pretty awesome, 3D Red Pill, now ported to a Universal Binary by “twothirds” on his blog. Unlike most Matrix screensavers out there, this one features the scrolling glyphs smoothly flying towards you, not to mention a mysterious “enable spoon” option and an easter egg or two.
Continuing on, we have yet another sci-fi movie inspired screensaver. LotsaGlass (surprise, from the maker of LotsaSnow) features an amorphous, metallic/glass shaped blob that shifts into a variety of neat, blobby shapes. 10 years ago, these were state of the art graphics produced by ILM for The Abyss and Terminator 2. Now, they can be generated on your Mac in real time. Oh, and it totally kicks that crappy Windows screensaver’s ass. The one with the multi-colored shape, you know which one I’m talking about. More info here.
Soothing, relaxing, peaceful. Hills takes you on a glide through an infinite landscape of smooth hills, covered with perfectly manicured grass. If you’re looking for some escapism factor in your screensaver, Hills is highly recommended, though more advanced options to control hill heights, lighting, and grass textures would be nice. And, by the way, if you’re looking for a simple clock screensaver, Hills developer Chris Kent also created one of the best, called QuartzClocks.
This one’s an oldie, but in the surprisingly competitive field of aquarium screensavers, it can’t be touched. SereneScreen’s Marine Aquarium may be the only shareware screensaver on this list, at a rather hefty $20, but it’s also the rare screensaver with so many details and variety that it very well may end up turning your Mac into a virtual aquarium for years to come. The screensaver features a ton of options, including downloadable fish, and if you want to take a peak at how such realism is achieved, press the “w” key and witness your fish slowly swimming around as wireframes. This one’s worth a download even if you’re convinced there’s no way you’ll pay for a screensaver.
Ah, finally at the end. As with any top X list, the last spot was pretty difficult to choose, but the recently released Fenêtres Volantes handily took the spot with its simplistic but smoothly implemented idea. (Your windows drifting around as 3D objects). The options are spare, but it doesn’t matter in the end. Why? Because it’s such a cool experience exiting the screensaver and watching your windows and Desktop snap back into place, making a return to the 2D OS X GUI as disappointing as waking up from a really good dream. (But at the same time, ever more satisfying than waking up can be.)
Honorable Mentions
There’s a few more screensavers that didn’t quite make the cut but that I think deserve a mention.
Abstract Motion is a pretty beautiful and simplistic screensaver featuring slowly moving, layered, translucent and colorful shapes. (Whew, that was a mouthful.) It would’ve made the list, had it been Intel compatible.
Space Wars 3D gets a nod for being outrageously ambitious (like, think hundreds of starfighters duking it out with swooping cinematic angles ambitious). That having been said, it bites off a bit more than it can chew, with the end result looking rather simplistic and the fighters’ motions jerky and abrupt. But it’s still worth a download. (And check out the other screensavers on this site, 3D Desktop Aquarium is a solid competitor to Marine Aquarium, and Desktop Puddle is pretty neat.)
Plasma Tunnel by Fruits of Dojo has a special place in my heart, for two reasons. First, it was rather ahead of its time, and the first truly impressive screensaver for OS X. Second, it was featured alongside an old collaboration with my father, myPong, on an episode of TechTV’s The Screensavers. Yeah, there wasn’t much out for OS X then, but a solid screensaver.
Fluid is one of the most customizable and psychadelic OS X screensavers out there, producing a massive range of effects based on fluid properties, including fire, smoke, goo, goop, rain drops, chrome, and even animated hair. It’s just that I personally prefer screensavers that don’t require hours of exploration to get the right effect, but this is nevertheless pretty cool.
Electric Sheep is one that a commenter noted (see below) that I totally forgot to add. This one is really special. Requiring an internet connection, Electric Sheep uses the thousands of computers running the screensaver to generate some really cool fractal based animations, and streams it back to all of its clients. The results are really mesmerizing, and never the same. (And what a cool name for a screensaver! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you might want to pick up this book by Philip K. Dick.)
Finally, check out the other screensavers by the Skyrocket and Hyperspace creator. In particular, Solar Winds and Flocks produce some really soothing, mesmerizing effects that are worth checking out.
That’s It Folks
Hope you enjoyed these screensavers, and maybe even found a new gem or two. As always with these kinds of lists, there’s bound to be disagreements, so feel free to recommend other favorite screensavers in the comments for the benefit of this article’s readers. And if you enjoyed it, feel free to digg it, or add it to your del.icio.us bookmarks!
Comments
Up until this point, there have been 94 responses to “The Top Ten OS X Screensavers”:
Phill Ryu
Actually Paul, yeah, that one’s pretty great. Let me link it for other readers, check it out.
LotsaWater is another awesome screensaver by Dag Agren
Without your blog I would be stuck with nature patterns as my screensaver. I can’t thank you enough for what you do. Your top 10 OSX apps also changed the way i live. Much thanks
Great list Phill… can’t say I disagree with any of these! 
I think you have your Simpsons episodes confused.
The Simpsons don’t go to Japan in “In Marge We Trust”. Homer takes Bart and Lisa to the dump where they discover a box of Japanese detergent with a picture that looks eerily like Homer.
The picture disturbs Homer until the Japanese manufacturer sends him a promotional video. It reveals the Mr. Sparkle logo is the result of merging a fish with a light bulb.
Phill Ryu
Thanks Mathew, corrected. And wow, Eric, thanks for that comment, it\’s good to hear that finally my hours upon hours logged trying out Mac apps are helping you guys out.
Sorry, but I must protest this list. Soundstream didn’t even get an honorable mention. Watch here.
I just downloaded Fenêtres Volantes the other day. It’s now my favorite screensaver, taking the place of Hills, which usurped Lotsawater as my favorite. Though, it really only looks good on my work computer, which always has a ton of windows open. I usually keep everything minimized/hidden/quit when I’m not at my computer at home.
You missed the best one of all, the ultimate screensaver: Basic Black.
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/Freeware/BasicSaver.shtml
All it does is turn your screen black. It doesn’t take any CPU cycles to operate, it doesn’t turn off the backlight on LCDs, it doesn’t put a CRT into sleep mode. It just blanks the screen.
I like this because it won’t burn up your laptop’s battery with excessive CPU loads.
Don’t forget about the impressive set of screensavers available for GNU/Linux systems that are now available for Mac OS X.
A mighty nice list you’ve assembled there! Might I add one more honorable mention? Hotel Gadget (formerly known as Hotel Magritte):
http://www.zugakousaku.com/index.cgi?hotel&&en
It’s shareware ($7 US) but a worthy addition to any OS X screen saver collection IMO.
Oops, I withdraw the suggestion for Basic Black. The developer’s page says it no longer works with MacOS X 10.4. I wish someone had told me, that might have explained a few random crashes during sleep.
Nevermind.
Nice list, but where are they flying toasters?
I’ve been looking for a new screensaver. Thanks for the list! I think I’m going to have to give Mr. Sparkle a try!
What?!? No flying toasters?
This list is totally bogus without one mention of Futurismo Zugakousaku’s screensavers that blow all of these out of the water. Full Color Bossa is gorgeous.
Phill Ryu
You know, you’re right. I totally missed Futurismo’s works, but they are absolutely amazing. I may have to post again sometime simply to feature his stuff.
Great list.
I would also add Fluid:
“”What is Fluid?”, you may ask. Fluid is a screensaver for Mac OS X. But, Fluid isn’t just any screensaver. It is a realtime fluid-dynamics model that renders to your screen using wave velocity color-coding and reflections on the surface of the waves. Fluid also has its own particle engine so that it can visualize particles within the liquid medium. Add to that the ability to show the streaklines of the currents and you’ve got yourself one really intense screensaver.”
http://www.concepthouse.com/products/Fluid/
Cheers.
Phill Ryu
Ben, Fluid is already on the honorable mentions. It may’ve had a chance to crack the top ten, but it’s not a Universal Binary for one.
I’m a huge fan of SoundStream, takes your microphone input and does a kind of flurry looking real-time display.
Nice list but i have to put in a vote for Zombie.
It was a fun little screensaver with hundreds of tiny, cute 2d zombies having massive undead battles in a…uh…cute way.
http://www.macupdate.com/screenshot.php?id=13715
Problem is, the developer no longer exists and i can’t find it for download anywhere. Anyone have a copy? (meatmcspam at mac dot com)
As someone else had mentioned, I’m also wondering where The Flying Toasters are! Where are the classics?! 
Thanks a lot! I have tried some out and they are great. Once I get sick of using the built in iTunes album art (I use CoverFlow and have 100′s of albums with complete cover art) I will switch to some of these. Great article.
Flying toasters can be found in JWZ’s xscreensavers
http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/
Yes, Soundstream should have been in the list. Very funny, elegant and interactive.
All good stuff, thanks! But I’ll just put my iBook to sleep.
I’ll have to disagree. Electric Sheep is by far the best screen saver out there! There are so many times I walk past my Mac and see the Electric Sheep screensaver on and just have to stop and watch for a moment because it is so amazing.
No Fracture ? I’ve used this screensaver for years and all the tests I did (some in your list) ended up in the trash … I love its ability to fill up a folder which I then use as desktop wallpaper, its options and the fact you can play with it using the keyboard while it renders (unusual for a screensaver).
http://sticksoftware.com/software/Fracture.html
I always liked 20th Century Voyage:
What about Fracture? Beautiful fractals.
Sorry, my mistake. Missed that bit. they are working on the universal…
You have lotsofsnow and lotsofglass, but you missed probably the best mac screensaver there is, lotsofwater. It truly makes your make look amazing, just the way a mac should
Also, ImagePuzzle creates nifty collages that you can watch while they’re being created and later saved in case you wan to print or share them. I used to use that one before hills before soundstream before fluid before hotel gadget
the best screen saver for os x no longer works since 10.2 – It is called Bumps and unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be compatible with the security features released in 10.3. If anybody has success getting it working with password protection I’d love to know
Wow.. where in the holy heck is ShuffleSaver? It pulls photos from Flickr based on user, user’s favorites, group name, tags, etc. This is the one and only screensaver I will _EVER_ have on my Macs:
http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/shuffelsaver/shufflesaver.html
I still can’t believe there’s a post about the best OS X screensavers and not a single version of the Afterdark Flying Toasters is mentioned.
If you want a freeware version of the toasters, you can get it from Heiko Kretschmer’s site:
http://www.wurst-wasser.net/cgi-bin/wurst-wasser.net/wiki.pl?SoftwareProjectsOverview
I have it installed on both my MacBook Pro and my iMac G5. A classic with no frills.
I just wanted to note that Flurry was originally a third-party screensaver that Apple bought and included in Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar. It still gets my vote – I had it before Jaguar and it continues to be the coolest thing everâ„¢.
Visit http://homepage.mac.com/calumr/ if you’re interested in the origins of Flurry or want to download a version with more options than the Apple version (assumably PowerPC only).
Great list! Can I put in a word for the zen-like calm of Full Color Bossa? http://www.zugakousaku.com/index.cgi?bossa&&en
If not mentioned yet, here’s a link to another simple and elegant clock screensaver: ClockSaver.
i dunno if it’s universal but helios is the best of them all.. far and away.
I’d put Helios on the top of the list, as well. …And Electric Sheep wouldn’t be far behind, especially if you set up your own ES server.
Dude, this contest was obviously rigged.
For a totally unbiased review of this review:
http://www.losingfight.com/blog/2006/08/01/top-ten-os-x-screensavers-rigged-or-just-biased/
- Andy
call me a luddite but i like the look of film grain &
these two use film footage shot by edison 100 years ago
http://www.substation.co.nz/deadpixel.html
Electric Sheep is the best simply because it is always bringing something new and awesome. The fact that it always updates, the updates are seemlessly integrated, and the updates are almost always amazing make it always better than everything else.
I can’t count how many times people have stopped and been hypnotized by my screen when it is on.
I love Mr. Sparkle (Can you do any less?)… but I’ll never have anything on both of my machines than Sheep.
http://www.pcheese.net/software/soundstream/
Check this screensaver out, it’s awesome. it’s a lot like flurry, but it responds to ambient noise.
Hah, just found this while ego-surfing. Good job putting two of mine on the list!
Personally, out of the ones that aren’t mine, I’d like Hills a lot if it was a bit more polished (the hills could be prettier and the motion more relaxing), and while I haven’t tried Fenêtres Volantes yet, it’s a brilliant concept. I don’t mind losing out to that one.
And I’d have to agree that Futurismo Zugakousaku needs to be on the list. LotsaGlass is actually more inspired by his work than anything else (see http://arawareru.com/index.cgi?glass&shuffle).
Might I suggest Clocksaver http://clocksaver.sourceforge.net/
A simple, clean clock. I love it. (and Red Pill)
Herkamer
anyone ever heard of soundstream 1.5? def should be on this list.. its amazing
Try mixing the LotsaWater screensaver http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/lotsablankers/lotsawater.html with the Mac OS X Tiger Wallpaper called Stones:
http://www.alltimetv.com/www.WinMatrix.com/Apple_OSX_Tiger_Wallpapers/Stones.jpg
[...] Page Summary: That having been said, they’re still enormously popular, even built-in to Mac OS X, and since there are literally hundreds of them out there I decided to share my personal list of my ten favorite ones. All Intel compatible, all top notch in coolness, quirkiness, or the relaxation factor, and ultimately gathered through what probably amounts to many hours of screensaver crawling. You know what I’m talking about, the one with the white “stars” flying past you. Hills takes you on a glide through an infinite landscape of smooth hills, covered with perfectly manicured grass.read more | digg story [...]
Hi Phill,
would you know where i could get a screensaver that could do the same thing for my photos just like that itunes mosaic album art screensaver?
thanks
the all time best screensaver for mac was called “flowfazer” and it was written by Todd Rundgren and David Levine way back in like 1991 or something..but that screensaver would run all the way thru OS 9 with no updates.
wish they would do an osX version.
Hi
I’m not submitting a screensaver, but have a request:
Do you know of a way to combine still photos and wav movies in a folder and have OSX run them all as a random screensaver?
Don’t go nuts, just asking from the top of your head.
Thanks
Frank
Hi – I’ve been trying to obtain the Fluid screensaver via the developers website http://www.concepthouse.com but their server is not responding at all – I’ve tried for several days now, so am wondering if the company is still operational? I wondered if any of you guys might know the reason, and whether Fluid can be obtained elsewhere?
Cheers for any leads!
Pete
[...] [...]
[...] Abiword Quamana Butler Quicksilver Adium Fire Google Earth SCREENSAVERS…. Fenetres Volante Philryu’s top 10 screensaver’s list List of 3 great screensavers! Smultron Blender Gimp X11 is used with Gimp. Cyberduck Camino Flock NetNewsWire Lite Firefox Opera RSSOwl NewsFire ** Shareware Vienna Skype Thunderbird Thunderbird’s Mail Tiger Theme Audacity VLC Media Player Cinepaint Xcast Switch ( FREE ) Growl Aqua4iTunesMac Quizzy Live! Open Source Mac ( tons of FREEWARE!! ) Free Mac Ware –END LINKS– ABOUT THE SPEAKERS!!! [...]
[...] Looking for something interesting to grace your screen while you’re away? Here’s a list of ten great screensavers for OS X, featuring fish, Mr. Sparkle, fireworks, snowflakes, grassy hills, Matrix code and more. Click here to view. [...]
This is just awesome!
i think electric sheep is great but it requires a internet connection to be on and if u got a slow one u will never see the fractals like it happen to me so it woulda be like 6 or 7 place not more
Very great list here. A really awesome screensaver that I’d recommend is Euphoria. It is totally cool. Possibly even cooler, actually, is Flux. They are both avalible for free. Visit http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Screensavers/Euphoria-Screensaver.shtml
and
http://s.sudre.free.fr/Software/Flux.html
mmm.. nice design, I must say..
thanks a lot phill ryu
put a date on your website, always.
a search of Mac OSX screensavers led to your site – your info is stale – some of these dont work on Intel based Macs – which means I wasted my time with your offerings. ARG !
I hate wasting time.
[...] PhillRyu.com – The Top Ten OS X Screensavers (tags: osx screensaver) [...]
Here is a Free Mac Application for download that turns any Mac Screen Saver into your Desktop Background.
Check it out:
http://www.switchingtomac.com/wp/wraith2021-desktop-screen-saver-script/
[...] The included screensaver collection is pretty sparse. There are some pretty good download sites for cooler ones though. The backgrounds are similarly sparse. I assume they do this because they expect you to put your own pictures and media on there to compensate. I prefer a few from Apple themselves, and a couple listed on Phill Ryu’s top 10 list. [...]
Thanks for the list ! (and all of the contributions to it) . I used to just turn on my iTunes virtualizer cuz it blew flurry away – but now hyperspace is my new favorite! (I’m really digging plasma tunnel and the ploating windows one that I dont feel like figuring out how to spell. Thanks again for your labor of love here – my mac just got a facelift!
Are any of these awesome mac os x screensavers available for windows computers??? if so please, please, PLEASE tell me where to download them. I especially want the hyperspace one. note: i am 10 yrs. old
hey how do i put fluid screensaver from mac onto my windows pc ? is it possible ? i saw my friend use the exact same fluid screensaver on his dell laptop. but he wont tell me how he did it or what he did.
It’s so motha_f**kin, cooool!!
I’ve just released some screensavers that use an isight camera to create a bunch of effects. check out http://majicjungle.com/screensavers.html
None of them would download. 
[...] PhillRyu.com – The Top Ten OS X Screensavers (tags: osx mac screensavers list) [...]
I can’t get the Hills download anywhere. Has anyone found a working link?
Gracias por tu Lista! El “Warp” screensaver a mi me parece muy loco. Pero los otros estan muy interessante. Gracias!
[...] The Top Ten OS X Screensavers Screensavers have become, in a way, a relic. That having been said, they’re still enormously popular, even built-in to Mac OS X. All screenshots are top notch in coolness, quirkiness, or the relaxation factor, and ultimately gathered through what probably amounts to many hours of screensaver crawling. [...]
[...] The Top Ten OS X Screensavers Screensavers have become, in a way, a relic. That having been said, they’re still enormously popular, even built-in to Mac OS X. All screenshots are top notch in coolness, quirkiness, or the relaxation factor, and ultimately gathered through what probably amounts to many hours of screensaver crawling. [...]
[...] The Top Ten OS X Screensavers Screensavers have become, in a way, a relic. That having been said, they’re still enormously popular, even built-in to Mac OS X. All screenshots are top notch in coolness, quirkiness, or the relaxation factor, and ultimately gathered through what probably amounts to many hours of screensaver crawling. [...]
[...] Top 10 Mac screensavers [...]
[...] en iyi ekran koruyucular smash magazine de en iyi ekran koruyucuların listesi yapılmış , içlerinden hoşunuza gidenler mutlaka olacaktır. flickr için yapılmış çok güzel eserler var. Mac Os kullananlar da unutulmamış. [...]
Most links are now broken, maybe someone can upload them elsewhere, or by torrent (especially Sparkly that I could not found elsewhere)
Thanks
[...] read more | digg story [...]
[...] Also, check out the Mac software popular downloads at CNET. Not application but you should check out these cool screensavers. [...]
[...] Looking for something interesting to grace your screen while you’re away? Here’s a list of ten great screensavers for OS X, featuring fish, Mr. Sparkle, fireworks, snowflakes, grassy hills, Matrix code and more. Enjoy!read more | digg story Share This Related post: Annual St. George marathon set for Saturday; 6,800 runners expectedRomney Ad Campaign Picks BYU Student’s CommercialAlex Kelly; Psychiatrist Survived Bataan MarchIdeal conditions for the new wheat herbicide SumiMax’I always support the lower classes’: Jimmy Cliff’s response to his adoption by Cameron Gleams Theatre and Diamond Bookstore offer a new expression of live dramaHugh II: The Nedessey Continues… Part 1Wow! It’s RottenNeighbor.com”Tara Fowler” post.Nobel Prize season kicks off Leave a reply [...]
Are any of these available for windows????????
Looking for a screensaver, can’t for the life of me remember the name of it.
It was pre Tiger.
It would draw squares randomly on your screen kinda the same size as the background grid of this website and then when 4 squares were together they turned into a bigger square and became more opaque. And it would continue building up until the screen was covered with one big square and ended up being black.
It would then do the same thing again, but become more transparent. slowly revealling your desktop.
If anyone knows what this screen saver was called or where to get it it’d be much appreciated. I loved it.
TIA
Ben
LOL well guess what I found it 5 minutes after writing that..
it’s called Subsume and you can get it here:
http://www.subsume.com/contemplate/assembler.cgi?page=saver
Ben
[...] Screensavers, Screensavers, Screensavers Phill Ryu has a very good list of the best Mac OS X screensavers out there… [...]
Very nice Collection. The only thing I need is a Mac.
[...] under Play. Follow any responses to this post with its comments RSS feed. You can post a comment or trackback from yourblog. [...]
[...] A little while back, however, I stumbled across this list of the top ten Mac OS X screen savers. Electric sheep isn’t even listed in the top ten—it’s an honorable mention—though it should be. It’s stunning, mesmerizing and addictive, and also has the coolest title of any screen saver I’ve ever seen. What makes it truly special, though, is that it requires an internet connection; the abstract animations are generated collectively by all the computers with electric sheep installed. [...]
Paul Wilde
July 30th, 2006 at 8:14pmNo Electric Sheep?