Does Wallpaper Engine Affect FPS in 2021?

For those of you who do not know, Wallpaper Engine is a popular Windows application used to create or use interactive wallpapers. 

These live, moving animations could really jazz up a desktop background with their various vibrant designs.

Sure enough, Wallpaper Engine can provide a fun background for your digital home screen, and yet you may be wondering if it will affect FPS or performance. 

The truth is, they might.

Any live wallpaper is bound to use up your GPU and CPU by default. 

Although the effect is relatively insignificant in general, there is no need to worry about it.

Does Wallpaper Engine Lower FPS?

The most common question many have asked about this application is if it will lower the computer’s frame rate or frames per second (FPS). 

This is the number of full-screen images or frames that can be displayed per second.

A high FPS is especially crucial to enjoying excellent video playbacks and a good video game performance. 

The GPU and graphics quality determine this, so you may be wondering if frame rates will be decreased when you activate Wallpaper Engine.

Technically, Wallpaper Engine has a default setting that can automatically pause or stop when other apps are run on full screen. 

This, in itself, will ensure the wallpaper does not affect your gameplay or work.

But if it is not paused, the wallpaper will take up some CPU and GPU space depending on its complexity. 

Unfortunately, this will lower your FPS, especially if you are running a high-resolution wallpaper with high settings and maximum performance.

Not to mention if you are also using other highly intense applications, including video games. 

Therefore, you can make sure that your FPS is not affected by manually setting the background to pause when other apps are used.

Also read: How to Make Your Laptop Faster for Gaming!

Does Wallpaper Engine Affect Performance?

On a related note, it is understandable to ask whether Wallpaper Engine can affect performance. 

If you are a professional gamer or working with software that involves lots of graphics, this may be something you need to know before using a live wallpaper.

You would be pleased to know that Wallpaper Engine has been optimized to affect performance as little as possible. 

The application allows you to customize the performance impact, so the short answer is no; it does not affect performance.

Most live wallpapers you can get here will not have any significant effect on your computer. 

Although, this could also depend on the specific wallpaper and how tricky its quality and animation are.

By default, the application is set to pause whenever other applications or games are maximized at a full screen. 

This setting will allow the computer to focus entirely on that application or game for optimal rendition.

One thing you can do to ensure that your performance is maximized is to configure the setting manually. 

Just look under the “Performance” tab in the settings.

In addition to the automatic pausing or stopping feature, Wallpaper Engine can also pause the live wallpaper whenever your laptop is on battery. 

It means that you can conserve battery life more efficiently.

How Much RAM Does Wallpaper Engine Use?

Because live wallpapers are interactive and animated, we can expect that it will take up more RAM than standard, still images. 

But how much RAM exactly does Wallpaper Engine use?

According to the official website, you will need at least 1024 MB to run the PC application. 

It does recommend 2048 MB for optimal performance and smoother graphics.

In terms of disk space, Wallpaper Engine requires 512 MB to be installed. 

Moreover, some users claim that the application will use up around 2% to 5% of CPU.

It will also take up some CPU, GPU, and battery life of your device when the background is active and running to render itself. 

But in most cases, the effect will be so insignificant that it is negligible.

Unless, of course, you are running a high-intensity application or software while running an ultra-high-definition wallpaper with complicated animations. 

This will deplete your RAM and battery much more quickly.

This is where the default Auto Pause feature can come in useful, so your laptop is not overworked by multiple graphics-intense software. 

You can also configure the setting, so the wallpapers are completely disabled while playing games or running other applications.

How Much CPU Does Wallpaper Engine Use?

Like we have said earlier, Wallpaper Engine can use up around 2% – 5% of your CPU.

You should note that it is from running a heavily animated wallpaper.

Some wallpapers that have crazy small particles and visuals can eat up your CPU.

These wallpapers are tremendous in size and can take much CPU power to run and animate.

But in most cases, you will not notice the CPU usage of Wallpaper Engine.

Some users reported that they even have Wallpaper Engine to run at 0% of CPU usage.

If you are experiencing high CPU usage of your Wallpaper Engine, I’d suggest you reinstall the app as suggested by the developer team here.

Is Wallpaper Engine Worth It?

In short, Yes. Wallpaper Engine is worth it if you love to tinker and get creative with your wallpaper.

In fact, more than 250,000 people said they are happy with Wallpaper Engine.

To sum up, Wallpaper Engine is a fun application that can give you exciting, animated wallpapers. 

While it does affect FPS and computer performance, said effect is more often insignificant than otherwise.

Although this does depend on the quality and complexity of the specific wallpaper, as well as the intensity of other apps you are using. 

Not to worry, because it is easy to set the application, so it pauses or stops the live animation while running other applications or games on full screen.

There you have it!

Do you use the wallpaper engine yourself?

Let us know your favorite wallpaper in the comment below!

Thanks!

About the Author
Hi, I'm Steve. I'm a proud gamer. I have been active within the gaming sphere for 30+ years. As gaming is something I enjoy very much, I want other people to enjoy it also. That is exactly why I started this blog.

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