If we have a computer with it's sole purpose to run Seti is the Boinc program the best one? Years ago I remember they had different programs that would run in the background (sans screensaver) and were a lot faster.
So if I don't care about the screensaver what is the best way to use my computer?

It all depends on what the computer has for brains.
A basic CPU only installation will run quite well, just turn off the screensaver and it will be better.
If you've got a "half decent" GPU then that will be far better than the CPU on its own.
The next step up is to run the "optimised" applications - these days there is a user friendly "installer" that will do most of the hard work of installing and basic configuring for you.
From there on its join us "nutters" in "Number Crunching" and tune the optimised installation to get to some quite heady heights.

I would do one step at a time, get it working on the "stock" applications, just turning off the screen saver, then move on one step at a time - that way if anything goes wrong you only have to look back one step not stand there trying to work out where what and when is mass of confusion....

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?