[codywalton]

I've seen several folks do this, and I'm considering it. So what is the best app to set a screensaver as the desktop? Is quartz extreme required for this to work?

cw

[oVeRmInD911]

On VersionTracker, BackLight is rated the highest (4.8). I don't think it requires QE, but it'll probably slow your computer considerably without it.

[DoctorW]

You can circumvent third party apps altogether by typing /System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background & into the Terminal. It'll take a few seconds to get going, but it will do the trick. To stop it, kill the process.

Quartz Extreme is required.