Well I guess that all depends on how messy ones desktop is, and how fast ones system is. On my main stay system the desktop is a mess, several scripts, icons, sticky notes, widgets, docks, IM's,....needless to say a bunch of stuff I don't want to see when I'm in a gaming session. Now the HTPC...thats a different story...desktop is clean, no wallpaper (set to black color), taskbar is set to be completely transparent...so showing the desktop on it is a non issue.