_visible command question

Hi

I understand that the following command is pretty much an on/off switch for a MC.

ActionScript Code:
[LEFT][FONT=Courier New][COLOR=#0000ff]movieclip[/COLOR].[COLOR=#0000ff]_visible[/COLOR] = [COLOR=#000080]0[/COLOR][/FONT][/LEFT]

But I was wondering; If i had a CPU intensive MC, would the “_visible = 0” command prevent the MC from being as intensive? or is it just the same as making the MC 0% alpha?

Mark