double monitor setups?

i'm curious because i want to try this. don't know which size i should get, i don't know what quality or brands

should i be looking for hd or don't bother

 

 

you can use pretty much any monitor for a second one, but i think the more they are similar to each other the the more convenient it is.

 

if you are serious about 21st century computing double or triple monitoring is the way to roll.

Edited June 22, 2017 by eugene

  On 6/22/2017 at 11:15 AM, eugene said:

i think the more they are similar to each other the the more convenient it is.

For work I had a 2 screen setup with monitors that were from completely different companies and trying to match the color balance of each used to drive me nuts !

I triple monitor, we use laptops and docking stations at work with dual monitors so I just keep my laptop lid up and use it as a third screen for spotify

definitely agree that if possible you want identical monitors so the colours match. also the same size is great so you can move your cursor freely between the screens - sometimes the cursor can get 'caught'

I bought a second monitor once (1 for arrange and 1 for mixer pages) and it looked so shit next to a mac screen that it annoyed the shit out of me, couldn't even bring myself to look at it. Only do it if they are the same.

At first I thought you meant studio monitors (speakers).

I've got three, used to be three of the same 24" screen, but now I've got a 27" one in the middle. Two 27"s would be a great start if you can afford them. Once you start using multiple screens you don't know how you ever got by with just one. Even if you have different sized screens it's not so bad, you can line them up in the display settings so the cursor moves across the way it should, better to get the same model if possible though (makes it easier to get the colour calibration to be the same on them all that way, otherwise it can be a bit weird to see things change colour when you move them from one screen to the next).

 

If you're getting a 27" you'll want a 1440p one, 24" or less and 1080p is fine. This was the one I bought recently, very happy with it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M913DVG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

One thing I was considering was getting another 27" and rotating the 3rd 24" into portrait mode, and use that to do most of my reading. One problem with that is most screens have shittier viewing angles in portrait mode, so might need to get a screen that's designed specifically for rotating.

 

Another thing to consider is keeping the screens at eye level (when sitting up straight you should be looking at the centre or very slightly lower), easy enough to do with a single one, just use a book if you have nothing else; but it's more important to get a decent stand to raise them up if you've got more than one, or alternatively you could get some VESA mounting arms. I hacked together a standing desk from various Ikea bits so the screens are raised up to the correct height on a stand made from a shelf attached to the table (that BenQ I linked has good adjustable height as well, so two birds...).

 

I also split the screens into virtual desktops, general web browsing and pdfs and the likes on one, email, skype and messaging on another, music on another, work stuff on the final one. That helps keep the million different things I always have open at the same time somewhat organised (I currently have 223 tabs open in Chrome for example, welp!). All that requires a fairly beefy PC though, lots of RAM in particular. Most integrated gfx these days support up to three screens though, so you don't need much for that.

Edited June 22, 2017 by caze

I do programming and web development, and for years a dual-monitor setup (I thought) was the best way to go.

 

Now that 2K and 4K monitors are cheaper and accessible, I would suggest (depending on what you plan on using them for) getting ONE large (27"+) 4K monitor (assuming your PC/Mac can drive it at a decent refresh rate of 50/60Hz) and you'll find you get a lot more real estate from one monitor than two, especially if your work is "vertical" (programming has hundreds and thousands of lines of code... the more you can fit vertically on-screen at one saves on scrolling and wasting time).

 

I currently use a 27" 2K monitor (2560x1440) and I find I am much more productive on it than I was on dual 24" 1080P monitors.

 

You also don't need to put up with the bezels on multiple monitors breaking up the visual continuity if your apps span across them.

  On 6/22/2017 at 4:34 PM, Joyrex said:

I do programming and web development, and for years a dual-monitor setup (I thought) was the best way to go.

 

Now that 2K and 4K monitors are cheaper and accessible, I would suggest (depending on what you plan on using them for) getting ONE large (27"+) 4K monitor (assuming your PC/Mac can drive it at a decent refresh rate of 50/60Hz) and you'll find you get a lot more real estate from one monitor than two, especially if your work is "vertical" (programming has hundreds and thousands of lines of code... the more you can fit vertically on-screen at one saves on scrolling and wasting time).

 

I currently use a 27" 2K monitor (2560x1440) and I find I am much more productive on it than I was on dual 24" 1080P monitors.

 

You also don't need to put up with the bezels on multiple monitors breaking up the visual continuity if your apps span across them.

Completely agree. I also do web dev. At work I have a dual monitor setup and it's fine but a bit awkward. Some people there have 3 monitors which seems completely ridiculous. At home I have an aging iMac and I much prefer its single screen.

horizontal real estate is more important in programming imho. ideally you want to have a split to show two files side by side (being able to concentrate on two things with a flick of the eye rather than disrupting your concentration tabbing through files is more important than having to scroll slightly less). a 27" is big enough to just about accommodate that on a single screen (otherwise you need two).

I have three monitors for my work (one being the laptop screen)... I actually like having one 16:9 monitor set vertically so it's easier to read single large files of code. But yeah it's useless for trawling through multiple tabs if need be, I use the mid monitor for that. (I suppose you could split horizontally but a bit gross)

 

Anyway these are amateur numbers

 

i don't think my computer is good enough to handle even 2k. will try and look at 2 27 inch. great feedback

oh and to be clear, i wanted them not only to split ableton which is a new feature but also just internet on one and itunes on the other. i dunno if i really need anything super good looking.

  On 6/22/2017 at 6:19 PM, caze said:

horizontal real estate is more important in programming imho. ideally you want to have a split to show two files side by side (being able to concentrate on two things with a flick of the eye rather than disrupting your concentration tabbing through files is more important than having to scroll slightly less). a 27" is big enough to just about accommodate that on a single screen (otherwise you need two).

Yeah, that's a given, but just by their nature you're going to get more horizontal than vertical resolution out of any monitor, really.

Longtiem dual monitor user here. Can't imagine getting shit done at work without them. I'm sure some capitalist consulting firm did a study that found workers in my sector are 38% more exploitable on a dual than single monitor.

 

Classic Onion FYE

 

Coworker With Two Computer Screens Not Fucking Around

I've been running a triple monitor setup for a few years now, I can't stand going back to a single monitor system

 

centre monitor - Dell U3014 (2560x1600 resolution)

side monitors - Dell U2412M flipped vertically (1920x1200 resolution each)

 

I'd recommend you have a decent graphics card if you're using multiple high resolution monitors at the same time.

 

is that a Zowie? Great mice

  On 6/23/2017 at 12:37 PM, WeAreOceans said:

is that a Zowie? Great mice

Good eyes! Yeah it is, and you're correct - best tracking I've ever used on a mouse. 

with increased interest i did more research tonight and found my graphics card (laptop) can only handle 2 displays

 

does that mean i can use two monitors and put my laptop closed off to the side?

 

is it worth it to have two monitors if they are only vga? (not gaming)

  On 6/23/2017 at 4:50 AM, oscillik said:

I'd recommend you have a decent graphics card if you're using multiple high resolution monitors at the same time.

 

 

I have a simple NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 here in my pc, an I7 pc that I don't use for gaming and it works fine pushing visuals to two monitors, about 99,- euro's. 

 

Am thinking about changing my monitor setup in the future, but not sure what would be best. Apparently Renoise scales like shit on 4k monitors and I bet all the old 32 bit vst's will look like stamps on high resolution. Might be good to have an extra old monitor on lower resolution settings especially for those plugins if going the 4k route.    

  On 8/28/2017 at 7:23 AM, yek said:

with increased interest i did more research tonight and found my graphics card (laptop) can only handle 2 displays

 

does that mean i can use two monitors and put my laptop closed off to the side?

 

is it worth it to have two monitors if they are only vga? (not gaming)

 

 

^ 

Yes.

Yes, if you desperately want a dual monitor setup, VGA isn't THAT terrible, especially if you're going with a modest screen size.

Edited August 29, 2017 by Gocab

Are those ultra widescreen monitors any good?

I use one at work occasionally, but I much prefer a dual screen setup.

 

I guess it's kind of neat if you plan to use it for gaming?

Edited August 29, 2017 by Gocab

thanks gocab 

  On 8/28/2017 at 9:14 AM, Djeroek said:

 

  On 6/23/2017 at 4:50 AM, oscillik said:

I'd recommend you have a decent graphics card if you're using multiple high resolution monitors at the same time.

 

 

I have a simple NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 here in my pc, an I7 pc that I don't use for gaming and it works fine pushing visuals to two monitors, about 99,- euro's. 

 

Am thinking about changing my monitor setup in the future, but not sure what would be best. Apparently Renoise scales like shit on 4k monitors and I bet all the old 32 bit vst's will look like stamps on high resolution. Might be good to have an extra old monitor on lower resolution settings especially for those plugins if going the 4k route.    

 

 

Yeah, I should've really said a dedicated graphics card, rather than relying on Intel Integrated Graphics.

 

Older VSTs don't really scale well on my Surface, so yeah...gonna be interesting frustrating in the next few years.

 

As a side note - my setup mentioned above is at standard scaling (100%) in Windows, and is PLENTY of screen real estate.

Edited August 29, 2017 by oscillik