5 ms·

Ask HN: Multiple Monitors vs. One Big Screen

6 points by plg 8y ago

I’ve always bought 27” iMacs (or used 27” or larger external displays on GNU/Linux boxes) but I see setups with two side-by-side monitors (or every three) everywhere. What are the pros & cons? Don’t the bezels drive you nuts? Does anyone use a vertically oriented monitor? (Portrait mode). (Side note: remember that CRT monitor from the 1990s for use with the original Mac that you could rotate to landscape or portrait mode?)

alganet 8y ago
More than one external monitor is overkill. Might be useful just for gaming (racing sims, perhaps). I use two setups: Work setup: 13" laptop and 24" monitor in portrait. External monitor displays only tmux in full screen. Home setup: 15" laptop and 29" monitor in landscape. The monitor is the de facto main screen, I only use the laptop one for recording or browsing while gaming. I'm intrigued by super wide monitors. My desk currently doesn't fit one though.
- chungleong 8y ago
  I have a ultra-wide screen and I sort of regret buying it. I think it messes up my sleeping pattern. Artificial light flooding one's entire field of visual probably ain't healthy in the evening hours.
verdverm 8y ago
I use a 43" 4k TV as my second screen. Once I tried large format 4k, never went back. Amazing how much more code you can see at once.
- return0 8y ago
  How is the big TV as a monitor? do you keep it on your desk or further behind?
WaltPurvis 8y ago
I use three 4K monitors. The middle one is portrait mode, which is great for writing code and preferable for reading articles/documents, which accounts for 90%+ of what I do every day. The two monitors on either side are landscape mode and I use them for displaying the UI of apps I'm working on, Inspect & other Chrome developer tools, API docs, etc. The middle monitor runs at 1080*1920 resolution (because I'm old and that's the best combination of comfort and crisp text for my eyes) while the two side ones are 2560x1440. The bezels are completely irrelevant; I never notice them at all.
d-sc 8y ago
It’s mostly personal preference. I prefer two identical monitors next to each other which works well for multitasking with two different applications, eg IDE + safari. In this setup, the bezels help separate the contexts for each application. However two monitors don’t work as well for one single application spanning between them, eg giant Minecraft.
raindropm 8y ago
IMO the physical separation of multiple monitors helps with cognitive load. Work GREAT when you need to look at some kind of references often. You don't need to think about window switching at all, you just know what you need is there, ready for you to glance at anytime. Also work great with program that consists of multiple panels e.g. After Effects/Premiere Pro. You can do that with one big screen and a good window manager, but the effect may not be the same. One extra monitor is good enough for most people, but to each his own. The downside is of course, it's not the most minimal setup. But when you're in the zone, you don't care about the aesthetic anyway.
frnkshin 8y ago
I think it's always better to have just one big screen. Using multiple monitors come as a merit when someone needs to have multiple windows displayed at all times. I think one way you can make this by using a single screen is to use a tiling windows manager.
sloaken 8y ago
I have always had 2 monitors. At work I use 3. You can get the same effect with a BIG monitor and knowing the keys to manipulate the window frames. Psychologically, it is common to 'Max' the window. With one big monitor it becomes an issue. But like I said above it is more of a management issue. If you can sub your screen into 4, not overlapped windows, without much work, then one big one can work. The bezels do not bother me, usually because I usually do not have a window spanning 2 monitors. I have set up a monitor vertical. Typically when doing 'new' code, or writing a document. Not so much when debugging or editing. And it is usually just one of the monitors. Other(s) are set normally.
marketgod 8y ago
How about both? The QM49F and there is a Dell version,P4317Q, which works well also. You can have multiple (up to 4 inputs) and 1 big screen. It works for me. I also have another monitor connected so I can look at code vertically, best of both worlds. See the other thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939
- antongribok 8y ago
  Agreed, one large 4k monitor is the way to go for me as well. As I posted in that other thread... When working, I typically split it into thirds (so mostly portrait mode for each application). And this is the key advantage for me: With multiple monitors, you're confined into smaller, "hard-coded" boxes that can't be changed. With a single large screen you have much more flexibility.
elamje 8y ago
I definitely like 1 big monitor. My company recently went from 2 27” inchers at each desk to 1 34” curved monitor. I like the 34” much better, since there aren’t bezels anymore!
karmakaze 8y ago
At work, I use a 27" 4k display front-and-center with a 15" MBP on the side (makes Slack less noticeable). At home, I've been using a 28" 4k display with sometimes a laptop display on the side (other times just a desktop driving the display). As an experiment, I just ordered an LG 43UD79-B (43" IPS monitor) to replace my 28" and also serve as my entertainment. Previously I had a 32" TV and a 50" in another room. I got a lot of good feedback[0]. I'll try mostly just using the middle of the screen with a window manager that makes it easy to do. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939

6 points by plg 8y ago

alganet 8y ago

More than one external monitor is overkill. Might be useful just for gaming (racing sims, perhaps). I use two setups: Work setup: 13" laptop and 24" monitor in portrait. External monitor displays only tmux in full screen. Home setup: 15" laptop and 29" monitor in landscape. The monitor is the de facto main screen, I only use the laptop one for recording or browsing while gaming. I'm intrigued by super wide monitors. My desk currently doesn't fit one though.

chungleong 8y ago
I have a ultra-wide screen and I sort of regret buying it. I think it messes up my sleeping pattern. Artificial light flooding one's entire field of visual probably ain't healthy in the evening hours.

verdverm 8y ago

I use a 43" 4k TV as my second screen. Once I tried large format 4k, never went back. Amazing how much more code you can see at once.

return0 8y ago
How is the big TV as a monitor? do you keep it on your desk or further behind?

WaltPurvis 8y ago

I use three 4K monitors. The middle one is portrait mode, which is great for writing code and preferable for reading articles/documents, which accounts for 90%+ of what I do every day. The two monitors on either side are landscape mode and I use them for displaying the UI of apps I'm working on, Inspect & other Chrome developer tools, API docs, etc. The middle monitor runs at 1080*1920 resolution (because I'm old and that's the best combination of comfort and crisp text for my eyes) while the two side ones are 2560x1440. The bezels are completely irrelevant; I never notice them at all.

d-sc 8y ago

It’s mostly personal preference. I prefer two identical monitors next to each other which works well for multitasking with two different applications, eg IDE + safari. In this setup, the bezels help separate the contexts for each application. However two monitors don’t work as well for one single application spanning between them, eg giant Minecraft.

raindropm 8y ago

IMO the physical separation of multiple monitors helps with cognitive load. Work GREAT when you need to look at some kind of references often. You don't need to think about window switching at all, you just know what you need is there, ready for you to glance at anytime. Also work great with program that consists of multiple panels e.g. After Effects/Premiere Pro. You can do that with one big screen and a good window manager, but the effect may not be the same. One extra monitor is good enough for most people, but to each his own. The downside is of course, it's not the most minimal setup. But when you're in the zone, you don't care about the aesthetic anyway.

frnkshin 8y ago

I think it's always better to have just one big screen. Using multiple monitors come as a merit when someone needs to have multiple windows displayed at all times. I think one way you can make this by using a single screen is to use a tiling windows manager.

sloaken 8y ago

I have always had 2 monitors. At work I use 3. You can get the same effect with a BIG monitor and knowing the keys to manipulate the window frames. Psychologically, it is common to 'Max' the window. With one big monitor it becomes an issue. But like I said above it is more of a management issue. If you can sub your screen into 4, not overlapped windows, without much work, then one big one can work. The bezels do not bother me, usually because I usually do not have a window spanning 2 monitors. I have set up a monitor vertical. Typically when doing 'new' code, or writing a document. Not so much when debugging or editing. And it is usually just one of the monitors. Other(s) are set normally.

marketgod 8y ago

How about both? The QM49F and there is a Dell version,P4317Q, which works well also. You can have multiple (up to 4 inputs) and 1 big screen. It works for me. I also have another monitor connected so I can look at code vertically, best of both worlds. See the other thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939

antongribok 8y ago
Agreed, one large 4k monitor is the way to go for me as well. As I posted in that other thread... When working, I typically split it into thirds (so mostly portrait mode for each application). And this is the key advantage for me: With multiple monitors, you're confined into smaller, "hard-coded" boxes that can't be changed. With a single large screen you have much more flexibility.

elamje 8y ago

I definitely like 1 big monitor. My company recently went from 2 27” inchers at each desk to 1 34” curved monitor. I like the 34” much better, since there aren’t bezels anymore!

karmakaze 8y ago

At work, I use a 27" 4k display front-and-center with a 15" MBP on the side (makes Slack less noticeable). At home, I've been using a 28" 4k display with sometimes a laptop display on the side (other times just a desktop driving the display). As an experiment, I just ordered an LG 43UD79-B (43" IPS monitor) to replace my 28" and also serve as my entertainment. Previously I had a 32" TV and a 50" in another room. I got a lot of good feedback[0]. I'll try mostly just using the middle of the screen with a window manager that makes it easy to do. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19540939