Agreed. Was supplied two 4ks for my last job and just ended up using so zoomed in it wasn't even like I was using 4k monitors anymore.
My ideal setup is two 1440p monitors, but even then I tend to zoom in quite a bit.
I also had a coworker who was fine with their laptop screen. People you are finicky with these kinds of things seem to have their focus elsewhere over the actual work done.
A decently-sized 4k display allows you to have documents open next to your main work app when necessary, but equally lets you use the full real-estate when you don't want to.
With two monitors, I just found myself shoving shit on the second screen and getting distracted.
I haven't used two screens in years! A 4k single display is great for me. I can get two windows side-by-side and that is the most I ever need. If I need more than 2 windows I feel my workflow needs help.
I definitely agree that large single screens are better in some cases, but not everyone can afford a 27” 4K monitor. I can however, afford the 1080p monitor I found at the thrift store. Most of the time I use my second screen for documentation, anyways - I don’t have to interact with it heavily.
I used to have multiple 4K monitors hooked up. No more. Ended up with single large 4K monitor in landscape mode. Portrait mode makes for way too much head moving. Unless on the move never use laptop screen. My laptops are closed and hooked up to the same large 4K monitors.
I have a single 28” 4k monitor and is great. At my work desk I had 3 displays and I don’t think I appreciated how much trouble it was for me. I use multiple desktops to split my focuses, but my single monitor helps me have just enough in front of me.
It is for this reason I prefer 2 1080p monitors connected to my work laptop.
I prefer physical size for my screen real estate as opposed to jamming more onto a single display.
Scaling between different display sizes as you move windows around doesn't work well on Windows so I also prefer my laptop display to have the same resolution.
My wife takes a different approach: Giant, cheap 4k TV with windows spread out connected to her work machine.
I actually prefer having dual monitors over one big monitor. I dedicate certain tasks to certain monitors, and that divide helps me quickly find what I need.
It's also nice to have the physical separation for some reason I can't really describe. My brother has a similar setup to the one in the article, and I just never really liked using it.
Just personal preference I'm sure.
(I also fear my eyesight might be too bad to have a big monitor in 4k, with things being rather small text)
For my setup, I prefer having (bright) IPS monitors. Not too large, I'm fine with my 24" 1080p monitors.
100% agree with this. I've tried dual and triple screens over the years but what's stuck for me is a 43inch 4k monitor, its about the biggest I can go without having to move my head too much
I'm glad to see everybody seems to have 2+ widescreen monitors. Where I work, an amazing number of people work off a single laptop-sized screen all day. I don't understand how they can do it; it makes me wonder if I'm some kind of programmer-'tard who needs special equipment to function. Good to get some affirmation to the contrary.
100% disagree. I went with 2 4K monitors years ago. When I switched to an ultra wide lat year it was a night a day difference. I wish I never bought 2 4k monitors (or dual monitors at all). Ultra wide is perfect and has a more functionality than a massive piece of each monitor's border in the dead center of your vision.
Agree with you. I have a three 24” (or is it 26?) monitors setup back in the office. Being stuck at home for a while, I bought an ultrawide 32” 4K for my home. Even with my ageing laptop being able to only drive it at 30hz, I vastly prefer the single 4k to the three monitor setup (I think the actual pixel real estate is larger even if the physical surface is smaller).
I use one 27" 4K monitor at work, and one 38" 21:9 1600p monitor at home. I think I would prefer a 30" 4K monitor instead at home, as the screen is so wide it requires a head turn to see the edges.
I used to run three 30" 2560x1600 monitors, but that was just insane.
My preferred setup is something small but manageable. By this I mean something that I can scale if needed but also reliable across different domains (such as gaming, coding, web surfing, etc)
How many?
2
Size?
~27inch
Resolution
2560x1440
Why not 4k? The 4k'ish feel of having multiple windows opened on your monitor will plenty of space left over is a good vibe. However, I've experienced several IDE's that do not scale well with 4k monitors. Several embedded design suites look awful because of this and you sometimes need a magnifying glass just to find the right button you need. Yea you can find work arounds for this but why deal with it at all.
Ultra Wide
They look appealing I admit but haven't invested in one yet. There's just something about multiple monitors that's appealing to me over one gigantic one. Plus if I ever have two systems I want to hook up and see at the same time then I have this option with two monitors. If I had one gigantic one i would need to invest in a switch i guess.
I don't like the glossy style screens. I like that dull rough look (I can't think of the technically term for it but the less shiny screen whatever that is). I use a few color schemes that just look awful on the glossy "shiny" style screen. My eyes start to hurt on those screens as well which is another reason I favor the "dull" screen look.
I get a high frame rate monitor. I find it less stressful on my eyes along with the dull screen I mentioned above. Comfortable distance is about 2 to 3 feet.
The arguments against two monitor setups or focusing on two different things seems to be completely opinion based. Of course if you're checking your emails then you might want those front and center.
But for me, I work in auditing and I'm constantly looking at two documents at once, comparing documentation I have against my workpapers. And when working out at a client site I cannot stand using one screen, having to switch between documents every 5 seconds, constantly trying to fit two documents side by side on my screen.
My opinion is that two monitors are better than one, but any variation of that is simply personal preference. Side note, I also think that working with ultrawide curved screens distort the image on the screen too much.
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.
Working from home was ugly until I bought a 4k monitor with a pair of smaller ones to go each side. I initially thought I could get by with the 2.5k monitor and a single secondary one but ... yeah, nah. 4k is surprisingly easier to read, and having two secondary monitors surprisingly useful. It means I can have all the distractions on one side (messaging, email, other messaging... why are there so many messaging apps?), the main monitor for the primary task, and the other secondary for reference. I still swap documents/tabs a lot, but having the main reference always right there makes it much easier.
Often that's the design document, with the IDE occupying the whole 4k monitor. Two code windows + helper windows, it's not just 500 character lines :)
My ideal setup is two 1440p monitors, but even then I tend to zoom in quite a bit.
I also had a coworker who was fine with their laptop screen. People you are finicky with these kinds of things seem to have their focus elsewhere over the actual work done.
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