I do a LOT of CAD and programming in various languages.

I presently use 2 x 32" monitors running in 1080P (1920x1080), and have been more than satisfied. I considered getting dual 4k (3840x2160) monitors at the time I bought these, but didn't see the point. I may or may not change my opinion on that at some later date. To me, it matters what you plan on doing more than anything else.

Go big or go home. One of my coworkers desktop has 5 x 24" or 27"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Skins2881,

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
As a full time programmer, I can't imagine only having one monitor of any size. I have 2 27" ViewSonic HD monitors and a VIVO Dual LCD Monitor Desk Mount Stand that gets them off the table. Most of what I do does not require 4K so I don't have a need to spend the extra $$$$. I also have a Macbook Pro that I sometimes use but it gets moved around a lot.

If I were doing Video editing, I would go the best I could justify but I would still keep the size of the monitors around 32" or less. 2 or more monitors would still be a must.
I love really large screens but not on a desktop. For me, it's too much like sitting on the front row at the movie theater.

I'm not a full-time programmer, but I've done a lot... and after switching from assorted two-or-three-monitor setups to a one-big-monitor setup (in my case, a Dell 38" ultrawide), I would never go back.

Even ignoring the other advantages, just the flexibility (with decent window tiling software) of being able to instantly switch between tiling the screen horizontally in thirds or halves (or 25-50-25 with the primary work in the center!) based on task and material is something I wouldn't want to give up.

I think this is definitely a matter of personal preference based on the type of work you do.
Sometimes, I'll connect another Windows Laptop or the Macbook Pro to the other monitor. I do like the versatility.

quote:

SIG4EVA

I had those speakers a the turn of the century

Good to see them going strong into the next millennia!

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
As a full time programmer, I can't imagine only having one monitor of any size. I have 2 27" ViewSonic HD monitors and a VIVO Dual LCD Monitor Desk Mount Stand that gets them off the table. Most of what I do does not require 4K so I don't have a need to spend the extra $$$$. I also have a Macbook Pro that I sometimes use but it gets moved around a lot.

If I were doing Video editing, I would go the best I could justify but I would still keep the size of the monitors around 32" or less. 2 or more monitors would still be a must.
I love really large screens but not on a desktop. For me, it's too much like sitting on the front row at the movie theater.

I'm not a full-time programmer, but I've done a lot... and after switching from assorted two-or-three-monitor setups to a one-big-monitor setup (in my case, a Dell 38" ultrawide), I would never go back.

Even ignoring the other advantages, just the flexibility (with decent window tiling software) of being able to instantly switch between tiling the screen horizontally in thirds or halves (or 25-50-25 with the primary work in the center!) based on task and material is something I wouldn't want to give up.

I think this is definitely a matter of personal preference based on the type of work you do.
Sometimes, I'll connect another Windows Laptop or the Macbook Pro to the other monitor. I do like the versatility.

You're right, there is definitely a big range of good options that just come down to personal preference.

I'm running 2 27" Dell 4k. I'm a full time SW engineer/manager. I really like the setup and am looking to move to dual 32s. I have used 1 larger monitor, but my preference is the 2. The dual 27s ran me about $1350 a year and a half ago. I dual connect them to my home PC as well, switch over after I'm done working.

My full workspace is the dual27s and the macbook pro screen where I park my email and calendar.

At costco a 32" LG monitors are $230 and $219 on Amazon. Costco has a better warranty.

1920 x 1080 Resolution
165Hz Refresh Rate & 5ms Response Time
1ms Motion Blur Reduction
NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible with AMD FreeSync Premium.

They looked amazing at Costco.

I have a setup similar to your dual 27 option and I love it. Optimal amount of real estate for me - any bigger and I would spend too much time searching for things. I prefer this to a single large monitor because I can change the orientation of one monitor if it suits what I’m doing better. I will often have one in portrait and one in landscape.

quote:

Originally posted by BillyBonesNY:

quote:

SIG4EVA

I had those speakers a the turn of the century

Good to see them going strong into the next millennia!

Hilarious part is so have I! I've had them since college. I'm working on custom speakers with lignum and hickory. They should make a significant improvement.

I work from a rig or desktop daily. So not quite to your query but on my desk I have a Dell U3419W and it is outstanding for mapping detail.

I dock to the monitor through a single point thunderbolt from Dell.

I lust after those 38" wide-screen contiguous monitors.

I use a mobile workstation exclusively so I can always have an auxiliary monitor. I just like the continuous workspace.

My aux monitor at home is a 4k 40". It's not bad. I do electrical schematics and pcb design, so I like to be able to see a lot of shit. But I don't necessarily need two screens.

The 40 does make me feel like Im sitting at the front of a movie theater sometimes.

I went from a triple 24" 16:9 configuration to a single 21:9 38". I did dual display before that. I resisted the ultrawide because I thought there was some value in each monitor being a physical container when organizing open tasks. I prefer the ultrawide now having used it. windows has some built-in capabilities for this but as has been mentioned, there are aftermarket software options as well. Some ultrawides can also mimic double and triple displays so you get the effect within your OS of having multiple displays but it is 100% bezel-free obviously. The 21:9 display has the added benefit of being really good for watching movies that would normally be letterboxed even in 16:9.

I have a Samsung CJ89 43" Curved UltraWide 3840x1200 resolution monitor. My MacBook Pro runs it pretty well, but there's no native 3840x1200 support, so it has to do some scaling. That fuzzies it ever so slightly. If I had it to do over again, I'd seek something the computer could drive without scaling. But having a monitor like this is pretty great otherwise.

I’ve had 2x24”, 2x27”, 34” curved, and a huge 38” Acer at one point.

I’m currently settled on a single 32” non-curved 4K Samsung.

The dual monitors had me turning my neck too much and chasing down lost Windows too often. The larger curved models didn’t have the vertical resolution I liked and were also too wide and had me turning my head far too often.

In the end, the one 32” was perfect as I can use Windows snap to drive apps to the corners and it has just enough real estate for my needs.
https://www.samsung.com/us/com...itor-ls32r750uenxza/

The Mount is pretty cool too, although I don’t push it back against my cube wall at all, whereas I thought I’d be using that feature a lot.

 
I've been using a 32" 4k monitor for about 5 years now. Its native resolution, and what I run it at, is 3840x2160. Screen elements are a bit small at that resolution on a 32" screen, but all apps, and some of the UI elements, can be adjusted to a larger size. I believe the ideal size for a 4k monitor running at 4k resolution would be about 36"-38". Much bigger, and your PPI would suffer.
 
27" monitors generally have a native resolution of 1440p (2560x1440). Running a 4k 27" monitor requires scaling to get 1440p, because 4k is not a natural multiple of 1440p. You definitely would not want true 4k resolution on a monitor that small. Different OSs and monitors scale better, or worse. The natural hi-res resolution for 1440p is a 5k monitor, which is exactly pixel doubled and gives you a retina-like screen.
 
I prefer a single large monitor vs an ultrawide or multiple monitors. 16x9 proportion just looks "right" to me. With macOS, you can have multiple "spaces", so you can have full screen versions of a single app in one space, another app in another space, several open apps in another space, etc. 3840x2160 gives you lots of screen real estate. Windows must have something similar to "spaces", but I don't know what it is called.

When I had a need for screen space, I had two 27”, one 24” rotated 90° and a 65” above.

The two 27’s were for all my tasks that were crucial/necessary. The 24 was for music, Skype, etc. the 65 was for viewing the WMS dashboard and things of that nature. It was great because it was always on display, for myself ir anyone else to see. I also had a lot if meeting where I would have to share a screen. This let people see my screen, without sitting right next to me.

For what you’re describing, two 27’s sound like they would do you nicely. The extra $100 for te single 49” is pretty tempting too. That could be pretty awesome.

Once again, it really depends on the type of work you're doing.
Writing user interfaces can be tricky. Whenever I write a desktop or web based application, I have to consider the hardware end users will be using to view the interfaces. Several months back, I had to recompile an application used by our Chennai India partners because part of the interface was being cut off for a small handful of users. This only became an issue once they started working from home because of Covid. Developing on one monitor, with Visual Studio on one screen, SQL Management Studio on another and final output on another is unlikely to produce accurate end user results in my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
When I had a need for screen space, I had two 27”, one 24” rotated 90° and a 65” above.

Looks like all essential equipment to me.
One of our IT guys had an office that looks like the NASA control room. That's what happens when you have the keys to the Supply room.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jupiter,

I am an attorney so all of my work is PDF word or outlook.
I would never use 2 monitors again. Go to big single and be done with it.
With 2 I always found myself pulling the mouse at times between monitors, made me nuts.

That problem is now gone and I am thrilled.
Resolution is lower but for what I do that is not a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by scratchy:
I'm running 2 27" Dell 4k. I'm a full time SW engineer/manager. I really like the setup and am looking to move to dual 32s. I have used 1 larger monitor, but my preference is the 2. The dual 27s ran me about $1350 a year and a half ago. I dual connect them to my home PC as well, switch over after I'm done working.

My full workspace is the dual27s and the macbook pro screen where I park my email and calendar.

Also run a pair of 27's, 4k's, LG's. Got them on Black Friday special for $279 a pop. I would say these are ideal for work productivity. I work on engineering and operations of circuits (transport). I use macs for work/personal and I do have to dial down the resolution unless viewing 4k content but man they are much easier on the eyes.