Why buy one when you can get two for twice the price?

[Alyeska]

So I recently upgraded my computer. Nice new HD, new memory. And best of all, a new monitor. I am now running dual 24" 16x9 monitors. I absolutely love the desktop space I have available to me now. At work I am angry I have to get by on two 19" monitors when I know what is out there. These things are awesome. I picked up the first 24" some months ago, but Newegg had reduced their price yet again so I purchased another one. Absolutely love them. Anyone else here using a multiple monitor setup? What sort do you have going, how do you use them?

[Executor32]

I've got a 24" 1920x1080 BenQ panel for my main monitor, with my old 19" 1280x1024 Viewsonic panel as a secondary. I use the BenQ for pretty much everything, with the Viewsonic being used for Trillian and any Sidebar gadgets I'm using, plus Winamp when I'm playing music. I don't have a fancy dual-display stand like you have, though.

[Dominus Atheos]

22'' Acer and a 24'' HP that I keep in landscape mode so it's easier to read text.

[Stark]

Im using a 40" television, so all your dickwaving is useless. Less display lag than my old 22" monitor, too! Ha.

Oh sorry, are we pretending multiple mnitors are good for anything? Omg winamp! Map in SupCom!

[Alyeska]

Someone was once quoted as saying "Once you give someone two monitors, they never want to give it up". Dual monitors quickly grow into usefulness. You will create a need to use it and utilize it for things you didn't think about.

[Stark]

That person was an idiot. Everyone who buys a new monitor experiments with dual monitor setups. It just turns out that unless your crippled, a nerd or coder/artist it's near useless

Map in SupCom! Winamp!!!! Lol. At least THREE monitors let you span without having the crosshairs split down the middle .... And they have less fov and screen area than me. LOL!

[Alyeska]

That person was an idiot. Everyone who buys a new monitor experiments with dual monitor setups. It just turns out that unless your crippled, a nerd or coder/artist it's near useless

Map in SupCom! Winamp!!!! Lol. At least THREE monitors let you span without having the crosshairs split down the middle .... And they have less fov and screen area than me. LOL!

Do you have anything constructive to add? FPS games don't directly support multiple monitors unless they are emulated as a single monitor.

A multiple monitor setup lets me leave information on the secondary monitor and the ability to keep track of it while in game. I can run Trillian, Steam, Teamspeak, Ventrillo, and the Vista Gadget Bar and monitor all of it. No need to alt tab out of game. The information is right there. I can spot who comes online. I can keep track of who is in the VOIP program.

On top of that, games are slowly starting to utilize the multiple monitors. For now the only game that really uses it is Supreme Commander. And the secondary monitor is more then just a minimap. Its a full second usable monitor to issue commands and control your forces. I am hoping to see FPS games utilize the second monitor as a map or other useful features for the game.

Last of all, relatively few people who buy a new monitor even consider testing a dual monitor configuration. Your entire rant is personal opinion and baseless assumptions.

[Stark]

Are you paying attention? A huge slice of every who ever bought a replacement monitor before the old one died will have messed with dual monitors (even if windows can make it hard to do). Most of them - absolutely everyone I've ever met except coders and artists - give it up because it wastes power a d footprint for something normal people use less than 10% of the time.

It's amusing that the list of thing you put on the second monitor is shit that you don't even need to look at. Amazing! My buddy list! My vent client! How can I live?

Btw, saying my opinion is bad and wrong when your whole attitude is based on some bullshit 'YOU'LL NEVER GO BACK' nonsense is ironic. Turns out people do go hack because unless they want to run a second monitor to fill with shit OR have a very specific set of needs it's a goddamn waste of time.

[Stark]

The headturning is an issue using a TV, too. I have a 40" display about the width of a 360 and a keyboard away from my face, so the fov is huge and there's a lot of looking around. Of course I can reduce font sizes to fit more onscreen, bur Reading is a pain. DA's tricky rotating monitor looks cool.

[Alyeska]

Are you paying attention? A huge slice of every who ever bought a replacement monitor before the old one died will have messed with dual monitors (even if windows can make it hard to do). Most of them - absolutely everyone I've ever met except coders and artists - give it up because it wastes power a d footprint for something normal people use less than 10% of the time.

I want proof of this claim. Provide me a solid piece of evidence that a "huge slice" computer users test multiple monitor configurations. This is of course a change from your previous claim of "Everyone".

It's amusing that the list of thing you put on the second monitor is shit that you don't even need to look at. Amazing! My buddy list! My vent client! How can I live?

You don't need your 40" monitor. Its actually more of a waste than my 24" monitor. The increased size with an identical resolution (bet you run at no better then 1900x1200) produces less quality. I have the same amount of desktop space, less cost. Do I need to run that stuff on my second monitor? No. But I have found a use running it over there. It provides me with more information that I can use while in the middle of other work or games. But do I need it? No. Do I need a widescreen? No. Do I need anything bigger then a 19" monitor? No.

Btw, saying my opinion is bad and wrong when your whole attitude is based on some bullshit 'YOU'LL NEVER GO BACK' nonsense is ironic. Turns out people do go hack because unless they want to run a second monitor to fill with shit OR have a very specific set of needs it's a goddamn waste of time.

This entire argument rests on your unproven claim that "everyone" or "a huge slice" tests a multiple monitor configuration.

[Stark]

Calm down, Aly. Or are you going to prove that once you try multiple mnitors you never go back? I can get half a dozen people in here to make a mockery of that. I forgot that when you make absurd claims based on folksy nonense it's okay, but actual experience in the field is worthless. You can't even talk about ACTUAL uses for multi setups, but I can! Lol. It's almost like you were showing off and someone laughed at you and now you're butthurt. D13 is even a goddamn coder and he doesn't want the extra realestate!

It's pretty hilarious you're so butthurt that I'm not fellating your setup (nice monitor mount though) that you're criticising my use of a TV like it's even relevant.

[Alyeska]

I never claimed it as fact. It is just a saying. But I can say from personal experience working at an IT Help Desk that the vast majority of PC users have never used or even tested a multiple monitor configuration. To be blunt, the average user is too stupid.

[Stark]

Most people don't habitually buy 24" monitors, either, or know their video card has dual heads for a reason. But holy shit, my fucking DAD messed with multi monitors when I left some hardware at his place, and he gave up even after I set it up right. It's just not that useful, and most people need the deskspace/money/whatever for more important things, unless they have specific needs such as artists, programmers, designers, etc (many of whom still prefer single larger monitors anyway, like architects and such).

[Alyeska]

And my Dad still opens email attachments without looking at them or checking them. Nice anecdotes.

[Joviwan]

I've recently started using 2 monitors, so I'll just toss in my two cents. I absolutely do not need 2 monitors, but I've found it to be incredibly convenient so far. One monitor runs at 1920x1080 (22 inch HDTV I got for christmas), the other runs at 1280x1024 (19 inch I got for free). My big uses for them so far are when I've got a game on the big screen and chat windows and browser open in the other. It's just more convenient to me to look a little to the left than it is to alt-tabbing through window upon window to take a look at what I want. Another frequent usage is in my online "table" gaming, with a game-table program open on one side, character sheets and books and whatever on the other. Again, I find it more convenient to have all the desktop space available to me instead of tabbing through window upon window. The sheer number of books i have to reference in any one game (Yes, they're DnD3.5) makes quick reference very handy.

Productive? No, not really. I don't need this functionality. Convenient? Sure! Will I hang onto it as long as I can? If I can get away with it, sure.

[Stark]

And my Dad still opens email attachments without looking at them or checking them. Nice anecdotes.

Jesus fuck, grow the fuck up. The point - which you're willfully ignoring because I ruined your nerd dickwaving thread - is that even a SIXTY YEAR OLD MAN with MULTIPLE MONITORS IN THE HOUSE thought GEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I PLUG THEM BOTH IN. And even after I fixed the screen positioning, he STILL went back, because it used heaps of space and wasn't really very useful, just like people have been saying.

But I heard, you don't ever go back! Noone goes back! NOONE LEFT BEHIND! Nice anecdotes, fatty.

[Alyeska]

And my Dad still opens email attachments without looking at them or checking them. Nice anecdotes.

Jesus fuck, grow the fuck up. The point - which you're willfully ignoring because I ruined your nerd dickwaving thread - is that even a SIXTY YEAR OLD MAN with MULTIPLE MONITORS IN THE HOUSE thought GEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I PLUG THEM BOTH IN. And even after I fixed the screen positioning, he STILL went back, because it used heaps of space and wasn't really very useful, just like people have been saying.

But I heard, you don't ever go back! Noone goes back! NOONE LEFT BEHIND! Nice anecdotes, fatty.

And the point your not getting is that personal anecdotes don't count for shit. Experience from people who work in the industry count for more. Cited information counts for the most. Take a guess where your example sits.

[Stark]

HAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA. You're a funny, sad little man.

Let's recap. You start a thread about how awesome your dual monitor setup is. I post, saying sarcastically that my TV is far better and multiple monitors are generally worthless. You reply with the ABSURD statement 'Someone was once quoted as saying "Once you give someone two monitors, they never want to give it up". Dual monitors quickly grow into usefulness. You will create a need to use it and utilize it for things you didn't think about.'

NOW, you're getting up ME for baseless anecdotes. It's fucking HILARIOUS. Your claim that you never go back, and that it 'grows into usefulness'? Wrong. The idea that you 'create a need to use' something YOU JUST BOUGHT FOR NO REASON? Stupid. Do people 'utlise it for things you didn't think about'? No, they use it for running IM clients while they play games and... look at their vent window (for some reason).

But don't worry; ignoring everything everyone says that makes your ludicrous and baseless assertion look dumb is the way to go. After all, they never want to give it up, right? Frankly, the idea that you 'create a need' for a product you already own is totally backwards consumerist bullshit.

Oh sorry, is that an anecdote? I forgot only YOUR anecdotes were allowed in this thread.

EDIT - sorry, I have to quote the greatest hit of the thread here.

At work I am angry I have to get by on two 19" monitors when I know what is out there.

I mean, fucking seriously? You're a self-parody! MY WORK MONITORS ARE INFERIOR TO MY HOME MONITORS WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH.

[Seggybop]

Multiple monitors are definitely extremely beneficial for some people, but it really depends on your personal needs and what kind of ergonomics you find most comfortable. I agree with Stark's assessment that most people probably give it a try, and for a variety of reasons already discussed won't continue with it.

Are you paying attention? A huge slice of every who ever bought a replacement monitor before the old one died will have messed with dual monitors (even if windows can make it hard to do). Most of them - absolutely everyone I've ever met except coders and artists - give it up because it wastes power a d footprint for something normal people use less than 10% of the time.

I'm an artist and a coder and I still mostly gave it up =/

One of the things in my experience with it too is I find alt+tabbing to be less effort than shifting my eyes to another monitor anyway most the time.

With the second monitor, your eyes still can't really focus on content on both at the same time. Maybe you can catch new pop-ups or flashing on it, but actually reading something on it requires moving your head or eyes away from the first monitor.

This is basically it. It takes me substantially more effort to physically move my head to look at separate monitors than it does to alt-tab, especially now with desktop environments that support easily viewing the contents of each individual window before swapping focus to it. I find it easiest to concentrate all of my tasks in a high-density area and cycle through windows when necessary than to always have everything up, but need to turn my head to look at it.

For a while I actually had four screens hooked up. It was pretty awesome, especially while playing FPS, but I was really only doing it because I could-- there was no productivity or convenience gained. I dismantled that setup when the novelty wore off and I concluded that my desk space was more valuable. It's easy to say the 4 screens is way over the top, but even when I only had dual screens, most of the windows I tossed to the secondary were extraneous.

However, what I do find very useful at times is having my laptop set up alongside my desktop. It allows for some of the convenience of dual monitors, like keeping my IM windows and music controls available and having multiple pieces of information viewable at once, but it has the additional advantage for me of letting me run some tasks entirely separately, and providing a backup if one machine bogs down or crashes (I can keep doing stuff even as the other machine recovers). That's only my personal situation, though.

[Alyeska]

HAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA. You're a funny, sad little man.

Let's recap. You start a thread about how awesome your dual monitor setup is. I post, saying sarcastically that my TV is far better and multiple monitors are generally worthless. You reply with the ABSURD statement 'Someone was once quoted as saying "Once you give someone two monitors, they never want to give it up". Dual monitors quickly grow into usefulness. You will create a need to use it and utilize it for things you didn't think about.'

NOW, you're getting up ME for baseless anecdotes. It's fucking HILARIOUS. Your claim that you never go back, and that it 'grows into usefulness'? Wrong. The idea that you 'create a need to use' something YOU JUST BOUGHT FOR NO REASON? Stupid. Do people 'utlise it for things you didn't think about'? No, they use it for running IM clients while they play games and... look at their vent window (for some reason).

But don't worry; ignoring everything everyone says that makes your ludicrous and baseless assertion look dumb is the way to go. After all, they never want to give it up, right? Frankly, the idea that you 'create a need' for a product you already own is totally backwards consumerist bullshit.

Oh sorry, is that an anecdote? I forgot only YOUR anecdotes were allowed in this thread.

Responding to you and posting in detail to many of your responses does not qualify as ignoring. Pointing out the fallacy using personal anecdotes to prove nebulous claims does not qualify as ignoring. Responding to a comment made by a quote I posted by admitting it has no strength does not qualify as ignoring.

[Stark]

Uh, precious? You're the one basing an entire argument on anecdotes; the idea that multiple monitors MUST be useful because nobody ever goes back (with a side serving of 'inventing reasons to use the monitor you bought for no reason') because SOMEONE SAID SO. I'm just proving you WRONG with EXAMPLES. Nobody ever goes back? Wrong, everyone I ever saw do it except artists or coders went back. You're just flat out wrong (and even admit it) but are harping on 'anecdotes omg' to try to save some face while others talk about the actual issues of multi-monitors (like fov, deskspace, convenience, cost:benefit, etc). People in this thread have even provided further evidence!

But thanks for desperately defining what 'ignoring' is.

Seggy, using smaller puters for chat is something very common, because it provides the benefit of multi-monitor (however at higher cost) without the downsides, as you can just move it and it does other things when you're not doing that sort of thing. Hav and Flash use their small laptops to chat while playing 360 all the time, which is impractical even WITH multi-monitor because they're in a different room. Things like 'netbooks' are useful for this sort of work (and I believe many people own them for just this sort of portable, in-house chat/email/web stuff).

[Laughing Mechanicus]

I use a dual-monitor setup at home. I have a fairly nice widescreen 22" as the main and an old 19" as my secondary - though I did only set it up because I had the 19" spare. Before then I never even considered paying full ticket price just to have a second monitor.

I do actually find it very useful, but it's mainly so that I can have photoshop and 3D studio visible at the same time for when I am working on models and textures for my mods. It does come in useful sometimes for other things like comparing documents, coding/browsing while chatting on IM or sometimes I will also watch something like a lecture on one screen while I do something on the other - but those are hardly killer apps.

It would actually be a bit more useful if games supported it well - I don't mean having them use the second screen, but just allowing you to "free" the cursor so you could mouse over onto the other monitor and check a webpage/reply to an IM etc... without forcing the game to minimise, because lots of games hate doing that and take a long time to reload when you maximise them again (or just die).

I am tempted by the idea of a mini-PC of some type for instant messaging and internet browsing. I do have an eee PC I could use for this, but the keyboard is too cramped for my big hands - I would need to have something I could connect via a KVM switch so I only need one keyboard/mouse on the desk.

[MKSheppard]

When I get a new monitor, I definitely am going to try it out with my old LCD; mainly because some games that I use/will use really do not like alt-tabbing.

[white_rabbit]

I set one up at home, (two 19 inch) and I do feel a little hampered in the office when I'm doing CAD work without it. Having reference material and free space for a browser to find said reference material while keeping my CAD stuff in view is nifty.

Its really useful for that, and when it doesn't cause crippling brain spasms, its handy for having music and chat stuff running while I'm playing a game, or to have something playing while I'm browsing.

I think a larger screen might be more suitable, so I'm going to try a 30 inch flatscreen tv after I move out, I have a huge desk (A1 drawings take up space) so space isn't as much of an issue.

[El Moose Monstero]

I have two monitor set up, but to be honest, when I moved house, the room layout changed and I never bothered really putting them back into that sort of layout. My room now is too small to have much desk space, so I have one monitor on the wall at the desk, and the other down by the bed instead, that way I can still watch movies and shit in bed without needing to have a wasteful room layout. That said, the two monitors are rarely on at the same time, so I could probably get by with a switching box between the two.