One Monitor or Two?

[Sir Topham Hatt]

Yes, I know some people have more.

 

I have an opportunity to have a very wide curved monitor (I think it is) - don't know anything about it though.

I already have two good monitors and would never go back but I guess an ultra wide one won't work in the same sort of way (IE, being able to have two windows open on each monitor)?

I get Windows snap makes this easier but wondering whether I should stick this one in storage or try and use it somehow?

 

I am not a productive type.  I play Planet Zoo games mostly, nothing heavy liek Call of Duty.

[Steven P. Administrators]

I have an ultrawide, before that and for the longest time, I had a dual monitor setup. I can tell you I would never go back to dual monitors. It takes some getting used to in the beginning, but it is worth it.

 

Mine is 5120x1440, so it is like having two 2560x1440 QHD monitors next to each other without the bezel split in the middle.

 

I think I will only upgrade when I can get/afford a 4K model.

[+BudMan MVC]

Why not use all 3?

 

Where the curved wider is in the middle and others on each side.

 

Also many of the extra wide allow for split into 2 different screens, called PIP/PBP I believe where you can have 2 different inputs into the monitor.  So its like 2 screens.  Or software like displayfusion allows for split screens.

 

Working With Monitor Splits

 

 

[StrikedOut]

For splitting monitors, cant recommend PowerToys enough.

 

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

For productivity, I like having two physical monitors,  I think being able to think of an individual monitor as a "project space" for displaying a set of applications can be useful.  Of course, you can do that with a single monitor as well, but I think having the physical aspect can help segment work and time management better. 

 

Back when I was going into a physical office, I had three ancient 1600×1200 LCD displays that I had liberated from our IT department, plus a jealously-guarded spare one hidden away, just in case one failed.  I found the extra 1200 vertical pixels very useful for both consuming and creating written content, compared to the 1080 px that most monitors at the time had.

These days I have a 4K and a 2K display, running in landscape and portrait mode, respectively.  If you need to do something which involves reading, having that secondary monitor in portrait mode is very handy. 

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[bikeman25]

Having never had a desk that could take Dual Monitors,  at this point not sure if i'd even like it or not,    Not sure on Ultra WIde either

 

My desk is a corner type desk with Monitor shelf in the middle---really only room for 1 monitor, but do use WIndows snap feature alot thus far

 

I know its very old type of desk, originally bought in 2004

 

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

 

What about something like <https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-28mq780-b#>, @bikeman25?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[bikeman25]

Maybe something worth looking into there for the future, and might fit on this current desk--but will see for the future what i end up doing, either a newer desk or something like that.

 

 

[+mram Subscriber²]

While the powertoys answer is a good one, I like the idea of backups - monitors can/do fail - and it's very easy to split up workloads between two monitors.

It also can be cheaper.

 

I typically have two 4k monitors @ 27 inch

 

Additionally there's a lot of compatability concerns one would have with a large monitor for gaming, etc.  Lots of things like to monopolize the active screen, but with two, this isn't a problem.  The flip side is if the game can support the wide, that's heavenly.  

 

I guess what I'm saying is there isn't a lot of wrong answer here depending on your preference / workload / apps / gaming.  I'd take a hard look at what you actually do, day-to-day, and make the call there, while evaluating cost and risks.