multimonitor set ups, more or bigger ?

[tuga2112]

i am currentply using 3 monitors in my computer i think its great. i used to have 1 a few years ago. then added a TV to watch dvd on it. then started to use dual monitor for mostly msn in one side and whatever work i was doing on the other. at the moment i end up using 1-2 monitors for programming and the spare one for web/media player/msn messenger. i do love it.

i recently bought a couple more monitors on christmas to plug in with my computer unfortunatly the graphics card i bough seems not to work aparently.

i would like to know if you guys use dual/triple sets of monitos or rather use 1 simgle big monitor ? how about projection screens ?

i have recently tried to plug in my HDMIU Tv to my computer however the resolution i can get on the TV is lower than the current resolution i have on the monitor and i since when i program i spread my pages of code through 2-3 monitors a tv with lower resolution was not much of a help.

has anyone else also tried to plug in a HDMI tv to a PC and got a crisp and clear image ?

 

[Furiey]

I am currently using this PC on my main HDMI TV at 1080p (1920x1080). Lovely picture, I like it so much still haven't take this PC upstairs to it's proper location and monitor.

I have used dual monitor setups and large monitors and which depends on what you are doing. If I was using different application I was looking between or wating then a dual monitor setup would suit me better. If I was working on a large spreadsheet though, I would not want to be trying to read between monitors but would want it all on one large one.

I have worked on projection screens but find they are too large to look at easily plus are often of a lower resolution than you would have on a monitor, so are really for presentation purposes or to allow multiple people to see the screen.

 

[Cutlass]

I have 1 monitor and my TV attached. But I rarely use the TV to display for the PC. So even though I can and occasionally do, it's really a 1 screen setup most of the time.

 

[warpus]

I have two monitors - a 24 inch and a 19 inch. It's more than enough for me.

 

[Zelig]

My ideal setup:

Left: 24", 1200x1920
Middle: 30", 2560x1600
Right: 24", 1920x1200

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I have one monitor. Becuse that's all I have room for.

 

[shadowplay]

My desktop is hooked up exclusively to the TV screen, but that's because I do most of the 'computer stuff' on the laptop, and the desktop is for entertainment.

Once upon a time I had a video card that allowed for dual monitors. I never bothered with it...

 

[Speedo]

I have a 24" main and 20" secondary monitor. Multi monitors are going to give you a lot more screen real estate at a higher quality than a single large monitor.

 

[innonimatu]

i would like to know if you guys use dual/triple sets of monitos or rather use 1 simgle big monitor ? how about projection screens ?

I can't see any point in going over two simultaneous monitors for normal desktop use. There's a limit to effective human multitasking beyond which it becomes taxing. As most home computers are being used for entertainment, I'd expect people to avoid overdoing it.

 

[cardgame]

I have a single 23" monitor, 1680x1050, I don't see why I would ever need dual monitors or anything like that. A larger monitor (like that 2560x1900 or w/e mentioned earlier) would be nice, but not necessary...

 

[Birdjaguar]

I use two 22" at work and couldn't go back to one. I have one 24" at home, but am angling for a 30"

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

How do you find the size of your monitor? I tried measuring tape but it went all over the place.

 

[Perfection]

Quickest way would be to google your model number.

As for me, I have a 1920x1080 15 inch laptop screen (very high resolution), and connected to it a 1280x720 22" TV (quite low resolution). It's rather funky, but works great when I want to run a video while doing computer stuff, and is useful as a second screen in a pinch.

 

[tuga2112]

I can't see any point in going over two simultaneous monitors for normal desktop use. There's a limit to effective human multitasking beyond which it becomes taxing. As most home computers are being used for entertainment, I'd expect people to avoid overdoing it.

i can understand what you mean by reaching the limits of multitasking. i do admit i cannot focus on 3 screens at the same time. hwoever when i extend my visual studio to 3 programs i effectivelly use 3 monitors at the same time. i dont do this often as my assingments at univercity lately have not evolved programming. when i was writting a compiler for a module last semester i did felt the need for an extra monitor (over the 2 i had) and decided to get the extencion in xmas. unfortuntly i dont program much this semester. still having the 3 monitors works good for me i avoid alt+tab a lot this way. to be honest i have 2 more monitors ready to plug in sadly the video card i bough that supports extra 4 monitors needs some weird settings or drivers that i cant figure out so im waiting for next pay day to buy another one that works.

 

[innonimatu]

i can understand what you mean by reaching the limits of multitasking. i do admit i cannot focus on 3 screens at the same time. hwoever when i extend my visual studio to 3 programs i effectivelly use 3 monitors at the same time. i dont do this often as my assingments at univercity lately have not evolved programming.

That's one of those special (unusual) uses for a computer where a lot of screen space can be useful. But it's rare.

I can't even think of much use for 3 monitors for Visual Studio, much less 5 (!). Only missed something like that when I had to make changes to a program created in Labview - you got to admire an IDE and programming logic so bad that it encourages "spaghetti code" in an almost literal sense!

 

[tuga2112]

you got to admire an IDE and programming logic so bad that it encourages "spaghetti code" in an almost literal sense!

i definatly hope i am not making "spaguetti code" that badly. in my defence i can only say i program computer games. just for a starting position i usually have at least 2 pages open at the same time and very easily i end up with 6-8 between header files and cpp of each class. and working how they interact to each other and the main program loop, + the own game engine code that i need to look at every onw and then.

the other 2 that i want to put up is basically to add firefox for research (probably will be mostly unused) and social networking/entertaining (msn,skipe,winamp all those little things that i just got used to run everytime i switch on the power)

 

[Genocidicbunny]

If I had more room on my desk, I would have a pair of 24", or a 24" and a pair of 21.5" monitors. Alas, all I can fit on it right now is what I have. Maybe when I move out Ill get a desk with more desktop real estate.

Multiple monitors are really handy. 2 monitors are useful for just about anyone -- a pair of 22" monitors is lovely and you wont go back to single monitor once you try. More than that is more specialized. If you're a developer, it can pay off to have 3 or more monitors -- you can have everything already up, without having to alt-tab back and forth.