Dual Monitors

does anyone feel like their work flow would be a lot more streamlined if they had more than one monitor? i myself discovered the beauty of multi screens when i found a cheap and large one for sale in my local FB marketplace. attached it to my laptop, and it was amazing to be able to drag things along one screen to another and only have to move my neck to see another program (instead of having to alt tab all the darn time). it was super useful for things like layouting, where all the info & references was in a full screen to the side that i can easily just look at without breaking my line of sight of my main editing screen.

i've since had to switch to single monitor again after getting a new desktop and using my old 2nd screen as the main, while my laptop got decommissioned to save desk space. i really miss the feel though. for sure i'mma buy a 2nd monitor real soon.

Pic of the old set-up (pls don't mind the DIY light diffused desk lamps lmao):

For sure. I've had a few laptops through the years that I've received secondhand and used as a substitute second monitor. I eventually want to have three monitors just because I can move a lot of the things which crowd my main scree off to the third without having to actually close any of them and still have full use of two monitors. I've got way too many notepads open for my own good I'm currently working off of one screen and it really sucks anytime I'm doing something that I need the entirety of the screen for, but the desk im stuck with at the moment really just doesnt have the space for anything else. However, I am looking at getting a cheap chromebook in the meantime to do less intense things on since it will be small enough to fit on the desk space.

aeternum said:

For sure. I've had a few laptops through the years that I've received secondhand and used as a substitute second monitor. I eventually want to have three monitors just because I can move a lot of the things which crowd my main scree off to the third without having to actually close any of them and still have full use of two monitors. I've got way too many notepads open for my own good I'm currently working off of one screen and it really sucks anytime I'm doing something that I need the entirety of the screen for, but the desk im stuck with at the moment really just doesnt have the space for anything else. However, I am looking at getting a cheap chromebook in the meantime to do less intense things on since it will be small enough to fit on the desk space.

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wouldn't it be a better move to first upgrade the desk? or maybe you can get one of those vesa mount thingies which help float monitors off the table with just one hinge. i'm looking at investing into that since for sure my desk can't handle more than 2 monitor stands.

i agree though that 3 may also be the optimum amount of screens for me. i can't wait to forget all about alt-tabbing.

Roni said:

wouldn't it be a better move to first upgrade the desk? or maybe you can get one of those vesa mount thingies which help float monitors off the table with just one hinge. i'm looking at investing into that since for sure my desk can't handle more than 2 monitor stands.

i agree though that 3 may also be the optimum amount of screens for me. i can't wait to forget all about alt-tabbing.

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Chromebook is just a stopgap for the moment since it's pretty cheap, and I needed a new one for on the go writing anyways. All the desks I've been looking at are pretty pricey for what extra I've got on hand and I'm also looking at building a new pc this coming year, so its a toss up between what to save up for first. I've looked at mounting the monitors to the wall, but I've also been sold on using my pc as my entertainment hub by friends so I've got my setup in the living room and am about to put a tv on the wall just above the monitors after Christmas.

just generally using my laptop, then no, i don't do enough to really warrant a second monitor. however, from using two monitors at various jobs, i can definitely see the appeal. i've started streaming recently, so i do plan on eventually making that change over to a PC with two monitors. currently, i use my laptop and a spare tv as a second monitor. it's a little jank, but it works aha.

I'd have trouble concentrating on either one, but I can see the appeal for multitaskers. I've even seen people with three.

I've been using one for a while now and it's a godsend.

For art, I can have a reference / research in one screen and the art program in the other.
For programming, I can have SO / documentation / the terminal in one screen and the IDE in the other
For games, I can have a guide / YouTube in one screen and the game in the other
For classes, I can have the class in one screen and note pad / word processor in another for notes.

It's just great, I love it.

I used to use just one because I always was just using a laptop. Once I started using two though, I simply could not go back. I've been told ultrawides are nice, but I like the ability to use Windows Snap so I can full screen on one window easily.

Sandalphon said:

I'd have trouble concentrating on either one, but I can see the appeal for multitaskers. I've even seen people with three.

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i'd totally go for 3 if i had the funds and desk space for it. usually you do concentrate on one screen, but the other screens are useful so you don't have to alt tab to drag a file or copy some text or something. i can understand tho that it isn't for everyone.

dual monitors are a must for me

Ever since I went to a dual monitor setup, I never wanted to go back ever again and working on one monitor just feels painful at this rate. Even when playing video games I use my 2nd monitor to have discord open or Twitch or something to interact with others. Mainly Discord to have the text chat open for people without microphones when we have voice chats.

For work its a godsend, I can just split my screens to monitor different things without having to click through tabs all the time

Tsutarja said:

dual monitors are a must for me

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matching screens and a dual mount to keep things clean? you love to see it. i kinda wish my screens matched, but i didn't have enough money to buy the same wide screen i have as my main last December. this one's more than good enough though.

i just recently got a second monitor (which is nearly the exact same as my first one, same size and everything, just different model), and holy crap am i blown away by the productivity difference. one of my friends told me that it'd be hard to go down a monitor after you go up, and while... i can probably deal with a single monitor setup provided the monitor is big enough, i'd never want to, lmao.

For me it's mostly nice to have the second monitor to dump something like a stream or game onto and still have the remaining monitor for things like browsing, Discord and the such. I did have the latter set up vertically, however as I work from home on this setup, it was a pain having to adjust it every single day so I'm just sat with two monitors at very different levels right now. xd

That said, I 100% could not go back to a single monitor; even if I didn't at home most of my jobs have used them so now it would just feel weird and slow to use a single monitor setup.

Rabinov said:

For me it's mostly nice to have the second monitor to dump something like a stream or game onto and still have the remaining monitor for things like browsing, Discord and the such. I did have the latter set up vertically, however as I work from home on this setup, it was a pain having to adjust it every single day so I'm just sat with two monitors at very different levels right now. xd

That said, I 100% could not go back to a single monitor; even if I didn't at home most of my jobs have used them so now it would just feel weird and slow to use a single monitor setup.

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YOOOO im so i was considering doing the whole vertical second monitor thing and mann it's such an adjustment lmao. i can imagine it being useful for work reasons yeah, but even discord looks trippy on a vertical screen aaa