Dual Monitors: Good Reasons to Upgrade - Comments Page 1

Bob,

I love having two monitors. I use a larger monitor with both my work laptop and personal laptop. During the workday, I have my laptop open and typically have Skype chat open there and the rest of my work on the main screen. And when I need to work between two files, I will move one to the laptop so that I can easily grab the information that I need. For home, I use it in a similar fashion when I need to work across multiple apps at the same time (for example, planning a trip--I can have my internet searches going on the main screen and copy info into a spreadsheet on the laptop). Using it with a laptop also gives me the flexibility to move to a different location without missing a beat.

My video card has a DVI and VGA output. I do have a spare VGA monitor. Will these work okay together or do I need to change some hardware. Thanks in advance. I read your posts daily.

My husband has a desktop computer. He needed to replace one of his two monitors. We ended up replacing both--with two 32" 720p TVs. Each TV was a black Friday special and cost $100 with tax. They work great as monitors. As a bonus, I replaced a smaller VGA monitor with his 23" monitor. I use it along with my laptop display. Couldn't work without two!

At work we setup some of our users with a 32" monitor because they were referring to a pdf or tif drawing. For most people, the larger monitor and being close to it is somewhat overwhelming. Especially if they aren't real high definition. We have since gotten rid of the 32" monitors and gone with a 28" 4K monitors instead. Of course we needed an upgrade of the video card to accomplish this.

As I'm reading this on one screen I am also watching Old Faithful erupting on the other. I have been using 2 monitors for many years and can't imagine not having them.

I work quite often in Photoshop and with all of the controls on my right hand screen, it is great, and MUCH easier to do my work on the slightly bigger screen.

I can't tell you how invaluable a multi-monitor set up is for me in improving my work environment. I have three monitors: my laptop monitor, a 32" hdtv that it mounted above it, and an ultrawide 25" monitor that sits to the right of those. They are typically in an extended configuration. This gives me an excellent amount of real estate, while also offering discrete environments for certain applications. It also gives me the ability to screen share the display of my choice during video-conferencing, while keeping applications/documents I may wish to reference, but not share, while screen-sharing.

Just a comment from the other side:
I ran dual 19-inch monitors side-by-side in portrait mode for many years. Recently I switched to a single 32-inch monitor. I like being able to expand an application's window to the full desktop without having the black line formed by the two bezels down the middle.

I have a dual monitor setup. The primary monitor is a 21" wide screen, which is as big as my desktop will handle easily. I picked up a 17" monitor, the old standard format, at the local Goodwill store for a very low price. My video card has both VGA and DVI outputs, and one of these monitors does support DVI, but adapters are cheap.

With a TV card in the computer, I can watch TV programs on one monitor while doing various things on the other. Or as Bob pointed out, working on a program with source on one screen, and looking at the bugs on the other really is great.

I believe there are some USB-based video adapters out there now that would make life even more interesting.

Our newly adopted 17-year-old daughter is a High School Sophomore at Primavera Online High School. I claim that one of the reasons she is Straight A is due to converting her very ample walk-in closet to her Student and Art office/studio, complete with dual monitor Windows 7 HP Laptop and 42" TV as the second monitor. She really rocks with this setup. Thank you, Bob for validating our efforts! Of course, you do it all the time with your updates and articles. THANKS and God Bless!!

Bob, I can't figure work with only one monitor.
Two for several years.

Since I don't work anymore and only use my Desktop PC, I really don't need 2 monitors. I will admit 2 monitors looks really kewl. }:O)

I do understand that have multiple monitors can be a great tool for work or the work environment. I do have a TV in my bedroom, where I also have my computer desk. So, I am listening to TV when reading my e-mail.

When I was working I would never have had the need for 2 monitors. I worked in surgery as a Cert. Surg. Tech. Oh, monitors were used in certain procedures, but all of the "scrub" team was not allowed to touch the monitor. Our control to see what we wanted to see was the camera. Must admit doing the "oscopy" procedures were fun. Of course, we were all professional, but I really enjoyed handling the camera. }:O)

Have had dual monitors for a few years now! I run the extended desktop setup. My desktop PC has 1 each VGA, DVI, & HDMI connections but the motherboard document states only supports dual monitors if connected to the VGA and DVI connectors. One monitor connected via DVI is actually a 24" HD TV that the sound is crap on and the other is a 17" Dell Monitor that we have turned to portrait (rotated vertical vs horizontal). Wife uses the 17" one for email (vertical setup is great for email) and the 24" for all other programs as well as the main desktop. After I did this setup she cannot live without it now. Helps her greatly in her work.

You say nothing about using dual monitors with Linux systems.

I tried it for a while but found it annoying. I went back to one screen.

I have an iMac and need to run Windows from time to time. Thus OSX on one screen and Win 10 on the other!

@Steve >> You mean to say OSX and Win10 side-by-side get along well w.o bickering??

I am currently running two Acer 27" WQHD monitors that are being fed by AMD/RadeonR9 graphics card with dual DisplayPorts connections.
Win10 Wake-from-sleep always refreshes the desktops by re-arranging all the open application windows back to Monitor#1.
WallPaperMasterPro utility is a great program that I have been using on dual monitors for years. There is a FREEware version now and can be downloaded at http://jamesgart.com/wallpaperchanger/.

When I worked for DEC in the 80/90's, I asked about getting two monitors. I was met with an odd combination of denigration and resentment. Where is DEC now?
I have two 24" monitors on my desktop. Actually, one is slightly smaller than the other. For a while, I had a 19" as the second monitor, but it was a pain when dragging from the 24 to the 19.

Correction paragraph 2:
"When they finally died (with two days of each other)",
should be,
"When they finally died (withIN two days of each other)".
-Sorry

I used 2 monitors for a few years at a previous job; very helpful. When I started doing contract work, at-home, (after being layed-off), I purchased a 2nd monitor. I found it invaluable, for all of the benifits mentioned. I can't stand having multiple apps/windows open, but hiding behind each other.

Why stop at two monitors!! I have a three monitor setup using Plugable Technologies USB adapters. With their products you can build a system with up to 14 monitors! I love my 3-screen setup and can't imagine working without it.