This is not a question about code but about one important aspect of the task of programming.
I work with Visual Studio 2008 with a 15,4'' screen (a notebook) with a resolution of 1280x800.
I would like to know what is your favorite resolution? Overall, I would like to know the opinion of people who use 1400x990, as I think it must be annoying to program with so very little letters.
1680x1050 on 21" is my favour.
But I want to try dual-19"-monitor system :)
I use a Lenovo machine with a 13" display and a resolution of 1440x900 pixels. I think it's fine for programming, although I don't wear glasses and my eyes are fine :-). But I would definitely not choose to use it to code long hours every day. Of course, full resolution (1920x1200) on a 24" is my ideal here.
I can't abide less than 1600x1200, and my main monitor at work is 1920x1200 (on a 24" monitor). My second monitor is something like 1280x1024 (on a 19", I think), or some such.
My favorite resolution usually changes with whatever sized monitor I'm using...I try to use the highest possible resolution I can that still feels comfortable for my eyes.
At the moment I like to have two 19" monitors with a resolution of 1280x1024.
Personally, the higher the DPI, the better -- but, I think I'm jaded. ;)
Got used to a Dell laptop with 1900x1200 17". Otherwise, this resolution is only available in 24" monitors -- too low of DPI for me and too expensive.
The closest I could find was Viewsonic's VX1940w - 1680x1050 19".
I have a great boss that supplies every developer with dual wide-screen monitors (22" 1680x1050 at the moment). Once you make the switch to dual (or triple) monitors you'll never go back to a single.
My eyes aren't what they used to be so I push up the editor font size a couple of notches in VS2008. A nice font makes a big difference too (I prefer Lucida Console, but Consolas is good too).
Think about connecting an external monitor (and keyboard). 15,4" is really small.
My setup at work currently consists of dual 21" monitors at a resolution of 1600x1200 (I wish I had a third...). I completely agree with devstuff, once you make the switch to dual (or higher) monitors, you'll never go back to single.
My personal laptop has a 14" monitor, with a resolution of 1400x1050, this is acceptable for small hobby projects, but I can really feel my productivity plummeting compared to the dual monitor setup. All that tabbing through open applications, switching between IDE/console/log/browser/whatever gives me a context-switch I'd rather be without.
This (or something very close to it) has been asked several times before
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/263500/best-programming-monitor
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/347699/what-is-your-laptops-display-size
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/122459/advice-on-buying-a-lcd-monitor-for-development
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/56028/what-is-your-recommended-monitor-resolution
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/26625/one-large-monitor-or-dual-monitor-setup
At home, I have a desktop with a 22" pebble screen at 1680x1050, and an eee pc at 1024x600. For recreational programming, I far prefer working with the eee pc, using multiple desktops having editor, browser and shell each running full screen and switching using hot keys. But then I don't use that for GUI projects (the games machine having a somewhat more capable GPU). Having a smaller screen means you have to learn to use the mouse less. Most of the methods I create are less than the 32 lines of code you can view, and I tend to use search rather than browsing to navigate.
I am using dual 19" with 1280x1024 at home, dual 17" 1280x1024 at work. I don't like widescreen resolutions while using dual panels btw ;)
Work: 2x24" Dell monitors at 1920x1200 each
Home: 1x19" LG monitor at 1280x1024
I seriously need to upgrade my home monitor.....
I'd say the DPI is far more important than the resolution. A high DPI gives you far more flexibility when it comes to setting a comfortable text size. A low DPI might force you to have bigger text to make it readable. Resolution is only important when you need to get a lot of non-text onto your screen. My current monitor is about 120 DPI, which is just about perfect for my eyes.
My wife bought me the 30" Widescreen Dell which runs at 2560x1600. It will change your life.
My main system is 7360 x 1600--four 20" in portrait mode and a single 30" in the middle.
Obviously, I recommend at much monitor as you can afford (and have room for). :-)
There's several different parts to typical development workflow--Ideally you would have enough room for some documentation / Google searches, room for some source control / local workspace browsing/searching, root for dealing with your bug reports and lists, room for 2-4 source files, and room for viewing your product and debugger.
How much concurrency you need of these views dictates the weight of physical monitors vs. virtual screens.
I've used a minimum of 3 screens for about 8 years now--I highly recommend trying out massive multi-monitor systems now that LCDs are so cheap to buy and operate.
As high as possible, higher resolution often comes with larger monitors so the DPI is still the same.
And even if it didn't you can still change the fontsize in your ide. This is imo preferable because it makes the letters not only larger but also more smooth.
Too bad high dpi-monitors are hard to find...unless you want an old a 25kg, 21" CRT occuping half your desktop :(
Work system: 1280 x 1024 on each of 2 17" screens
Home desktop: 1900 x 1200 on a 24" monitor
Home laptop: 1280 x 800 on a 15.4" screen
My previous work set ups were a single 17" with 1280 x 1024 everywhere except where I first started and there I had 2 computers, each with a 17" screen.
but i prefer 17" because, there is not that much difference between 17 and 15.4, just avg 2.9 cm in depth and 2.5 cm in width. so no need to worry about 17" lap to carry.
Better 17"