Triple Screen Setup (3 same size vs large center)

Question

I'm splurging for my personal system that I've wanted a while so in choices between these for programming and other uses.... (home)

1. 28 in main center monitor (HDMI) with 2 surrounding 19in widescreen
2. 3 seperate 19 or 21 in monitors, no large one in the center, all equal size.

What would be ideal? 28 in is huge, seems like might be a lot of neck moving and the others wouldn't be used as much....

Interested in what you'd say.

Answer 1

General Advice

I doubt you'd be comfortable with flanking monitors on a 28" unless you're sitting far enough away -- my 27" essentially fills most of my field of view. Additionally, you probably would prefer to have all 3 be the same resolution to make it easier to go back and forth (visually and window-dragging).

It really comes down to what you're doing, though. Some people just can't get enough pixels, whereas others are fine once they've got enough physical real estate to position their common windows all visible together.

Problems

I tried to use my Laptop in combination with my primary PC's 19" display (via the fantastic Synergy program), but even the difference between 1280x1024 and 1400x1050 drove me crazy (not to mention screen brightness differences).

Software

You'll definitely want some extra software to aid in window management across multiple monitors. Ultramon is pretty highly-recommended for things like separate screensavers and intelligent taskbars. If you're finding yourself with a large monitor and needing to quickly position windows, Winsplit (picked up from Jeff's advice, of course) is awesome.

Answer 2

Resolution is an important factor to consider. For example, a 28" might have a resolution of 1920x1200 while a 20" might be 1680x1050. The 28" is slightly higher, but not by much. There are two implications:

• You normally sit farther back from a larger monitor. Even though the resolution is higher, you're sitting as close to it as the smaller monitors, so each individual pixel will be relatively bigger. (Or conversely, you're sitting farther from the small monitors than normal, so they will be harder to see).
• When you look at something on the monitors in comparison - eg, drag a window from the big monitor to a smaller monitor, the window will appear to shrink, since the resolution is changing. Fonts will be bigger/smaller as well.

I would personally go with identically sized monitors.

Answer 3

I have a 30in flanked by 2 24in and I absolutely love it. I have the tops of the screens lined up so speakers lay on their sides underneath.

I started with a single 24. Then I moved to 2 24's. Now that I have 3 monitors, I'm thinking of adding another 30. Putting the 2 30's on the outside and stacking the 2 24's vertically.

I just don't think I can have too much real estate.

Pixels is what is important to me. Whatever screen combination gets you the most pixels, go for that. You won't regret it.

And get a copy of UltraMon while you're at it. Multiple screens with only one taskbar is annoying and hurts my productivity.

UPDATE:

I've added another 30in monitor and changed the layout. Since you asked for a picture, here it is: http://www.twitpic.com/el9p6

Answer 4

I have to vote for not only equal sized monitors, but exactly the same model too. I've worked with both 2 identical Dell 1600x1200 LCDs, and 2 same-rez but differnet physical dimension LCDs.

When the pixel density is different on multiple displays, things are physically larger/smaller as you move them from one display to the next, and its really annoying. Think about text... 10pt font may be 2mm tall on one display and 2.5mm on another.

Answer 5

I'm currently using a 20" - 28w" x 20" LCD setup.

You are correct - there are drawbacks to using monitors of different sizes, especially if they all have similar native resolutions.

• Pixel sizing makes windows appear to shrink or grow since a pixel is not the same size on all of the monitors

• Spanning a window across multiple monitors (especially if your larger monitor is centered) is nearly impossible due to the above points. If you're looking to run a wide Excel spreadsheet or something like that, forget it.

• The point you alluded to with sitting back further and field of view isn't as big a deal, but in addition to the above points, it adds to the pile.

If you can help it, go with three identical monitors. Size, make, model. Identical video cards helps too, as it's a pain in the neck to have windows change color when you move them across monitors.

Answer 6

This is the type of thing that probably depends on how you plan on mounting the monitors and how good your eyesite is.

When I was thinking about which size/quantity of displays, what I did was simply looked up the specs on line, then I cut pieces of cardboard the size of the monitor(s) I was thinking about, and then I stuck it on my desk where I was planning on putting them. I stuck a piece of paper on the front of the cardboard with what the default windows font would look like at the optimum resolution.

Answer 7

In general, I find it helpful for all screens to have the same height and vertical resolution. I have tried to pull that off with a huge wide-screen monitor in the middle, and two 4:3 screens flanking, both rotated 90 degrees, but software issues stopped it from working.

Answer 8

For the record, what I decided and turned out to be beautiful is triple 20 in 4:3's. Namely the HP 2065, which is a s-ips monitor. I also switched to dual 20in in potrait mode at work and find it incredible.

If you can get the chance, use potrait mode as others have recommended. It makes MUCH more usable space and is pleasing to the eye verus the neck craning widescreens. PERFECT for programmers.