Aug 06 2010
Is one monitor better than two?
Do you need a dual monitor setup or large monitor to be more productive? It depends on who you ask. People who have used a dual monitor setup wouldn’t want to go back to a single monitor. Those with large cinema sized monitors wouldn’t want to return to a small sized monitor. Widescreen monitors boost your productivity. You can focus on getting work done and spend less time on moving windows around.
A dual monitor setup creates a physical separation between your applications, can be used with a laptop and allows you to rotate the monitors. You can have one setup in landscape(horizontal) and the other in portrait(vertical). If you need to work with long documents, a dual monitor setup gives you the freedom to rotate your monitors. One large monitor means you can put two applications side by side on the screen just like the dual monitor setup, but you won’t be able to rotate the monitors. You can use Winsplit Revolution to help easily organize your open windows. A single large monitor doesn’t have edges of two monitors causing a distraction. However, a large monitor is more expensive than 2 24 inch monitors.
Will multiple monitors work for you? Consider the following:
- Do you need have two applications side by side with a physical separation between them?
- Would you need to have one application in landscape mode and the other in portrait?
- Do you have a laptop and do you need an additional monitor to work more productively?
- What is your budget? A large monitor can cost about $1000 or more.
Just remember that sometimes more is better.
Update: Here are 5 Useful Multi-Monitor Setup Tools that can help you be more productive with your computer.