home office - large monitor or dual monitors?

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albireo13

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Hi,
I am doing work from home and am thinking of a monitor upgrade for my home office. My pc is a Lenovo laptop (C940) which has been great. It has a 14" display. For my desktop, I have been using an 27" monitor as an extended monitor, along with the laptop display. I find that I tend to have a number of windows open at once and am looking to go expand my display space. Using the laptop as primary display is ok but, it is small for desktop use and I find it straining to use.

Anyway, my thoughts ...

1. get one larger display 32" maybe (curved or flat?), perhaps ultrawide
or
2. add a 2nd 27" display

Adding the 2nd display would be cheaper methinks but, it adds more cable clutter plus, I will need to get a hub that supports two displays.

I want to make a purchase soon so I can write if off on this year's taxes.
: )

Has anyone else faced this question for their office? What has worked well for you?

Thx
 
Two monitors. Lots more landscape to use and easier on the eyes.
 
BTW, I didn't need to do anything for my PC, it had 3 outputs for monitor connection. Might check yours before looking into a hub
 
Over the past 10 years, I picked up a Dell 24" monitor for a great price which was (initially) wonderful. A few years later, I picked up a Dell 27" monitor, also for a great price, which was even more wonderful. Over the past couple years, I'd look at the 32" monitors available, consider for a moment, but then be unable to justify it. The 27" was really fine, and nothing inherently wrong with it. Getting older, my eyes aren't getting any better, so, bigger would be nicer.

Then, earlier this year, our 12 year old 37" LCD bedroom TV was ready to be tossed. It was all boxed up, and had been sitting in the hallway for a couple months just waiting for me to be able to part with it. It had an issue, no longer responding to the remote (not batteries, not the remote - something in the TV), so not being able to control the TV without getting up and manually pressing the buttons, was not really an alternative.

Then I thought to try it out with the desktop computer and see if it would work. I was blown away - simply shocked. It was amazing! Who knows what the specs on it are compared to the Dell? But who cares - for what I do all day on it, it's wonderful! I picked up a wall mount bracket, put it on the wall in front of the desk, and have been incredibly happy since. Don't need the remote if I only need the on/off button. Wouldn't trade it for anything at this point.

So, if you have an old TV laying around, or can find a great holiday deal on a new TV (can find 32"-43" for under $200 fairly easily), consider going that route. You may not get the ultra-hi resolution a computer monitor could provide, but you may not really need it.
 
njhowie said:
Over the past 10 years, I picked up a Dell 24" monitor for a great price which was (initially) wonderful. A few years later, I picked up a Dell 27" monitor, also for a great price, which was even more wonderful. Over the past couple years, I'd look at the 32" monitors available, consider for a moment, but then be unable to justify it. The 27" was really fine, and nothing inherently wrong with it. Getting older, my eyes aren't getting any better, so, bigger would be nicer.

Then, earlier this year, our 12 year old 37" LCD bedroom TV was ready to be tossed. It was all boxed up, and had been sitting in the hallway for a couple months just waiting for me to be able to part with it. It had an issue, no longer responding to the remote (not batteries, not the remote - something in the TV), so not being able to control the TV without getting up and manually pressing the buttons, was not really an alternative.

Then I thought to try it out with the desktop computer and see if it would work. I was blown away - simply shocked. It was amazing! Who knows what the specs on it are compared to the Dell? But who cares - for what I do all day on it, it's wonderful! I picked up a wall mount bracket, put it on the wall in front of the desk, and have been incredibly happy since. Don't need the remote if I only need the on/off button. Wouldn't trade it for anything at this point.

So, if you have an old TV laying around, or can find a great holiday deal on a new TV (can find 32"-43" for under $200 fairly easily), consider going that route. You may not get the ultra-hi resolution a computer monitor could provide, but you may not really need it.
Click to expand...

I have thought about doing something similar (especially now that I am getting to the age the "readers" would come in handy using the computer) but I keep hearing my Mom yelling, "STOP SITTING SO CLOSE TO THE TV!!!" :LOL:
 
Never had a big monitor or dual monitors, but the guys at work liked the double or triple monitors. They liked them to be the same. I think they liked the physical separation between the two. Our data guys could have anything they wanted and I never heard anyone ask for a single large monitor.
 
The larger display is fine for bigger text. But OP is looking to have multiple apps open. Two 27" monitors would have opportunity for large text for two displays vs a single 32" monitor. The issue with multiple apps on a single display is it's now portrait mode vs landscape. Fine for some apps, not so good for many others.
 
bobandsherry said:
The larger display is fine for bigger text. But OP is looking to have multiple apps open. Two 27" monitors would have opportunity for large text for two displays vs a single 32" monitor. The issue with multiple apps on a single display is it's now portrait mode vs landscape. Fine for some apps, not so good for many others.
Click to expand...

Good points on that.
I may just get another 27" display. I just want to not lose too much deskspace and also want to avoid clutter.
I briefly looked into a smaller (<43") TV but, pickings were slim for anything < 40". I don't want a wall mount, just desk.

When I worked full time I had two nice 27" displays side-by-side attached to an adjustable stand. Also had a nice docking station, etc.
It was great.

Now, I am doing part time consulting work and don't have that big a budget.
My laptop has only USB-C or USB3.0 outputs.
I think getting a nice hub with two HDMI/DP outputs will be the plan.
That way, one cable to plug into the laptop. Also, they come with USB-C charging so, can provide power to the laptop as well.

I'll just have to suck it up on the cable clutter.
 
Why not both? Get the new, bigger one, and keep the old and use them side by side. DH has that setup.
 
I have a 32" 2560x1440 and love the screen real estate. You may need a new video card if your system is really old.
 
albireo13 said:
Good points on that.
I may just get another 27" display. I just want to not lose too much deskspace and also want to avoid clutter.
I briefly looked into a smaller (<43") TV but, pickings were slim for anything < 40". I don't want a wall mount, just desk.

When I worked full time I had two nice 27" displays side-by-side attached to an adjustable stand. Also had a nice docking station, etc.
It was great.

Now, I am doing part time consulting work and don't have that big a budget.
My laptop has only USB-C or USB3.0 outputs.
I think getting a nice hub with two HDMI/DP outputs will be the plan.
That way, one cable to plug into the laptop. Also, they come with USB-C charging so, can provide power to the laptop as well.

I'll just have to suck it up on the cable clutter.
Click to expand...

I'm using two 23" monitors attached to stand, fits my space nicely with distance from the monitor. 27" would really be nice but a bit huge for me. :)
 
Personally, I don't like having one big display and a second 27" would be cheaper and personally my preference. At home I have two 23" monitors and have for 10+ years. Having dual displays are a great way to get more real estate to view several programs at one time. I would however get two the roughly the same size and set them to the same resolution if at all possible. This makes it much easier if you are spanning an application across both or just not having your mouse jump up or down when you move from one monitor to another as I'm sure you are aware of. Rotating them to portrait mode is really nice if your composing Word documents for instance or reading the newspaper online. You could also have one portrait and one landscape. Although I don't do this at home but prior to retiring I had three displays, two portrait and one landscape. That gave me the best of both worlds and I could keep an eye on a lot of data.

Another thing you might want to consider is getting a stand that supports two monitors. This keeps the foot print down and gives your desk space back on each side of the stand.

One thing to think about, having dual monitors specifically in landscape mode is going to get fairly wide. My dual 23" monitors in landscape mode are about 44" wide. Dual 27" depending on model would likely be about 50". It is a lot of head turning if you are going back and forth with dual landscape monitors at a "normal" viewing distance. Just something to think about.

Hope this helps.
 
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I went with one 27" Hp unit. Love it. Saves desk space. Thought it was so big at first. Now I cannot imagine having anything smaller. Not interested in a curved screen. Do not see the point when the screen is so close.
 
I have a 32” monitor. Great for editing photos and video with one app at a time. I suspect that 2 monitors would be better for someone using multiple apps at the same time.
 
This is so situational and personal it's hard to make a helpful suggestion, at least not without a lot of discussion. In my working years, two monitors were great as I typically had different things to look at simultaneously. At home and retired, I don't, so at home a single large monitor is much better for me. Your desk space/surface/setup make a big difference too --- is there comfortable space for two monitors? Can the two be placed such that you're not getting neck strain looking from one to the other? As I think someone already pointed out, with age there's a tendency to want larger fonts/icons/etc, and a single large monitor works well for that.


I would add that occasionally I watch TV shows or movies on my computer, and the larger monitor is of course nice for that, ditto zoom meetings to allow seeing a little better the sort of "Brady Bunch" view of a number of participants.

I can still put two windows side-by-side on the large monitor.
 
Whatever you end up doing, just be sure that your new monitor has an IPS panel. Many lower-end "gaming" monitors, even the ultrawide ones with curved screens, don't have IPS panels, and this can be problematic. IPS is essentially for getting the clearest, crispest text.

FWIW, I am struggling a bit with this same decision. I'll probably end up replacing my current 24" Dell monitor with a 34" ultrawide (3440x1440 resolution). I would rather have one monitor on my physical desktop (and one set of cables) than two.
 
I really really hated the 2 widescreen monitors w*rk got me before the pandemic sent us home, so I got myself one larger monitor at home and I hate that too. So yeah I think 2 is better, as long as they are reasonable size and not enormous.
 
Forty three inch 4K on the wall.

51416271876_9e40378e6d_c.jpg


Soundbar under. Wireless subwoofer on the corner of the ceiling. Rocks!
 
I've had both twin monitors and one big single, and I prefer the one. I have a laptop but it uses a 27" external monitor and that works really well for me.

With Apple's "desktops" feature (I don't know if other systems do the same), I can effectively have many different desktops, each running different applications. I only have to swipe my finger across the top of the mouse to cycle between them. Normally I have three different ones running all the time. So it's really like having multiple monitors. Having become used to this for years now, I'll never have a monitor smaller than 27".
 
RobbieB said:
Forty three inch 4K on the wall.

51416271876_9e40378e6d_c.jpg


Soundbar under. Wireless subwoofer on the corner of the ceiling. Rocks!
Click to expand...

I also have the a 43 inch 4K monitor.. it's beyond amazing since you can run it at 4K without having to scale the fonts like you do with the smaller 4K monitors.

I also recommend buying the best monitor that you can afford especially if you're using all day long.. I do that with all of my computer accessories (keyboard, mouse, monitor, mic, video, etc) instead of using the cheap ones that were included with your computer.

my 2 cents.. Soon to be former IT Manager.. 2 week countdown..

Ken
 
I have amblyopia and only have good vision in my right eye so my field of vision is half so only 1 screen is all I can handle. I can't see in 3D either so never bothered going to 3D movies as a kid.
 
Normally, I would prefer one monitor for home use. However, since I am doing technical consulting work, I often have simulations running in one window while having another window open for documenting results ... as well as my email window open.

My current setup is an Acer 27" display (1920x1080) alongside my 14" laptop display. I like the 27" display. However, I find that I need to have at least one window in use on the laptop. Going back and forth between the 27" and the 14" displays is annoying, as well as causing eye strain if I work for long periods.

I could try a 32" wide monitor and if that doesn't work for me, add my existing 27" alongside it.
 
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