Dual Monitor Setup

[nikstar101]

Hello everyone,

I was just wondering what peoples views are for a dual 24" monitor setup for home use. See i have a Mac Pro powering a 24" Apple LED Cinema display. Now i got this simple because it all looked great (and still does), but since then my interest in photography has increased and more importantly the monitor sits near a window. In Apple's wisdom of only having glossy displays this has become an annoyance as the sunlight means i get to see my horrible mug in the reflection of the display!! :no:

So i was thinking of getting a second display, the HP ZR24W, and running a dual setup. But I need someone to bring me back down to the ground as to be honest i think it might be overkill. Most of the time i am surfing the net, emailing, listening to music and then say only 30% of the time messing around with photos in Aperture. I my crazy mind i can justify the purchase as i can have safari on one screen and mail and itunes on the other. And then when messing about with photos thrown everything other than Aperture on the other display.

Has anyone else got a dual setup? Do you actually use both screens or do you just end up leaving on unused? I know its probably a personal thing but opinions are welcome.

Cheers

Nick

[Ryan]

I run a 21" off my MBP and I couldn't work without it. I divide my work up into a few spaces, one for Mail, Twitter, Skype, etc., another for random web browsing and iTunes and two more for programming with code in one and research/notes in the other.

When I'm coding I tend to have code in one window and a few terminals in the other.

Maybe if I wasn't programming and had a 24", I wouldn't need it.

[Maciej]

My desk has a 17" MBP and a 24" Dell. Usually I just use the 17" display but when I'm writing a paper I'll throw up all of my research on the 24". My setup is less than ideal (IMO) because the screens are of different sizes and at different heights. I believe that the key to a dual monitor setup is to have screens of near identical size and height so that switching your focus between them is a seamless experience.

Anyway, my vote is +1 for dual monitor setup, can't really hurt if you've got the cash and it looks badass!

[Kickaha]

Or, stack them. Back at IBM I had a 30" Cinema Display on a riser, such that my 15" MBPro screen was centered below it, and they 'connected' at that point. The laptop screen was like a little well at the bottom of the big screen.

Now at work I have two 24" screens, and they're non-contiguous and at different heights, and it's not great. :P Must fix.

[Dave]

Has anyone else got a dual setup? Do you actually use both screens or do you just end up leaving on unused? I know its probably a personal thing but opinions are welcome.
I've got three monitors. When I'm programming, I've got Xcode on the center screen, API references on the left, and algorithm research on the right. This keeps everything nice and compartmentalized, and easy to see. My recall my Dad doing a similar thing, except he prints out everything that he'll be referencing, and has the hard copies to his left and/or right.

When I'm just browsing the web or whatever, the left screen has email, and the right has iTunes. Both of which are nice to have off in their own little space, but in non-work cases it's more cool than strictly useful.

So, to summarize, when you're working dual+ monitors are quite handy; when you're just killing time or playing around they're kinda neat.