One big monitor or two smaller ones

eponymous

As I work from home all day and have the attention of a gnat with ADD who's deprived of Ritalin, I thought it might be a good idea to improve my focus on the job by a larger monitor. There have been quite a few academic papers that demonstrate productivity gains from bigger monitors. Tests show that gains increase up to 24 inches, after which , there's a relative decline. So it seemed pretty sensible to pony up 250 for a really good 24 inch monitor that would last the best part of five years. That is, until I found that running two monitors work even better. (two 17 inch monitors can be bought for under 200). I'd prefer one screen for aesthetic reasons, but some swear that two monitors enables much easier multitasking. What experiences have you had and what do you recommend?

Anthony2oo5

I’d go for two separate monitors, but try and get them bigger than 17". Either way both a good choice.
Go to PC world, tell them what you want. They may setup a demonstration for you if you pretend your going o buy.

isave_3

In my opinion it depends upon what your work is and how you prefer to work. E.g., if you are working with very detailed graphics applications or work with applications that require several panes to be open at once, e.g., software development, then a single larger monitor may suit you best. Alternatively, if your work is, e.g., research then two monitors may work best for multiple documents.

I think, though, for £250 you should be able to get two decent 19 - 22" lcd screens.

Happychappy

I have a 22" and 19" monitor, I use them all the time, one has my outlook and a couple of main web pages I use through the day, and the other I use for photoshop design.

I find two monitors far better then one and for web design and photoshop, it is invaluable as you can put all the tools etc onto one screen with the working screen left clear of clutter.

I paid £115 for the 22" Viewsonic and £89 for the Acer 19". Both as a result from posters on this board and Hotukdeals.

bookduck

I have 2 at work and for me mulitasking 2 are better than 1 and three are even better still.

Now to watch a video or work on anything large I prefer 1 screen. I don't seem to get my head eyes around the edges of the of the two screens.

A great bit of software is ultramon - if you go for multiple screens.

End of the day it is all personal preference.

BillScarab

I use two at work, an old 21" CRT and a 20" LCD. Very handy for comparing documents or system configurations. Also good to have one used for something like email and one for what you're working on.

I just wish I could get work to stump up for a pair of matching monitors.

Tigsteroonie

I also have two monitors at work - one for email & internet, the other for main applications. Some of my work involves reading an email and inputting to a database, so it's easier to have the two open alongside - when working on just one monitor I find myself endlessly resizing windows ...

tweeter

"but some swear that two monitors enables much easier multitasking" 1#

Hope this helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdP1Rei2muw&feature=related

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

tradetime

It all depends a lot on what you use your computer for. I run 4 monitors on two machines, 1 x 3 and 1x1 when I am working, but when not working I have little use for anymore than 1 monitor.
As others have said you should be able to pick up 19" monitor for little over £100 each.

mjr600

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080313005017&newsLang=en

No bigger than 24" though.

eponymous

That's the report I found via the indispensable https://www.lifehacker.com

To be honest I'm no closer to an outcome - I've got a 28 inch wide desk for starters, so I might have to plump for a single screen.
Thanks for all your thoughts though.