Widescreen Vs. Multiple displays

MikeF

So for about a year now i've been meaning to stop fucking up my eyes by having two old crt's at different sizes resolutions and refresh rates as my dual setup. There's a pretty sweet deal on a 25" lcd widescreen monitor i'm looking at, but i'm a little confused because i've never worked with something like this. Is it better to have a couple reasonably sized displays versus just one large? Is it possible to have a widescreen set up like multiple displays in the sense that when i maximize an app it wont stretch to the entire screen?

Rite now i have a 19" crt as my primary and a 17" as my secondary that i usually have on for a ref picture, or my uv mapping window, or video while i'm working.

Lastly, here is the monitor in question http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4938551&sku=H94-2502

Thanks everyone

Calabi

I would go with the two reasonably sized monitors, would be cheaper(I think)and you would have more screen real estate. Its good to have that screen separation as well.

Tv on one and web browsing on t other one.

Slum

dual widescreens

lefix

i second dual widescreens, full hd.
it was worth it.

vf501

^ What he said. But for dual wides, get 2 20"-21.5" costs about the same as a 23"-25" but you get more then twice the screen real estate. After 21.5 you start paying more then 20$ an additional inch depending on where you buy.

Mark Dygert

I went dual Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22-inch LCD Monitors and love em. That was about a year and a half ago. They're still awesome. If I could get them to mate I would gladly share the offspring with you.

I'm not farming with the brand you picked out, could be good but you probably want to research it. System hardware comes and goes but monitors, last a lot longer, choose wisely.

I couldn't go back to a single monitor, especially not for animation, or modeling, or unwrapping, or viewing ref, or watching a movie, the list goes on and on.

MikeF

thanks for the info guys. While i'd love two widescreens, i really dont have the $$$ to spend.
I can feel my eyes starting to bug out and i need a replacement quite soon to my current setup but i'm moving by december so i dont have a ton to drop

EarthQuake

I think if you're considering LCD monitors, you should look into what sort of panels they come with.

TN panels which come with most cheap lcds offer very poor viewing angles, to some people this isnt a problem, but others really cant stand it(if you shift in your chair an inch or so the color will change, and there tends to be a constant gradient on the screen, which can really mess with you doing texture work).

P/MVA which are tend to be in most mid range monitors(good dell ultrasharps) have very good viewing angles and good color reproduction

IPS panels which are in the higher end(apple, NEC proffessional monitors) have great viewing angles and the best color reproduction, but tend to be crazy expensive.

I would suggest you take a trip to your local computer store(best buy etc) and take a look at the monitors they have, 99% will be crappy consumer TN panels. A test that i do(which makes me look quite silly) is bob up and down to see how terrible the viewing angles are.

If view angles and color reproduction are important to you, you should save your money and get a quality lcd(24 inch dell 2408wpf is AWESOME, you can find it for 400-500 when they have sales, which is often). Or go for something like a 20 inch ultrasharp that you can probably get for around $300. What i do when i'm looking at monitors is google "monitor name TN panel" should usually tell you what panel type is in it.

you should give this thread a read: http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=62572

EarthQuake

per is a blind old man that cant tell the difference between a quality LCD and a wet paper bag.

EarthQuake

blind as a bat

Pedro Amorim

loolololol
THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS ARROUND HERE!

Mechadus

Vig wrote: »

I went dual Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22-inch LCD Monitors and love em.

I also have these same monitors, and I have been very pleased with them since I first got them. Dual widescreens is the ONLY way to go for 3d / 2d work.

MikeF

alright, looks like i'm rushing into this over what looks like a good deal. Gonna sit down this weekend and do my research, thanks for the info guys

Jeremy Wright

If you have dual graphic cards in SLI a single larger monitor might be the ticket.

I would still recomment dual monitors, due to the lower cost and increased screen space.

thomasp

what about a 24-inch widescreen as the main monitor and a pivoted 19- or 21-inch one for email and random spillover? two fat widescreens seem just a bit ... wide - particularly for a tablet user who wants to match the overall aspect ratio of their setup.

i used two pivoted 21-inchers with regular aspect ratio for a while for 3d since their shape lends well to (human) character work when rotated 90 degrees. bit too narrow for my taste for more general purposes sadly.

note when i say 21-inchers i'm referring to screens running at 1600x1200 native res, not the consumer thingies at 1600x1080.

Asthane

thomasp wrote: »

what about a 24-inch widescreen as the main monitor and a pivoted 19- or 21-inch one for email and random spillover? two fat widescreens seem just a bit ... wide - particularly for a tablet user who wants to match the overall aspect ratio of their setup.

Surely you only want to map the tablet to one monitor at a time?

As for monitors, definitely is nice to be able to take a look yourself at what you're getting. LCD specs are all lies. My main monitor is an Acer G24, horrible ugly orange thing but I'm happy with the colors and brightness. Significant color-shifting by angle but I hear that's normal for TN displays. I held out for the longest time on two Dell 21" CRTs so this is actually my first LCD and I have nothing to compare it to

MoP

I have two 22" widescreens at work and love it. Would have dual 24" if I could.

At home I have a 22" widescreen and a 19" 5:4 aspect, it's not ideal but it's fine (19" for reference/browsing, widescreen for actual work). Again I'd prefer two matching displays (partly so that moving windows from one monitor to another isn't inconsistent) but I don't really see the need to buy a whole new monitor just for an extra few inches of screen area.

Going back to a single monitor now feels crippling to me.

And to echo what Per said, the 19" I have at home is the cheapest TFT I could get about 5 years ago, and it's still fine... I've seen brand new similar size screens at the same price today which aren't noticeably any better, visually.

Lamont

Also consider a nice videocard to properly push all that stuff. Older cards will stop drawing panels, textures and menu's after it runs out of memory.

System

I'm now onto my 3rd 24" tft monitor in ~2months (lol faulty) and im going to side with perna for the most part.

TN vs IPS panels isnt largely important, considering how much more you are expected to pay for the IPS. The 24" i had prior to this was a BenQ v2400w and had a very accurate sRGB colour profile when calibrated.

Seeing how theyre now out of stock in most places I was doing my fucking nut trying to get a replacement 24" - I sided with a HP 2445, which is the TN version of a IPS panel and viewing angle wise i have NO problems at all... after all i sit infront of the thing.


2 GREAT sites;

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/

check out the 22"~ monitors on there and grab one that seems nice!

Lamont

If your machine already has a second slot, then go ahead and use it. They do have PCI videocards...

pior

Yeah Per it works flawlessly with an aged videocard shoved in the PCI slot. 3 screens is a nice setup (used to have the baby cintiq as third... but sold it back), but even if it works it can get a bit annoying to handle. You'll end up adjusting settings for quite a while, trying to figure out what should go where, and so on. And changing it all over again the next week. When it comes to a third monitor I would even recommend using another computer altogether instead.

A note for dual monitor users. I highly recommend a vertical split, with the secondary monitor on top of the main one. It makes wonders for back problems, since you wont have your spine twisted, at all. Plus it makes the reference pictures much easier to look at - no need to turn your head. Movies are also much better that way to.

A small ergortron purchase would let you do this easily. I have it setup like this at the office, and everybody is curious about it and wants to try it. At home I just recently went for a badasser solution tho. 24 inch secondary? What about a 120incher!

Bruno Afonseca

Mechadus wrote: »

I also have these same monitors, and I have been very pleased with them since I first got them. Dual widescreens is the ONLY way to go for 3d / 2d work.

Really? I don't even have an idea of how its like to work on two monitors. How do you spread your tools around them? I'm on a 17" 1920x1200 and it kinda seems enough for me.

Lamont

I'm on a single 24" at home. I just alt+tab like a maniac. Before I moved, I had a 50" LCD on the wall for customers/watching movies/testing. But 90% of the time it was playing console videogames. Hardly used it for a secondary.

Mark Dygert

fonfa wrote: »

Really? I don't even have an idea of how its like to work on two monitors. How do you spread your tools around them? I'm on a 17" 1920x1200 and it kinda seems enough for me.

Looks like this:

Buried on the second monitor is email, the curve editor, biped workbench, motion mixer, photoshop and firefox. A lot of that crap goes away when I'm not working with biped.

thomasp

per: there's also a tech called DisplayLink for USB->DVI output that looks interesting for connecting a bunch of screens to a setup without installing more hardware.

asthane: surely you'd want the tablet active on all screens? at least if you use it as a sort-of mouse replacement i find it just irritating to have it stop at screen borders/use the tablet-hotkey to switch every time.

Xoliul

Two "medium" size displays > one big size display. It's not that expensive: two 22" 1680*1050 screens set you back like 130-150 euro's each here, that's still cheaper than one 24 or 26" screen.

Bruno Afonseca

perna wrote: »

Joke post or serious?

Why would it be a joke?
oh and thanks Vig!

Lamont

You can find two NICE 24" monitors for $210. And get one with HDCP...

ZacD

I always could use some more screen space, for references, tools, different apps, windows that I like to keep open for different apps, etc...

Jeremy Wright

Per turned me on to Ultramon a while back. Shit is so cash. A must for dual monitors.

MikeF

alright, so i've done a fair bit of research, thanks again for all the info, a lot more to consider than i originally thought.

I've narrowed down my choices and i just need a second opinion on a few models. I'l be going for the dual setup again.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3594692&sku=V18-1985&srkey=v18-1985

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4525287&sku=P109-2201%20CA&srkey=p109-2201

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4642593&sku=L49-2243%20CA&srkey=l49-2243

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4837723&sku=P109-2204%20CA

Joshua Stubbles

TBH I haven't used any of those brands (I owned Viewsonic back in the CRT days).

Right now I'm using an Acer X241W as primary and a BenQ FP202W (stood vertically to the right of primary). The primary is straight ahead, so I'm not turning to one side or the other. Just a quick glance to the right for ref, script editing, etc.