As someone who follows a lot to tech news, I often see computer screen setups that are straight out of the Matrix. A chair with multiple screens so people can do 97 things at once. It’s usually then when my inner 14-year-old starts screaming “DUDE THAT’S AMAZING!!!! LET’S DO IT!!!!” While I do like to indulge my inner tech geek, my more mature side (to say nothing of my bank account) says, “how about no…..” Here’s the thing, for the average user, the number of screens you have doesn’t matter. I completely get wanting to have multiple monitors. At my day job, I have two main displays, and I can open my laptop and use it as a third if I REALLY need it. I rarely do, to be honest. At home, I have only one monitor, and it suits me just fine.
1) Are you a world class Computer programmer? – Likely the answer is no. To be clear, I’m not either. I’ve seen the kinds of people who need multiple screens to look at lots of data from lots of different places. I used to work next door to a stock brokerage, and those guys had six screens to a desk, which was wild to see. If you’re sitting at home and playing games, writing e-mails or surfing the internet, you don’t need more than two screens for that. Having multiple displays can look super cool, but at the end of the day, you need to think if you require them for whatever you’re using your computer for. I’ve seen highly productive people work off of the screen built into their computers and nothing else, so you need to think about what you need.
2) Is having more screens a convenience thing? – You need to think about this one. I find that I have lots of things that I have to do in my day to day life, and having it all my face is convenient, but is it that important? I acknowledge that there are a lot of jobs that require multiple screens, but there are also many more jobs that don’t need them. When I’m at work I do have two, and while it’s convenient when I’m working at home I only have one screen, and it works just as well. It’s important to look at the job you’re trying to do and take a hard look at whether or not you need it.
3) Can you afford it? – This may surprise you, but I’m not just talking about money when I say “affordability” here. The money is certainly part of it, but it’s also about the ability to have the actual space to fit the two monitors. Part of the reason that I went with one monitor, was because I thought I didn’t need two and if I simply got one big monitor, it would work just as well as two little ones. As it turns out, I was right.
Everyone is different. Everyone’s needs as far as screens are different. I think what you need to do when you’re setting up a home office is to think about What you are going to use it for. Are you just trying to keep your books and write the occasional e-mail? Likely you don’t need a full graphics card with four 60″ 8K displays. The only reason I’m not going to give you a specific recommendation as to what you should buy it because everyone’s set up is different.
Yes, I could make recommendations on what model screens to use, sizes, number of screens etc. but that wouldn’t help you. You may have a different set up than I do, you might be using your screens differently than I do. You may want something else. My wife swears by the curved screen in her office, I used it for about 15 minutes, and it gave me a headache! It’s essential to work with the physical space you have and to be able to work with the size, tech specs and resolution that you need (or want) so that you get the best experience.
How many screens do you use?
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