One Big Monitor? Or Mulitple Smaller monitors?

42” flat screen?

32” lcd TV and 20” lcd monitor most of the time because I use the PC as client-side cable box. When I need to work I unplug it and use my old 20” CRT. I’m too scared of burn ins to use the bigger screen to display static documents.

great- this all really helps. <$200
thanks

A bigger single display is the “best”. On a “budget” though, people make do with multiple monitors.

In that regard, I think you’ve already answered your own question.

To me, the next logical question would be: Is it easy to work with multiple monitors?

And yes, I think it pretty much is.

I run two different size, different brand, standing monitors off a an older Dell laptop from a docking station… and that works pretty alright. Of course, when my laptop is on the road and not docked, I’ve only got the one builtin screen.

In other words, I can almost seamlessly transition and work with three different monitors from different vendors all with different resolutions and with two different aspect ratios. (For Windows, I use Ultramon to help with managing some of that.)

Probably the trickiest part is to ensure that you’ve got enough display out ports to drive your multiple monitors with the kind of inputs they need. That could include DVI, HDMI, Component, VGA, S-Video, etc. You might even mix and match for your particular setup.

HDMI kicks ass…

I buy all my HDMI cables from Monster Cable®.

yahhhh right

Does that Macbook Pro support dual display (as opposed to mirroring the internal display)? Looking at the specs at Apple.com it looks like they have for a few years. If so, how about getting the 23” display and using the Macbook as the second monitor?

Regarding cables – save some big $$ and buy your cables via eBay. Order today so you don’t have to make an impulse buy where you buy the monitor. Don’t spend more than $10, including shipping. Every store will charge you $40, $50 or more for a cable that’s worth about $2 wholesale.

I use two monitors (Both 17” Samsungs, different models and years though). I’ve got a few friends who opt just for a single huge monitor (Including my roommates). It just doesn’t seem to work for me as well as dual monitors, but your mileage will vary.

For the record, my vote goes to dual monitors because I can watch a full-screen video, or play a full-screen game and still be able to see things on the other monitor, be it a website, chat programs, Winamp, Ventrilo, virus scan, whatever. Even with just browsing or writing documents, I can just full-screen it and have another screen full.

For all of those situations with a big single monitor, I’d have to bother with all the resizing of every window, and playing full-screen games/videos while having other things up just plain wouldn’t work.

as of note, this is a mac setup, so the dock and menu bar can only be on one monitor- heavily favoring the “one big one” option

@jaytkay yes the MBP supports both dual and mirrored modes, and I already have a DVI-HDMI cable, so this is a non-issue, but yes I can’t believe people pay $40 for an HDMI cable. Absurd