2x20.1" or one 24"?

[smopoim86]

I'm building a high-end system and was wanting input on what you think would be best. Two 20.1" displays or one dell ultra sharp 24"?

Graphics will not be a problem either way because when i purchace(later this year) i will probably be building a crossfire system.

Either will be around the same cost

 

[Crescent13]

one 24" one. On the few games you can span games accross, it's very hard to play with your center view cut in half. With odd numbers of monitors it's okay (3, 5, etc) but even numbers (2, 4, etc) don't work well with games.

 

[thescreensavers]

2 monitors
during games you can have the other monitor on you MSN,or aim window or your temp readings with out minimizing ur game

like mine Here here On the left a 19inch CRT and on the right a hp 15 inch monitor

 

[smopoim86]

Originally posted by: thescreensavers
2 monitors
during games you can have the other monitor on you MSN,or aim window or your temp readings with out minimizing ur game

thats what i was thinking, but now i'm looking at two 22" crts
$400 for both of them

 

[Koharski]

dual monitors

 

[1N0V471V]

Don't get CRTs, please. I was just using dual 19" LCDs and it was SWEET!

Now back to one 19" LCD... For now anyway...

 

[Czar]

one 24" now... then another 24" one later or a 30"

 

[RebateMonger]

If you are trying to do work with the monitors, then multiple monitors is more cost-effective for the same square-inches of display and, normally, more productive. Some programs want to take over a whole display, so having multiple displays is easier to work with.

I've used Dual 19-inch LCDs for a couple of years and I'm now adding a third. But the big jump in productivity is with the second monitor.

 

[envy me]

Originally posted by: Czar
one 24" now... then another 24" one later or a 30"

What kind of video card(s) would you need to power 2 24's? You think an x1900xt would be enough??

Also If you were to get 2 24's would you have them set up where they are both widescreen or where they are flipped 90 degrees so it looks more square?

 

[GimpyFuzznut]

I would get two 20s. Are you getting widescreens? I personally hate widescreens - I don't get what the fuss is about them. Everything looks distorted on them because of the strange resolutions - text always looks somewhat distorted and a lot of games require tweaking to get to work at those resolutions - but still look weird. For example, even now on my CRT, when I set WoW to run at non-standard resolution, all the text looks stretched.

I would much rather get dual 20'' monitors because of the horsepower demand for a 24'' screen. With the 20'', you can game on one screen with settings fully maxed out. For me, I don't like to game at really high-resolution and would rather take graphics quality over high resolution. Ofcourse, if you are going to get a high end Crossfire system, the 24'' might not be a problem - but then again it might be one year from now. I really don't think even the state of the art graphics solution will be able to run games maxed out at that high resolution for very long.

 

[Mellman]

if you hate widescreens you have not used them....I used to hate the idea of a widescreen LCD for the PC. But let me tell you, once you have them you won't go back. the human eye see's more peripherally on your sides than you do vertically. You can easily use two 20" dell's with no issues. i have them, and will never go back. I game, and no issues, because I have AIm and TV up on the ride one while my left monitor has the game up.

Go duals, not a big single one, you wont regret it i promise. I can't imagine having two 24" unless I was doing all video and photo processing, and purists dont use LCD's still because of the color replication capabilities.

Good luck!

 

[aniruddha23]

Bigger Single Monitor any time.

1 Dual Monitors cause immense neck strain Due to the Tennis match watching syndrome
2 The novelty Dies off in a few days
3 If u are playing a game either ways u cant switch to AIM or anything else without killing ur game.
4 Black band in center is annoying as hell.
5 Video's or movies DO NOT span across the monitors. U cna view em on only one at a time.
6. While watching movies or somethign u have to keep shutting off the second monitor or it looks plain Wierd to have a destop next to ur movie.

I used to have a 19" dual mon setup and it was just not practical for day to day use.

Yes its great for people who do Production support type jobs but for day tod ay use. nyahhhh.

Besides since u will be running crossfire u may just be able to run games at the full 1920Xwhatever highets resolution on a 24.

EDIT : P.S. Widescreens rock. Once u get used to a widescreen u will never go back. Most newer games will have a Widescreen mode.

 

[red cap]

one 24" flat panel and a cheapo CRT

 

[aniruddha23]

Originally posted by: red cap
one 24" flat panel and a cheapo CRT

nothing can look more fugly on ur desktop than that.

not to mention the eye strain caused by the different brightness/contrats/refresh rates.

 

[smopoim86]

Originally posted by: aniruddha23

Originally posted by: red cap
one 24" flat panel and a cheapo CRT

nothing can look more fugly on ur desktop than that.

not to mention the eye strain caused by the different brightness/contrats/refresh rates.

I agree, if i go dual im getting a matched set.

 

[RebateMonger]

The other thing to note about widescreen monitors is that they have a lot less screen space than you might expect based on the large diagonal measurement.

In this case,
The 24-inch Widescreen has 2,304,000 pixels.
The 20.1-inch Standard has 1,920,000 pixels.

This means that TWO 20.1-inch Standard monitors have a total of 3,840,000 pixels versus 2,304,000 pixels for the single 24-inch Widescreen monitor.

If you are using the monitors for work, that's a big difference in available space. I like to have a couple of full screens of documents or web pages onscreen at the same time so I can compare things or cut and paste from one to the other. It all depends on what you are going to do with the computer.

 

[Gagan]

120 days, 1200 posts. Nice.