Would you prefer 1 good LCD or 2 o.k. LCDs?

[nullpointerus]

The 20-22" LCD market has great variety in terms of price, quality, and features. There are monitors ranging from $189 all the way up to $600 and beyond. Given the common support for dual-view, would it be better for me to get 1 expensive LCD or 2 decent LCDs? I'm talking around $300-400 total cost.

Lately, I find myself moving windows around a lot to copy stuff between them. Or I am shrinking the Media Center window so that I watch TV while doing something else. Also, I've got Visual C# and Visual Web Developer open simultaneously so that I can switch between working on my project and its website/documentation.

In fact, much of what I do involves two tasks. If I had two 1680x1050 LCDs, I could maximize something on each monitor.

So:

1. Could you get by with two more decent LCDs vs. one expensive LCD?
2. Do you think that I could do it, given my personal desires (above) and tolerances (below)?
3. How usable is current dual-view support (in Vista)? i.e. does Media Center work fine on the second display?


For reference, I'm using a VX2025wm. I hardly notice the graininess anymore compared to a $600 LCD I borrowed for a while, so I'm guessing my standards have been lowered enough to be satisfied with a cheaper model. However, I can't stand noticable backlight bleeding.

The monitors would have to be decent for casual gaming, and they must have crisp text. 20" vs. 22" does not really matter to me as I can simply move the monitor forward or backward. I would prefer that the monitor have VESA mounts because I already have a VESA arm on my wall.

 

[math20]

I would say one good monitor would be better because most games don't support dual screens and 1920x1200 would be big enough to have both development programs you have open at the same time.

 

[Fraggable]

2 monitors is great for desktop productivity, 1 is best for games. Very few games natively support more than 1 monitor, most games that can work on 2 have to be modified to work - check the widescreengamingforums for that. Think about gaming on 2 monitors though, you're going to have a gap in the center of your screen because of the screen bezels. What fun is that? It would drive me nuts on a shooter.

If it were me I'd get 2 20-22" LCDs and run games on just one of them and be glad I wasn't spending more on a video card / CPU / memory to run the game at a higher res on one monitor.

When I ran my media center PC on 2 monitors, I noticed that when Windows Media Center is maximized in one monitor, you can't move the mouse outside that monitor. Very annoying when you're trying to do work. You have to just stretch the window to fit the screen.

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: Fraggable
If it were me I'd get 2 20-22" LCDs and run games on just one of them and be glad I wasn't spending more on a video card / CPU / memory to run the game at a higher res on one monitor.

Yeah, that's actually what I meant to say.

When I ran my media center PC on 2 monitors, I noticed that when Windows Media Center is maximized in one monitor, you can't move the mouse outside that monitor. Very annoying when you're trying to do work. You have to just stretch the window to fit the screen.

Thank you! This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

Developers really ought to re-evaluate their software in light of multi-monitor capabilities.

IIRC, the last time I used dual-view was with two CRTs (22" and 15"), and many programs either wouldn't "remember" their size&position when I left them on the second monitor, or they'd "jump" to a different position whenever a game was launched on the other monitor.

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: math20
I would say one good monitor would be better because most games don't support dual screens and 1920x1200 would be big enough to have both development programs you have open at the same time.

Hmm...I hadn't thought of getting a 1920x1200 LCD. NewEgg does have some in the desired price range. I'll look in the LCD Buyer's Guide for information on the panels.

The idea of being able to easily maximize something on just one of two monitors does appeal to me, though.

 

[Fraggable]

Being a single-monitor (Westinghouse 1080P 37") user running at 1900 X 1080, I would have to say for desktop work such as Office, IE, whatever dual monitors are better than one high-res screen. Maybe it's all in my head, but I can get more done and have more stuff going at once with 2 smaller screens.

 

[nullpointerus]

Cool! The 2x 1680x1050 LCDs should be what I need then.

I looked through the 1920x1200 LCDs on NewEgg, but most of them in the $300-500 price range are TNs (i.e. 160-degree viewing angle) and are likely not very good for normal productivity and multimedia. xtknight's LCD Buyer's Guide seems to recommend the AL2051W for my needs at this point; we'll see what comes up by the holidays.

 

[gorobei]

Good choice, but good luck on finding the AL2051W. Newegg has stopped selling it. The only ones available seem to be refurbs.

 

[CP5670]

I would always prefer a single good monitor, but for what you're doing it seems that two cheaper ones would be a better option.

 

[chewietobbacca]

It was proven that people are like 15-30% more productive with dual monitors so if thats the kind of work you are looking for, thats the way to go

 

[secretanchitman]

2 monitors if you need the space. 1 if you can live without the monitor.

personally, i would just get one good 20"/24" and be done with it. i took the plunge and got a dell 2407WFP and i'm EXTREMELY pleased with it.

 

[nullpointerus]

Thanks for the confirmation!

For now I'm checking out a neat little freeware application: http://www.codeplex.com/vdm

It's Vista-aware and uses the new live-preview/compositing SDK just like the taskbar thumbnails and appears to work fine so far. I did make it crash once with Visual C#, but I think that was just a fluke. The software IS only a 0.5 RC, so there are bound to be problems.

The authors plan on adding Expose-like features in the upcoming releases, which would be really cool.

 

[CBone]

I just picked up a 37" 1080p monitor and it's incredible. I can have reference materials (PDFs, browser) open alongside my workspace and it is all totally clear. If you can manage it, get the dual monitors or 1 very large monitor.

 

[Rhoxed]

i prefer 2 monitors. for me personally i have a 20" LCD for web/office aps/photo editing/encoding ect. and i have a 56" 1080P DLP used for gaming and video or web use if i dont want to sit at the desk.

 

[hans007]

i program at work and have 2 screens (actually 3 screens 2 dell 2007fp and a 15" laptop). at home i rarel use my home computer to do work so i just have one really nice screen (nec 20wmgx2)

 

[will889]

One great LCD, just like I would rather have 1 8800GTX over two 7950GT's or 2 8800GTS cards. Less complexity = one less vector to deal with.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i voted for 2 mediocre lcd's because i currently have 1 x 20.1in 1680x1050 monitor + a 17in (1280x1024) monitor side by side (they match in height) and i feel it is so much more productive than just one monitor.

here is what i currently do:
20.1in:
main web browsing w/ tabs
full screen gaming
full screen movies/videos

17in:
itunes in a window
monitor gpu/cpu temps
google sidebar
mozilla thunderbird in a window to have real-time email updates

+ any file operations (spyware/virus scans, copy&paste, downloading programs, etc)

-----------------------

on top of that i also like that i can view my gpu/cpu activity/temps while gaming on my main monitor and also get any important email updates while gaming full screen.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
i voted for 2 mediocre lcd's because i currently have 1 x 20.1in 1680x1050 monitor + a 17in (1280x1024) monitor side by side (they match in height) and i feel it is so much more productive than just one monitor.

here is what i currently do:
20.1in:
main web browsing w/ tabs
full screen gaming
full screen movies/videos

17in:
itunes in a window
monitor gpu/cpu temps
google sidebar
mozilla thunderbird in a window to have real-time email updates

+ any file operations (spyware/virus scans, copy&paste, downloading programs, etc)

-----------------------

on top of that i also like that i can view my gpu/cpu activity/temps while gaming on my main monitor and also get any important email updates while gaming full screen.

My god. That is exactly what i want to do..

i envy you.

here take a precious

 

[Laminator]

You can accomplish that for <$400. $200 for a good 22" LCD and $150 or less for a 19" LCD. Put them together and you have a nice setup.