Big Widescreen Monitor or 2 Smaller Ones

[Ghost Rider]

Thinking of upgrading my current 19" CRT monitor to something bigger. Not sure if I would be better off going for a couple of 17" CRTs (my 6600GT will support one VGA and one DVI monitor at the same time) or a widescreen TFT (possibly 20"). I know the two 17" would give me a larger effective desktop, but are there currently any particular advantages/disadvatages to going for a dual traditional 17" setup versus a single widescreen TFT. I mainly do web design, photo editing, video editing and play the occasional game. :)

[DaveW]

Hmm...i don't have a widescreen, so i can't say, but i do have 2* 19" flat panels in a dual screen display. Dual screen has a lot of advantages, such as having all your toolboxes in one with the item you're working on in the other. When web designing, you can have your code in one window, and the output on another. When programming, your reference/packages in one, your body in another.

And so on. I don't think you'd get the same use out of a widescreen monitor-possibly, but not quite.

-Dave

[Ghost Rider]

Dave,

Took a peek at your project (Stage 3) when you had a single 17" monitor. Any up to date photos of how the project currently looks?

I'm currently running a small 14" TFT (nicked from my kids' PC! Bad Dad!!) alongside my 19" CRT as a test as I've only recently found out that my graphics card can run 2 monitors at the same time (thanks to another post on this forum). As you have highlighted there is an advantage to having separate windows/dialogue boxes on one screen while having other files/apps open on another screen.

I also note from your postings that you seem to have upgraded from a 17" TFT to 19". Which size would you recommend? Personally I'm undecided as to whether to go for a pair of 17s or a pair of 19s. One concern I have is whether or not my graphics card would happliy support two 19s versus two 17s.

[Razors Edge]

It seems that for you're needs, You are better off with 2 17", Or simply just buy another 19" moniter and there you go.

[GT40_GearHead]

your graphics card shoud not be a problem, my inno3D suported two 19" samsungs, so i dont see any posible problem.......

[DaveW]

The 2 19"'s are a life-saver. I'd get another 19". Your card can handle the size in inches, it's the output in pixels that might give you issues-what resolution do you want to run?

-Dave

[Ghost Rider]

Currently running my 19" CRT @ 1280 x 1024 75Hz which is okay.

[DaveW]

Yeah, you should be able to get another 19" and run it parrallel to that.

If you get a TFT, then you can buy another 19" TFT later.

I got both mine from Dabs.com at the same time, it's the Dabsvalue 19" monitors. They were only £98 each or something and i have to confess they do the exact same job as better models. I was actually very impressed with them, and they can take both DVI and VGA signals.

If you're not in the UK or France though that won't be much use to you I guess...

-Dave

[Ghost Rider]

Thanks for all the info. As I'm a little short on desk space (corner desk and my big CRT takes up way too much space) I'm not sure that I'll be able to fit a 19" TFT and the CRT side by side. However, at around £200 for a pair that seems like a real bargain. I'll checks Dabs out. What was the model of your monitors?

[Indybird]

If you have alot of money you can get a Dell or Apple 30" display which both run at 2560x1600, but then again you'd need a graphics card with dual-like DVI

[DaveW]

It's just listed as 'Dabsvalue' or some nonsense. It's basically some generic brand that wouldn't sell for itself but actually has a pretty decent product.

There's always the tiny risk you'll get 2 different models with the same statistics. This can happen with value RAM. But it's not likely to happen with these i shouldn't think.

Here's a link for you. (http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=459V&SearchType=1&CategorySelectedId=11014&SearchTerms=19%22&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=11014,50010) Looks like the price has went up but the product looks better. Same statistics as mine though-built in speakers & amp, 1280*1024 max resolution, and 8ms response time. They're pretty good.

-Dave

[The Black Pumpkin]

I'm scared Dave, Daisy....

Er.. sorry. Does the Dabsthingie come in black at all? Or would I have to do that crazy "modding" thing? Looks good.

[simon275]

I'm scared Dave, Daisy....

I love 2001 a space odyssey best film no one else I know likes it or gets it.:rolleyes:

I wish someone made a decent case mod that looks like HAL. I have seen a few but they aren't that good.

Back on topic

Yeah two 19" are the way I got two 19" benq screens they run great. I run em off a 6800gt. One is dvi and is vga. As my 6800gt has dvi and a vga port.

My producivity increased so much. Having a browser open on one monitor and and word on the other such a benifit.

I play wow across both monitors and fps games on one as the crosshair is cut in half.

LCD's are getting cheap these days. My first 19" BenQ monitor cost $700 AUS 1280*1024 8ms. While a while later my second exactly the same cost $300 AUS.

[DaveW]

The ones i got were black, but if they come silver, you could always mod them.

-Dave

[chedabob]

i have a 19inch acer al1916w, its brillo. best monitor ive ever bought. its 16:10 so its slightly taller than a widescreen. its a bitch to find wallpapers that fit it :P

i wouldnt use two monitors, cos you have that stupid gap. and it uses more processing.

[DaveW]

i wouldnt use two monitors, cos you have that stupid gap. and it uses more processing.

You get used to the gap very fast. And most cards are fully equiped to handle dual screen setups these days-the difference in mips is more than worth it.

-Dave

[Ghost Rider]

DaveW,

The Dabs value monitor (from your link) seems pretty godd value - good reviews too.

Chedabob mentions processing issues. Surely if you want absolute max performance from your graphics card i.e. for FPS games, then switching off the secondary monitor should address this issue, or would you have to physically disconnect the monitor from the second graphics card input.

[The Black Pumpkin]

The only problem I've noticed with the Dabsvalue monitors it that there is no DVI in, only analog. Otherwise, almost perfect.

[DaveW]

The only problem I've noticed with the Dabsvalue monitors it that there is no DVI in, only analog. Otherwise, almost perfect.

Erm...they have both analogue and DVI. They have two ports and you can switch between them. They only come with Analogue cables though, but it's only a couple of quid for the DVI cables.


Chedabob mentions processing issues. Surely if you want absolute max performance from your graphics card i.e. for FPS games, then switching off the secondary monitor should address this issue, or would you have to physically disconnect the monitor from the second graphics card input.

Disabling it does the trick. You can set up different settings with ATI and switch between them i think.

-Dave

[The Black Pumpkin]

Oops, I was looking at this (http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=44DJ&SearchType=1&CategorySelectedId=11014&SearchTerms=19"&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=11014,50010&v=2#infoarea) one, not the one you linked to.

Under the "Header" section of the specifications, both of them list a manufacturer and product line, just in case you want to know who built them. :)

[DaveW]

Crikey...2 widescreens. talk about sweet!

-Dave

[simon275]

19" Widescreen TFT at 1440x900 I have never heard of such a thing how does that work a 19" monitor is sqaure aint it or is it still 19" diagonally but its wider and not as high as a normal 19" screen.

I heard two 21" widescreens from dell is the way to go. They are actually making some decent screens these days.

[DaveW]

I heard two 21" widescreens from dell is the way to go. They are actually making some decent screens these days.

Also a good point. These days Dell churn out heaps of crap, but they have made some friends, and their flat panels seem to be of high quality. They don't seem to generate much heat or use a lot of power, and they have small frames. If you can get 2 Dell 21" screens, then you probably won't be going wrong.

-Dave

[DaveW]

Not meaning to double post, but i'll see if i can get some companies to send us out their monitors for reviews-then i'll be able to give you proper advice about them.

-Dave

[opengswede]

I'd too go for dual monitors. Just one concern though; remember that directX can only be run on your primary screen (which can be switch to which ever you want, but never to two screens at ones). This has cause me to ditch a few programs that are directX-dependent.
This is, however, graphic-card specific and maybe more modern cards can emulate directX.
I'm guessing you're running windows, otherwise this comment does not apply.

-.erik

[meticoeus]

I'm using Dell's 24" widescreen and I can easily use two programs side by side. But my pc is also for media (read htpc in a dorm) so I though it would be better overall. For any other role, I'd go with the 2 20.1" from them. The screen quality appears quite decent even on a prety old gpu (nividia's mx 440, lol). The slight advantage of sizable widescreens is that when you rotate them (which you should be able to do) you have long viewing areas for reading stuff like webpages and w/o the tone of wasted space on either side.

hth

[simon275]

I'd too go for dual monitors. Just one concern though; remember that directX can only be run on your primary screen (which can be switch to which ever you want, but never to two screens at ones). This has cause me to ditch a few programs that are directX-dependent.
This is, however, graphic-card specific and maybe more modern cards can emulate directX.
I'm guessing you're running windows, otherwise this comment does not apply.

-.erik

Must be an old problem I can play wow across my dual 19" LCD's.

Also DaveW try and get dell to send in one of there 30" monsters.

[Ghost Rider]

Saw a HP 19" widescreen yesterday however, the 900 pixel vertical resolution puts me off going down this route as word docs etc would be too short. Have seen the Dell 2007WFP 20.1" widescreen which looks pretty good however, not sure if I would still be better off going for one of these or a dual 19" set up. Anybody got any comments on the 2007WFP?

[MitaPi]

Well just to throw this in here... I just got my second 17" LCD yesterday and what I am going to do is mount them in one enclosure made out of acrylic. Which makes the space inbetween alot smaller (not that it matters, you get used to it fast) and it is just easier than having two. You could always try something like that? I personaly like the dual screen better than just the one big one. Having two screens can be really useful at times. Such as... designing on Google Sketchup and browsing the TBCS Forums at the same time :p.

As for that 20.1" display... Here is a site that I like to use alot for reviews. It has professional review ratings and it has personal user ratings.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_UltraSharp_2007WFP/4505-3174_7-31783769.html

Here are some other reviews for that product.... as you can see, ratings differ.
http://www.windowsatoz.com/product_guides/displays/dell_ultrasharp_2007WFP.php
http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/28/dell-2007wfp-20-inch-lcd-reviewed/

PC Magazine covered this product as well and gave it a pretty good rating!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1957640,00.asp

Hope this helped, Good luck!
MitaPi

EDIT:
It looks like this one is pretty good... HP f2105.
But I would personaly go with dual screen... like two of these... http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_UltraSharp_1707FP/4505-3174_7-31694880.html?tag=pdtl-list

[gaz_the_chav]

There's always the tiny risk you'll get 2 different models with the same statistics. This can happen with value RAM. But it's not likely to happen with these i shouldn't think.


I ordered two from Microdirect. They had exactlly the same stats but the problem is that they were two completely different looking models grrrrrrr

I could not do anything about it though.:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Ghost Rider]

Well I've bitten the bullet and ordered a Dell 2007WFP. I'll let you know how it runs on my rig (AMD 2600+, 1Gb RAM and 6600GT). Feel that I may need to look at upgrading the 6600GT for a more powerful card but don't want to go down the PCI-E route just yet as my MB (Asus A7N8X Deluxe) is only AGP. Any thoughts on a decent AGP card for around £100 or should I save the cash, make do with what I've got, and wait until the New Year when I may think of upgrading my rig?

[DaveW]

Probably best to wait.

-Dave