My 2020 desk setup

#1

Post by secure » Sat, May 23, 2020, 1:32 PM UTC

My 2020 desk setup
michael.stapelberg.ch

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#2

Post by ajross » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:20 PM UTC

"Probably another macbook setup" "Oh, nope, lots of terminals." "Hey, is that i3?" Then I realized who the author was.

Honestly: I tried i3 and it wasn't for me. The psychology of slightly overlapping windows (i.e. "just put this over here, out of the way but still visible" as a way of making a physical reminder for myself) is just too much part of my mental model to give up.

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#3

Post by kensai » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:28 PM UTC

Love these threads, it is always nice to see the setups of productive persons.

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#4

Post by kwerk » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:29 PM UTC

Interesting about switching from the 3900x back to Intel.

I recently built a desktop around the 3900x. I’m happy with the performance but coming from a decade on MacBooks. Feeling the FOMO about my choice now :)

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#5

Post by war1025 » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

The hardware section makes it sound like he's rebuilding his computer multiple times a year. Do people really find upgrading that often is worth the cost and the bother? What sorts of workloads do people deal with that having top of the line hardware even matters?

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#6

Post by illuminated » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

"I found that using only one monitor allows me to focus more on what I’m doing, and I don’t miss anything about a multi-monitor setup."

This.

I had the same realization maybe 7 or 8 years ago and it is true for me. With multiple monitors it's like moving your hands away from the keyboard all the time and looking for the mouse. Same happens for me while looking for anything across the 2 or 3 monitor setup. It just weakens your focus... If I'm on a laptop (and I usually am), I just use the laptop's screen. Getting used to a different screen size while working with my laptop setup would also slightly slow me down when I'm bound to use only the laptop.

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#7

Post by secure » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:31 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #2

"Probably another macbook setup" "Oh, nope, lots of terminals." "Hey, is that i3?" Then I realized who the author was. Honestly: I tried i3 and it wasn't for me. The psychology of slightly overlapping windows (i.e. "just put this over here, out of the way but still visible" as a way of making a physical reminder for myself) is just too much part of my mental model to give up.

Have you tried stacking mode? The title bar will still be visible, while the window is out of the way. See it in action if you zoom into my monitor on https://michael.stapelberg.ch/Bilder/2020-05-22-desk-setup.j...

That works for me, but I understand it’s not for everyone :)

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#8

Post by secure » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:33 PM UTC

war1025 wrote: post #5

The hardware section makes it sound like he's rebuilding his computer multiple times a year. Do people really find upgrading that often is worth the cost and the bother? What sorts of workloads do people deal with that having top of the line hardware even matters?

I rebuild once a year on average, but not every year (planning to skip this year, for example).

In general, yes, I find it worthwhile to invest money and effort into a faster experience, but I’m very sensitive to latency, so YMMV :)

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#9

Post by retSava » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:39 PM UTC

kensai wrote: post #3

Love these threads, it is always nice to see the setups of productive persons.

Absolutely! Every now and then you pick up some methods or tools you hadn't thought of, that make yourself better.

You just have to remind yourself to bring the critical eye so that you don't start wearing black turtlenecks believing it'll make you a business genius :)

Re: My 2020 desk setup

#10

Post by purplezooey » Sat, May 23, 2020, 2:41 PM UTC

A bunch of crap strewn across an old IKEA desk. Why is this interesting.