It seems like everywhere I read people keep mentioning how important it is for them to work on multiple monitors (usually it's two or three) or one very big monitor (such as a 27" or 30"), and often I hear them saying "the bigger the better".
I'm working on a notebook (15.4" display at 1440x900 screen resolution) and I'm pretty happy (or so I think). Alt+Tab doesn't bother me and I don't feel the need to have two or three or one gigantic monitor. Are there any of you who agree with me? How big of a productivity boost does your big setup give you (try being objective please) ?
Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
1–10 of 15 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#2All I like is a good amount of pixels and easy keyboard shortcuts for moving and tiling windows. Those pixels can either be on multiple physical screens, or just one with a good (say 1920x1200) resolution.
Being able to have 2, 3 or 4 editor/browser/shell/whatever windows tiled and visible isn't essential, but it's a way of working you miss once you've gotten used to it.
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#3It is preferred for me if I am performing certain tasks. If I am rapidly editing html/css then I like to be able to see my markup and a preview in a browser at the same time. Whether this be accomplished by two monitors or one monitor with sufficient resolution does not matter.
Reading API documentation while I code is another good use case for multiple displays. It gives me a quick at-a-glance ability that I can't achieve with alt tabbing on a single monitor. (I can, it just feels a lot slower because I am constantly having to visually relocate where I was within the document)
I refrain from saying that it is a "MUST" or is "REQUIRED", because I can by just fine on my little 15 laptop, but I prefer working on my dual screen setup.
If I'm going to go with just one larger monitor, a nice tiling window manager is nice. Otherwise, I can just alt-tab to the other screen.
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#4I personally find multiple monitors distracting if I don't need to follow lots of log output simultaneously. The 27" Dell U2711 [1] with 2560x1440 works perfectly for me, and is pretty much the only monitor with this resolution in an acceptable price range (~$800). On this screen there is enough space for Eclipse, two Android emulators, and part of a terminal showing the logs, for instance.
A 17" display with about 1920x1200 also just works for me. I find lower resolutions very hard to work with.
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#5I don't particularly care about having multiple monitors or even a large monitor. I use virtual desktops with keyboard shortcuts I've configured to facilitate easy switching, and I find that suits my workflow best. If I had a larger monitor, I might use fewer virtual desktops, but the virtual desktop is free whereas the larger monitor isn't. I just don't see the return.
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#6I feel small screen quite suffocating.
i currently have two 22". (Samsung PX2370). Thinking of switching to one 27" apple cinema. If any one have done same or other way around, please share your experience.
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#7[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#8It is absolutely critical. The 30-40% productivity gain per monitor is absolutely true.
My setups have included:
Three 19" screens at 1280x1024. This was uber productive. Reference/communication on the left screen, code in the middle screen, test on the right screen.
Now I'm running a 23" Samsung and a 27" Asus. I use the 27" to code and the 23" to read/test on. The 27" has a 1920x1080 resolution but larger type causes less strain on my eyes.
Where do I think I'm going to end up? Buying a 27" iMac and using it as a Target Display Mode for my next Macbook Air. I think I could do it all on one 27".
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#9Once I started using multiple monitors for software development, I never looked back.
Re: Ask HN: Is a multiple monitor setup significant to you when writing code?
#10There was a study done on this a while ago: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8914028...
I agree with the premise that there are diminishing returns after the 2nd screen, but I personally always use my 13" Macbook screen alongside the cinema display when I'm at my desk.