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Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

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Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#311

Post by seanp2k2 »

jiggawatts wrote: post #308
evil-olive wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

looking at the datasheet [0], it has a lot of specialized ports that I would never need, but I wouldn't be surprised if an ATC tower somewhere needed it for obscure compatibility reasons. 5x BNC for analog input, for example. also multiple serial ports for remote controls of some kind, and SNMP support. the field-replaceable backlight seems to be a big selling point too. 0: https://440148.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.n…

Typical enterprise logic: $20K for an ordinary display that can be "repaired in the field" and comes with "support", instead of $200 for a display that can be replaced in its entirety for... $200.

Not just enterprise logic, but enterprise serving the public sector logic. Get those sweet, sweet tax dollars.

You should see how much medical displays are for things like looking at ultrasounds / MRI / xray images.

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#312

Post by zeitlupe »

LASR wrote: post #44

Tangentially related thought: Take my advice, don't go ultra-wide. Go with a large 4k. You get more pixels for cheaper. The only ultrawide that makes any sense is the 5k x 2k resolution one. These have more pixels than a single 4K. But they are expensive. Even then, a 16:9 5K monitor has more pixels. I personally use 3 x 27 inch 4K - which is cheaper than a single 5k Ultra-wide and gives you a TON more pixels.

The problem with multiple monitors for me is that you have to turn your head very wide to look onto the adjacent screens' center, which is definitely not ergonomic and healthy.

That being said, it is still my current setup as this wide turn holds me off from looking at the second screen, where slack and other distracting stuff is placed.

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#313

Post by bun_terminator »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #282
bun_terminator wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's completely orthogonal issues, no? You probably refer to OLEDs superior black levels etc. But this thread was about subpixel rendering. One can be bad while the other can not. It's unrelated.

They're related because many OLEDs use a non-RGB pixel layout, so it's necessary to turn off sub-pixel anti-aliasing, and the net result seems worth that tradeoff now that screens are high-resolution enough that sub-pixel anti-aliasing makes less of a difference.

But the high resolution is not a property of OLED displays. The tradeoff might be worth it, but it's still a tradeoff I'm not willing to risk.

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#314

Post by RoyalHenOil »

andix wrote: post #138
LASR wrote: post #44

Tangentially related thought: Take my advice, don't go ultra-wide. Go with a large 4k. You get more pixels for cheaper. The only ultrawide that makes any sense is the 5k x 2k resolution one. These have more pixels than a single 4K. But they are expensive. Even then, a 16:9 5K monitor has more pixels. I personally use 3 x 27 inch 4K - which is cheaper than a single 5k Ultra-wide and gives you a TON more pixels.

I don't get the point of a lot of monitors. My current setup is a 4K 32" 16:9, which I do 98% of my work on. Everything on one big screen. I have another monitor next to it, which I sometimes use for to put documentation on, a hot reloading web app I'm working on, maybe a video I'm watching while doing some work, or a video conference while I'm screen sharing. But turning my head to the secondary monitor is too much…

I use three monitors for my multimedia development work, and I can't imagine using fewer. I would get a fourth one if I could.

#1: My main 4k monitor, where I do the bulk of my work. I need the whole screen for this.

#2: My second 4k monitor, which I use for looking through documentation, taking notes, and working with the file system. (I have it split into quarters using PowerToys, but it's still very busy with many overlapping windows that I have to flip between frequently, which is why I wish I had a fourth monitor.)

#3: My old Cintiq, which I use when I need to hand draw something. In the meantime, it is dedicated to monitoring communication with colleagues (it's too low res for much else).

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#315

Post by sirsinsalot »

ethanbond wrote: post #179
sirsinsalot wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 5k2k LG 40WP95C-W is an absolute dream. Worth every penny for dev.

I was within inches of buying this this holiday season but was offput by people’s brightness complaints. Figured I could wait another iteration until either the brightness or the refresh rate gets better… the 5K2K seems like the move though.

In practice, the brightness and refresh rate have not been an issue in a software development / home office setting. It has been more than enough.

For gaming it isn't as desirable. HDR also gives the brightness a boost for media so it is plenty fine for that too.

The only thing that I found annoying is lack of inputs. There is 1DP and 1TB, and 2 HDMI (60hz). I wanted at least 2DP and 2TB to be super useful with a dock and a few other inputs.

The size is perfect however.

If LG release an OLED version better brightness, you bet i'll be ordering that too. It has been so ideal, the ROI has been better than any monitor setup i've used.

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#316

Post by sirsinsalot »

liamwire wrote: post #122
sirsinsalot wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 5k2k LG 40WP95C-W is an absolute dream. Worth every penny for dev.

Could you expand on this a bit? How’s the ergonomics, window management, etc?

The curve is just right, the width is just right at ~60cm away. The ratio is the real winner. I can split it into thirds and each third has enough height (2160px) and width (1706px) to be useful. Each third is taller than it is wide, which is ideal for coding, web, documents.

It's more like having 3 portrait monitors for productivity work. For media editing, splitting the monitor into 2 is like a classic dual monitor setup with enough width for widescreen video.

Then, if you really need it, it works great as a single wide monitor without making the workspace too "letterbox" like other ultrawides.

Honestly, for me, it is the absolute ideal.

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#317

Post by sirsinsalot »

LegitShady wrote: post #113
sirsinsalot wrote: post #69

I've had 3 monitor setups for decades. Then I got an ultra wide Samsung CRG9 at 49" and 5120x1440... Which was terrible. Too wide and not tall enough. Now I have the LG 40WP95C-W at 40" and 5120x2160 and it is perfect. Especially with window tiling that does thirds well.

I've been using the CRG9 for 3 years without issue. I use fancyzones to create 3 "window" areas - a thin chat window, the main middle window, and a side research/reference/video window. When I'm not working it makes for amazing ultrawide gaming. A video card to push the resolution is actually possible without a new mortgage. I don't understand the whole too wide thing tbh. Only thing I wish is that it had better HDR…

I just found I spent more time battling the aspect ratio than anything else. It isn't that it was too wide (though it was, for me) ... it's that it wasn't tall enough (pixel wise) for the width. This meant I never quite had enough height for ANY comfortable IDE/document/web usage.

Being able to have 4 or 5 non-ideal height windows side-by-side was just 4 or 5 times as annoying for me.

The LG solves all the issues I had with the Samsung. I get the same width in pixels, in a smaller dimension (so reduced head movement) and I get more pixel height.

For those benefits, as I am not a gamer, I happily sold the CRG9 and accepted lower (but still fine on the eyes) refresh rates.

Couldn't be happer. I used the CRG9 for a few years, it had to go.

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#318

Post by ethanbond »

sirsinsalot wrote: post #315
ethanbond wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was within inches of buying this this holiday season but was offput by people’s brightness complaints. Figured I could wait another iteration until either the brightness or the refresh rate gets better… the 5K2K seems like the move though.

In practice, the brightness and refresh rate have not been an issue in a software development / home office setting. It has been more than enough. For gaming it isn't as desirable. HDR also gives the brightness a boost for media so it is plenty fine for that too. The only thing that I found annoying is lack of inputs. There is 1DP and 1TB, and 2 HDMI (60hz). I wanted at least 2DP and 2TB to be super useful with a doc…

This is really useful. Maybe I'll just yolo it and give it a shot. Display panel advancement doesn't seem to be as reliably "it'll come next cycle" anyway haha. Thank you for your input!

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#319

Post by cdstamper »

Scrounger wrote: post #148
vakz wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, I have a 49" 32:9 monitor, and for a laptop it's wonderful. The support for a single monitor is just way better than any dual (or more) setup. I can just connect it directly to my laptop, and it just works. When I had two displays I needed a docking station, and truth is most of those out there suck. Unless you go for the top models, and then you've lost all the money you saved on cheaper monitors. I…

> I needed a docking station, and truth is most of those out there suck Ain't that the truth. The "top of the line" CalDigit docks are incredibly expensive and buggy. ...and they're on their 3rd or 4th iteration. Plus not much competition, so not much choice either. If I could go back, I would have also gotten a single ultrawide monitor. Plus Macbook Pros multiple monitor support sucks relative to windows AFAIK.

In my experience CalDigit docks are really solid. The only issue I've ever encountered is caused by my laptop demanding more power than the dock will provide: when I hit a power usage spike sometimes my laptop will briefly drop connection with the dock, causing my display to momentarily lose signal.

This is easily fixed by plugging my laptop into a separate USB C power supply.

Re: Ideal monitor rotation for programmers (2021)

#320

Post by jwells89 »

ryandrake wrote: post #226
sbarre wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's down to personal preference, so obviously do what works for you! I have the triple-27" monitors @4k setup described elsewhere.. Left-side monitor is Slack and Discord, and sometimes a File explorer or other misc apps that usually live minimized (Spotify, etc) Center monitor is my IDE and terminal, or whatever "main" app I'm working in at the moment (sometimes Lightroom etc) Right-side monitor is work bro…

Similar setup here since about 2015. 5K iMac in the center and a thunderbolt display on either side (2560x1440). IDE, terminals, and/or primary task in the center, application output on the left side, documentation/browsers/e-mail/calendar on the right. My only complaint is one of the thunderbolt displays is getting flaky. It likes to briefly turn itself off and on again, and unfortunately Apple's braindead software…

I have one of those Thunderbolt Displays and it’s been a trooper. Sitting at around a decade old now and still works great. Its connector is getting worn out but as long as I don’t bump the TB2 → TB3 adapter it’s connected with it’s solid.

It’ll be a bummer when it finally goes. In addition to being a secondary monitor it also gets used to test how graphics appear on“normal” DPI displays (main monitor is a Studio Display) and while decent 2560x1440 are now cheap and ubiquitous none of them are going to be controllable via keyboard without third party software.

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