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Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

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Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#641

Post by nycticorax »

I find it so strange that most people still talk about their monitors' resolution in terms of pixel counts. Oh, you have a 4k monitor? Well, if that's a 43" 16:9 4k monitor, then that's pretty close to 100 dpi, so you basically have a big-ass traditional ("lodpi") monitor. Whereas if it's a 24" monitor, then it's a smallish hidpi screen. Rather than pixel counts, I find it much more helpful if you tell me the size in inches and the DPI.

This is related to one reason why I'm not so crazy about 4k: At most of the usual screen sizes, they occupy an unpleasant middle ground between a traditional screen (~100 dpi) and a 2x hidpi/retina screen (~200 dpi).

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#642

Post by neop1x »

dsabanin wrote: post #131
the_af wrote: post #76

The technical details are all right (or seem right to me, anyway), but this is too opinionated for my liking. No, you do not need a 4K monitor for software development. Some people might like them, some won't. [edit/clarification: someone rightfully pointed out that nobody will actively dislike a 4K monitor. I was unclear here: I meant "some people won't need them" more than "dislike them"] This sounds like when Jeff…

I love my 3 monitor setup. In 20 years of coding, I finally reached peak productivity in my workspace. No switching between windows, ease of throwing a window aside for monitoring, laying out information and tools side to side. It’s incredible once you readjust your habits and learn to use that new space. I compare it to having a large, wide desk when you’re working on something. Who wouldn’t want that? I was one of…

I have always used a single monitor and I am productive like crazy. I mainly need a code editor and terminal. Sometimes switch to a browser and back. And that's enough. More monitors doesn't automatically imply more productivity IMO. Maybe in some specific cases. You can't focus on all monitors simultaneously anyway.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#643

Post by fiddlerwoaroof »

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #605
fiddlerwoaroof wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So far, I've never had an issue with KDE Plasma and 4K@60Hz on linux, once I realized that you can't just use any old HDMI cable: you need DisplayPort or HDMI2

Its a problem if you have a nvidia gpu (forcing you on x11) and have 2 different dpi screens. On AMD/Intel/Nvidia open source drivers it works fine.

Yeah, I’ve always picked my GPU to work well on Linux, so I have an AMD one.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#644

Post by gilbetron »

Been developing software for 30+ years, with up to 2 extra monitors, and I always go back to a single display. I'll put myself up against anybody with multiple displays. The thing is, I just alt-tab (or otherwise) to different things - it's not like I can actually perceive more than 1 window at a time, for the most part. The head twisting to see multiple displays bugs me, as does the eye movements across a huge display. Plus there is just more opportunities for distractions with more display area.

Finally, I work most effectively when I hold what I need in my head, and find that multiple displays fights against that need.

The only real exception to that is if I'm writing front end code of some sort, having the live updates helps a ton.

Lastly, if I could have a bigger display on my laptop, I'd be up for that!

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#645

Post by WatchDog »

If you want a bit more control over your monitor resolutions on macOS, I recommend RDM[0].

It lets you change a few settings around DPI and refresh rate, that arent otherwise available via the regular UI.

Not all desired modes will work, it's still fundamentally limited by macOS's crappy display support, but its better than nothing.

[0] https://github.com/usr-sse2/RDM

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#646

Post by ulisesrmzroche »

dewey wrote: post #449
ulisesrmzroche wrote: post #388

Wow $2000 USD for a monitor? I thought I was pushing it yesterday when I got a new 27' monitor for $200. I don't think as programmers we need anything more than a 27' inch 1080p. What am I missing? I don't think it's worth the expense. On another note, that mustard yellow as the background color is an eyesore.

> Wow $2000 USD for a monitor? My monitors usually last me for a long time, right now I'm using a Dell P2715Q 4K that I got 5 years ago and I'm staring at it every day for multiple hours. It wasn't that expensive but a good monitor is definitely worth the money and is not something you should cheap out on if possible.

Mine too. Everyone’s monitors do. I’m not going to spend two grand just because of that reason

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#647

Post by hocuspocus »

johncalvinyoung wrote: post #547
phkahler wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a 55" curved 4k TV as my monitor. It's not pixel density that's important for reading text, but contrast. The best thing for coding is a high contrast bitmapped font with no smoothing. My monitor is still available at Walmart for $500. It's like an actual desktop when you can spread out all your stuff.

My personal requirement though is 4:4:4 color. Too many TVs will only accept 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 chroma, and colored text on black will look horrid.

Just stick to big brands. Even entry-level models support 4:4:4 UHD @60Hz.

The main issue with TVs is that HDMI sucks compared to DP. You'll need a half-decent GPU from 2015 or later for good HDMI 2.x support.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#648

Post by ogre_codes »

renjimen wrote: post #598
ogre_codes wrote: post #574

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. No matter what operating system you're on, you'll eventually run into an application that doesn't render in high dpi mode You lost me right here on line 1. If there are apps on MacOS that can't handle high dpi mode, I haven't run into them as a developer (or doing photo editing, video editing, plus whatever other hobbies I do). Also, I don't have any trouble with plugging my highDPI MacBook into a crappy 1080p d…

> You lost me right here on line 1. I'm on Windows and can confirm 1. is an issue. Windows lets users scale UIs to be readable at high DPI on small screens. Doesn't work on all UIs (e.g. QGIS). So maybe not all OS's, but two important ones. > You could say the same for any arbitrary DPI; 96dpi isn't "Required", we got by fine with 72dpi. It's all about ergonomics as far as I'm concerned. I think the point the parent…

> I think the point the parent is making is that human vision has limited resolution.

If you can't see the difference between 4k and 1080p on a 24" monitor, then you probably need reading glasses. On a 27" monitor it's even worse. It's not so much that you can "see" the pixels, sub pixel rendering and anti-aliasing go a long way to making the actual blocky pixels go away, the difference is crisp letters versus blurry ones.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#649

Post by waheoo »

gilbetron wrote: post #644

Been developing software for 30+ years, with up to 2 extra monitors, and I always go back to a single display. I'll put myself up against anybody with multiple displays. The thing is, I just alt-tab (or otherwise) to different things - it's not like I can actually perceive more than 1 window at a time, for the most part. The head twisting to see multiple displays bugs me, as does the eye movements across a huge displ…

I used to feel this way. I found it depends on the work.

A lot of my old work didnt depend heavily on looking at a terminal output constantly.

These days, i have to have about 3-4 things running. The extra screen just becomes a log window.

You can argue the software should be redesigned, i do too, but the problem for me remains and a second screen while not solving it, alleviates it a lot.

It might have something to do with using a twm, might not.

All i know is that i dont miss the days of tab cycling and desktop flipping.

Re: Time to Upgrade Your Monitor

#650

Post by ulisesrmzroche »

huy-nguyen wrote: post #393
ulisesrmzroche wrote: post #388

Wow $2000 USD for a monitor? I thought I was pushing it yesterday when I got a new 27' monitor for $200. I don't think as programmers we need anything more than a 27' inch 1080p. What am I missing? I don't think it's worth the expense. On another note, that mustard yellow as the background color is an eyesore.

$200 is quite cheap for a 27” monitor. A good non-gaming 1440p 27” costs about $300-400 not on sale.

I got it on amazon. It has good reviews. I’m convinced it’s more than enough for coding.
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