1 yr. ago • 100%

Beeple who have tried both a dual-monitor setup and a single ultrawide setup: which did you prefer?

I'm reworking my computer setup, and I'm currently debating with myself over whether I want to pick up a second monitor, or sell my current one and replace it with an ultrawide. I figured I'd seek out anecdotes to see which setup people tend to prefer.

Edit: Thanks y'all for the responses. I see a lot of people doing UWD+1, a few using dual, and very few using none at all. I'm at least going to roll with two monitors, but I'll have to do some measuring to see if I can make an UWD+1 work for my desk.

31 comments

Well, I'm not Beeple, but I'll try to answer the question anyway.

Honestly I've done it all — 4 monitors in a 2x2 grid, four side by side, two side by side, two side by side and one vertical. Honestly, what I took away from the experience is that monitor space is like the size of a bowl for goldfish. You'll pretty much always stretch out and figure out how to use screen real estate

When I simplified things down, I found I was happiest with one UWD, and a small second monitor off to the right. It's well suited for graphic design work, cus I can keep a document or Slack open on a small monitor and have a full UWD to handle all my toolbars and stuff.

11
- 100% agree, also… I believe beetle refers to beehaw people, which you are.
  
  9
- I have also recently recovered from the 2x2 setup and prefer one UWD now
  
  2
- Interesting. What physical size and resolution are you working with?
  
  2
Maybe I'm the only one who is happy with a single, ultrawide monitor. I used to have two monitors, but with one big screen I don't have to deal with keeping track of which screen has focus, or with the gap between them.

I did hold out for an ultrawide with the same vertical pixel count as a 4k which it turns out is expensive. With more pixels I can make the code smaller and still read it comfortably.

It helps to have a window manager that is good at laying out windows side-by-side. I'm a big fan of PaperWM which is an extension for Gnome.

8
- The biggest appeal to me was the simplicity of only having one display to worry about for both cabling and display server stuff. Do you ever game and watch videos at the same time on yours?
  
  2
  
  No, I prefer to focus on the game. Or if I do have a video going it's on my phone.
  
  2
Ultrawide w a secondary vertical monitor on the side.

Making use of the ultrawide is so so so so much better with an advanced tiling window manager, I use the one that’s included in Microsoft PowerToys

I prefer this over just the ultrawide and over the H layout triple monitor setup I had before I got the ultrawide.

8
- I’ve had this setup for quite a while, it is very good, I’ve used the vertical monitor for my browser.
  
  2
- Y'all are making me jealous with these UWD+1 setups. I'm tempted but I would probably need a larger desk 😭
  
  2
I have an ultrawide and I wish I had room for a second monitor anyway, because I spent a lot of time watching videos on fullscreen.

6
- I have an ultrawide and it shares kind of a post that allows a second 24" monitor above on another mount.
  
  I really wanted an ultrawide, but there's no doubt that a second monitor gives so much utility, so while it's a bit awkward to look up, it works ok as a secondary setup.
  
  2
I definitely prefer a dual-monitor setup over an ultrawide, as there are definitely times when you really do want separate monitors rather than trying to get multiple windows to tile nicely on a single ultrawide.

If you're doing any gaming, I'd recommend a triple-monitor setup rather than dual, as even with edgeless monitors, games just look better when the centre of your field of view is on one whole monitor, with the other two providing peripheral view. Not every game works on multiple monitors, but those that do are absolutely amazing with a triple-monitor setup.

4
I've done both and I do like ultrawide for gaming. Spreadsheet/Email/Research work I like dual monitor better because I can write something while looking at source material without as much rearranging.

4
Dual ultra wide. Not even kidding. PPI might not be as swanky as it can be, but you can’t beat that amount of screen real estate.

4
I was a mere peasant working on one monitor. When I finally decides to take advantage of double and triple monitors, my eyes were enlightened, and I transcended as I could focus on multiple screens without having to rearrange windows that much. I recommend getting another smaller monitor because it can fit on your desk space easier. You can also turn a moutor vertical, so it's more configurable. Ultrawide monitors imo are not worth the cost, although they do look cool.

4
Multi-monitor, no question. I uss 3 at work and 4 for my home desktop.

4
I have a 49 inch UW and a 34 UW. Tried out the 49 as my only screen but didn’t like it as much as my 34 UW with a vertical 27”

3
Dual monitor; this is because my workflow requires me to use two very different tools together and having them on large and wholly separate monitors helps maintain the separation while retaining a pleasing aspect ratio.

When I had a single ultrawide it worked but it always felt awkward even though technically it wasn't cluttered.

3
My home setup is a dual monitor, with the secondary to the side in portrait mode.

I prefer that to the time I tried an ultrawide, partly because it's a lot easier to configure secondary windows when gaming -- game is fullscreen/fullscreen borderless).

3
I have a triple 27" 4k setup and like it. I keep most of the active applications on the center monitor and have youtube/browsing/etc on the sides.

3
I use i3-wm so an ultra wide is super nice/preferred. Though I have a second vertical 1440p monitor to the side for best of both worlds, I'd pick the ultra wide. If I was using Windows though I may stick to dual, because snapping windows around and resizing them with the borders is annoying. Not sure with Mac, I've never used it, but I do notice many Mac users run programs without maximizing them at all, so probably ultra wide lol

3
- You actually just made me remember that GNOME with Tiling Assistant only supports up to quarter tiling, so that's something I'd need to consider. If only I used a tiling WM 😭
  
  3
Dual monitor (for years and years) destroyed my wrist and neck. Currently have an ultrawide, but I like it less than I thought I would just because things open up way off to the side, menus are way off to the side, etc. I need to get used to it, or customize my desktop to be more central. I'm actually considering going back down to a single HD monitor. I will mention that if you do get an ultrawide, get a really good quality one. When I upgraded, I got a cheap Samsung monitor and the picture quality, contrast, sharpness is not nearly as good as my old HD monitor was. Furthermore, it seems like they implemented DisplayPort in a way that did not play nicely with my PC. The monitor was turning itself on and off every two minutes while the PC was sleeping. Removing the DisplayPort cable, and connecting to the PC via HDMI solved this problem.

3
I have 2 ultrawide setups

Work - 34 inch ultrawide with macbook sitting in front. I use the keyboard and trackpad of the laptop instead of a separate keyboard/mouse. I love the ultrawide for web development.

Gaming desk - 38inch ultrawide with a 27 in on the side. I rocked a single monitor for a while, but I got really tired of alt tabbing out of a game to see a message, or look at a guide. Second monitor is really nice to have. I did have the 27in vertical for a while, but this particular monitor has really shitty color shift so it's horizontal now until I get the motivation to swap it out for a different monitor I have
2
I have an ultrawide at home and dual at work and I like both for different things. Having an ultrawide is really nice for gaming (when it's supported) but it's annoying having to tab out to look something up so I've been looking at getting a second monitor recently. Dual is great for work since I need all the screens, makes it easier to work than tiling windows on one screen.

2
Similar experience to @msprout here.

I had a 49" ultrawide, which was great for one of my previous jobs, as I needed basically three screens visible all the time, and I was able to fit them all side by side. However, I didn't find my monitor as useful in my current job, where I didn't need a triple-screen space (and I preferred more of a vertical setup for coding and spreadsheets). I also bought my UWD originally for playing racing/flight sim games as it was a dream for kid me - turns out, I'm actually not really into them as I used be as a kid, and these days I prefer playing mostly A/RPGs, RTSes, and some old school games - all of which looked better more on a squarish aspect ratio. So I sold off my UWD as it was just wasting space, and got a 16:10 QHD monitor instead - it's big and high-res enough for me to fit 4 windows on one screen, plus, for the games I played, I found it looked better with this aspect ratio.

For work, in addition to my main monitor, I use a second smaller screen, usually a laptop that's propped up near my keyboard, which I use for minor things that I don't need or focus on (like chat, or monitoring stuff).

So overall, I'm much more happier with this setup compared to my UWD, and my neck and wrists are thankful for it as well.

2
Have an UltraWide as my primary with a 16:9 in portrait as a secondary, looking to possibly add another 16:9 above the UW as a YouTube/music visualizer screen for when I'm doing work and wanna have background noise

2
For gaming I prefer super ultra wide, for doing stuff I prefer multi monitor.

2
I would also be curious about the difference between a curved UW and a standard UW. I have a standard UW and the outer edges of it just feels so far away

2
Yes.

I have three monitors and two of them are ultrawide with one turned vertical. Great for playlists, documents, and layers.

2
a larger 16:9 and tiling/ virtual displays

2
I use a 34 inch UW as my main monitor and a 17 inch as my secondary on the side. I mostly have Discord on the secondary but sometimes use it for productivity if required. I try not to rely on it too much because it's quite a stretch for my neck and will hurt after a while.

2

You've viewed 31 comments.