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Your display setup?

8 points by noinsight ↗ HN
I'm curious about the display setups people are using for programming and this is probably the place to ask. So, what's your setup? 2x 23" HD screens, one pivoted? A 27" 2560x1440 screen?

I'm especially curious if someone has tried an ultrawide such as the Dell U2913WM? It looks like an interesting setup for programming but then again it might not be. I find 2x 23" widescreens too wide for comfort so it might hit the sweet spot.

21 comments

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rallison
My home setup is 2x 24" IPS displays at 1600x1200. At work, I am running a 27" 2560x1440 along with a cheap 19" to the side (hoping to eventually replace the 19" with something else). At a previous job, we ran a 30" 2560x1600 with a pivoted 24" 1600x1200 on the side (matching the 1600 pixels was essential).

After all that, I would say, go as big as you can. Going to at least the 2560x1440 27" monitors can make a huge difference. If you can go all the way to 30", even better. Personally, my first choice (aside from waiting for a 30" 4k monitor) would be 2x 30", followed by 30" + 24", followed by 27" + something (ideally, another 27").

zachlatta
I have three 23" monitors, none currently pivoted. When I'm doing web development I have a tmux session on one screen, an auto-refreshing web browser on another, and then another web browser with google on the other. I love it!
LarryMade2
2 older Dell 19" 4:3 monitors, I prefer the square space more for programming and layout work than having the width. Right monitor is on a 4 unit KVM so I can switch between my Linux box, Mac Mini Intel, Mini PPC and whatever machines come my way for work. So when I'm working on one of the non-Linux machines I can still watch movies or read instructions on the left monitor.
dbond
I currently have a 27" IPS (FSM-270YG / 2560x1440) and a 21" LCD (1600x900). I mainly do web development so the 27" will very comfortably fit sublime, terminal and chrome with dev tools. The 21" is my spotify/google/hn monitor.

I used to spread my workspace over two 21" monitors, but now having everything on one large monitor is much more comfortable.

jdboyd
At work I mostly use 2x Dell U2412m (1920x1200) on my laptop, neither rotated.

I would love to switch to 1x 30" 2560x1600 and 1 20" 1600x1200 pivoted.

Semiapies
One 27-inch screen, as it's a mid-2011 iMac.

The horrible thing is that I actually find myself wanting more screen space, now and again. (Part of that might be using 16pt Consolas as my emacs font, but I work with so many people who need glasses.)

csixty4
A 27" 2560x1440 screen. One of those cheap IPS panels that came out of the box with a couple dead pixels. It's on a monitor arm from Monoprice.

When I get home, I hook my 11" MacBook Air up to it. Portable when it needs to be. Tons of screen real estate when I need it.

ishbits
3x24" screens at 1920x1200 each.

More and more thinking I may be better served by a single 27" or 30".

hashtree
Two 27" Thunderbolt displays (2560x1440) hooked to a Mac Mini (which is essentially a top of the line MBP for half the cost) and a MBA off to the right.
meerita
I'm using a single monitor right now. I have 2 iMacs and 1 Macbook Air. The main one on the middle, and at my sides the rest of the setup. Including the iPad and the iPhones.
gajda
One Dell 3008WFP (2560x1600) is doing the job for me (connected to my 11" MBA) - but i have to admit a second one of it would be nice.
justinlloyd
Four or six (depending on my work) Dell 30" LCD displays at 2560x1600 oriented in either landscape or portrait or more often, a combination of landscape and portrait. Each monitor is mounted on Humscale M8 monitor arm.

An early image of my setup is here: http://www.otakunozoku.com/my-new-monitor-layout/

rfnslyr
What's your development environment like? What are you working on in that picture? Which programs are running in that picture?
rfnslyr
1 CRT 15" for competitive Counter-Strike and BroodWar. Yes I am living in the past.

3 * 24" for media.

2 * 16" portrait mode for coding.

1* x120e laptop for work.

1* macbook pro to look pretty in public.

mekael
My main work setup is 2x22in (non-ips) at 16801050 , home setup is 2x24in ips at 19201080. I use an old macbook as my "burner" machine when I go out and about.
Pyrodogg
2x NEC 19" 5:4 1280x1024 monitors at work, nothing special. Used for coding in Visual Studio/SSMS.

At home I have a single Dell 24" IPS monitor, used for photo editing and lighter coding, in addition to general home usage.

DanBC
At the moment a single IPS display at 1920x1080. I'm about to get 4 more panels (not IPS, and not as big) so I'll have two portrait mode to the sides of the main display.

Not sure what I'll do with the other two monitors. Maybe kludge them into a nightmare all-in-one with an old laptop.

rizwan
Dell 3007WFP (2560x1600) to the right of a (raised up) 15" retina MBP (effectively 1440x900)