Ask HN: Which screen for programming?

16 points by Artemis2 ↗ HN
Hello HN!

I'm currently considering upgrading my display. What are you using currently? (and at what price point?)

23 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 74.8 ms ] thread
The biggest you can afford. I have 3 27 inch monitors and it's awesome to have that much real estate.
If you have the budget, IPS displays are much easier to look at all day compared to TN panels.
You can usually get 23" for around $150 on sale.
I actually just received this one. It was listed for about $150 by Amazon with supposedly damaged packaging but everything is perfect and I love it! Thank you.
Yeah I would definitely go for a nicer IPS display vs. a larger TN one. I switch between a cheap TN monitor and nice IPS MacBook display a lot and the IPS display is so much easier on the eyes. The TN panel looks really harsh, especially with white on black text.
Seiki 4k 39". 3850 x 2150 px Good forma programming... bad for games. $ 400 - 450 USD
Asus PB278

2560x1440 for ~500$

Can't think about a specific model but a good programming screen for me is one which can rotate 90 degrees in portrait mode.
I use one 22 or 24 inch monitor, and I usually dock my window at half width in an editor or similar, fullscreen for IDE and Browser only.
The 1600x900 14" display in my T430s, plus the Cinnamon desktop environment.

It's amazing how much a good DE makes up for a small screen.

27 inch mac cinema display...never looked back
I've had all kinds of multiple monitors setup. My last setup was a 27" iMac plus a 30" Dell monitor. However, since I got my retina MacBook Pro I find myself more and more exclusively programming on the laptop. The screen is great and the text quality superb so I enjoy it more.
Which size of MacBook Pro are you using? I am considering 13" because of its lighter weight (compare to 15").
Forget the model, but Dell IPS 2560x1440 27" its a great combo of size and pixel density.
2 Dell UltraSharp 24" IPS panels U2412M (1600x1200) (side by side, in landscape)

2 Dell 2007FPW 21" IPS panels (1680x1050) (one on each end, in portrait mode)

I use 2x Dell UltraSharp U3014 (2560x1600 at 60Hz), I would recommend this monitor only if you want a big resolution and great, rich, vivid colors, it’s IPS though. Avoid any version previous to A03.
2x HP LP2475w. They are 1920x1200 / 16:10 IPS panels with pivot/tilt/rotate stands and a bunch of inputs.. They're a bit old, but look great and can find them used for ~$150.
I've no issues at all w/ my Yamakasi 30" IPS ($300~400). Got it on ebay, straight from Korea, looks a lot like my old iMac's IPS but it's matte (and not 27"). 2560x1600 :). I've had it just a few months now, not quite a year. I've also got 3 thinkpads but I can't recommend those screens :(.

Also, if you haven't seen fonts on a glossy Retina display, visit an Apple store. Fonts at that resolution just look different/perfect in a way that's hard to express.

(comment deleted)