Monitor size?
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First off every programmer should have two monitors! We were at a HP related show as a vendor and required to have HP equipment in our booth, so we brought two of the HP w2207 monitors for our demo. In them selves they are great monitors, but the programmer friendly thing about them is that you can switch the orientation by rotating the monitor so that you have a very tall screen which lets you see lots of code or read entire web pages with very little scrolling. After the show I had both of them on my work computer and liked it so much that I took one of the monitors home. So now in both locations I have one HP w2207 and a 17 inch monitor. The application I am debuging is displayed on the 17 inch and the code on the vertical 22 inch, absolutely a great combination. The only trick being that you have put old books under the 17 inch to align it's top with the rotated 22 inch. I consider it some of the best money I have spent on computer hardware.
Now that's pretty nice... my next computer I was planning on going with the Dell or Samsung 30"+ monitors... but I'll have to look out for something that has that ability now(looking for a little bigger than 22"). I agree with you... a programmer really needs AT LEAST two monitors, I currently have five on two computers(nice horseshoe shaped desk so it's easy to look at) and hate when I go somewhere and only have one monitor to work off.
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The advantage is not inches ( no comments, please ), but pixels. I have a 22 inch monitor and if it wasn't able to do 1600x1200, it would have no advantage over my 17" LCD, which only does 1280x1024. The extra pixels are magic. I'd be lost without them. Even when I buy a notebook with a small screen, I try to get the higher res if I can.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ "I am working on a project that will convert a FORTRAN code to corresponding C++ code.I am not aware of FORTRAN syntax" ( spotted in the C++/CLI forum )
Christian Graus wrote:
The extra pixels are magic.
Exactly! Pixels make all the difference!
____________________________________________________________________________ "Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space." -- Douglas Adams -- Shohom67
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I have two 32" 30" monitors. I don't think that there is any real advantage for programming, I am just here to brag. :-D -- modified at 11:35 Monday 15th October, 2007
Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot Me blog, You read
Well I own a graphical display company and have four custom-made RFB displays running at roughly 30 million pixels each, driven by a couple of 9 GHz core vid cards. (the displays cover all four walls of this room so playing video games is more realistic than real life) Beat that! Without envy, thomat65
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
Real answer. I'm in visual studio all day also, and find that one monitor is useable, but not very convenient. Recently the boss upgraded my monitors, to dual 19inch wide screen (from dual 17inch normal ratio) The widescreens looked really cool, until I discovered that scrolling source code was a pain in the butt! I rotated them to portrait mode, and jacked them up a bit with some old textbooks, and now have the equivalent to a 26inch monitor, but at near twice the resolution of most 26inch monitors. In visual studio I make the VS desktop almost the full width of both monitors. I run the code window on the left monitor (72+ lines of 10 point font code visible - large enough to not cause eyestrain) On the right monitor I leave the toolbox, properties box, solution explorer and sometimes the database explorer open all the time (pinned) for quick access. I got used to haveing an easy to use environment real quick!!! Unless the 30inch monitors are portrait mode, they will actully show you LESS lines of code than my setup! gzep. -- modified at 20:36 Monday 15th October, 2007
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
I've been working on 2 19" for a year and half or so. Been offered by our IT to upgrade to 2 22" but refused and instead asked for a 3rd 19" (which I got now connected with a 2nd video card). The reason - I like to maximise apps. Rarely running less than 2 instances of the VS, run my models, sometimes have an instance of SQL, office apps, IE and other related stuff... I love been able to keep all things visible. Coming home to single monitor have real troubles adjusting to limiting one screen, hate switching back and forth... So go (at least) 2 big ones if you can afford it - it helps a lot. Certainly helped my performance.
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
I use to think the same thing; that having a 17 inch monitor was probably good enough. Then I got a 20 inch widescreen and the difference was huge! Being able to see a longer line of code without scrolling the window or having to unnecessarily break a line of code into two parts is a great advantage. Then, I started a new job where I am using two 17 inch monitors (two graphics cards in the box). Being able to have SSMS maximized on one monitor screen and VS maximized on the other has changed the way I work. Now I can only imagine what the benefit would be if I had two 22 inch wide screen monitors. I think I have dreams about having such a setup. :-D
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Well I own a graphical display company and have four custom-made RFB displays running at roughly 30 million pixels each, driven by a couple of 9 GHz core vid cards. (the displays cover all four walls of this room so playing video games is more realistic than real life) Beat that! Without envy, thomat65
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Gary Kirkham wrote:
I have two 32" 30" monitors. I don't think that there is any real advantage for programming, I am just here to brag.
I'm using 30 2" monitors ... it's like having the compound eye of a fly. Sometimes it's hard to get context, but I sure can move fast ;-) Actually, I still prefer CRT's to LCD's but I'm going to have to eventually change (prehaps LCOS will save me :-). I use a single 22" at work and have a 22" and 17" at home but I never use the 17" eventho it's plugged up and can be used as a second monitor. It's difficult to have multiple CRT's (size, weight, heat issues). Flat panels are very nice for that. If you do GUI programming I think having two monitors is VERY useful. It can also be helpful in more complex developement environments like Visual Studio where when you are debugging you often need to have a lot of context available. I think resolution and clarity are of equal importance to size. Don't just compare size, look at DPI. Remember! as you get older everything shinks up and gets smaller ... even the text on the screen. :-)
I develop with Visual Studio and many others IDE from about 10 years, I use dual monitor, first is 12" (notebook) and second is 17" (external) I think that the better configuration to develop is: 1) dual monitor with one 12" (notebook) and second 17" (external) or 2) dual monitor with one 15" or 17" (tower PC) and second 17" (tower PC) I tried with single monitor 24" and 30" too, but it is very hard to develop fine. So I'm coming back to dual monitor. This is the same reason because Graphic designer, Sound Designer and Video designer use dual monitor instead of 1 bigger (of course with different resolution and dimension). bye :)
eye's
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
Hey John, I think you would find a dual display set up awfully usable for your likes, I like to focus on one thing at a time too - nothing is much handier than looking right in front of you and actioning something in a system somewhere and just turning your head left to see the result on the second display. You can keep a window, you keep referring back to, open on the other monitor while keeping focus on the one you are modifying to mate with your edits of the other document. I think that is the best example I can make for your situation. I'd prefer a 30 inch monitor about 4 foot from my face, maybe 5. 19" is nice, particularly twice. ;)
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
At work I use 2 x 19" flat panel monitors. At home I use 2 x 21" Eizo CRT screens (unbeatable for image quality) giving me 3200x1200 desktop space (they run at 1600x1200 @ 100hz each). I do a fair bit of graphic and design so these screens are great, even if they give off lots of radiation (explains why my hair keeps falling out!). For development they are perfect, I can have visual studio running at high res so I can see more of the source file and then have the other screen free to display a web page, app or debug windows etc. I have a third screen attached to an old PCI card which is used for displaying movies or music while I work ;-)
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
I recently switched from 2 17" CRTs to a single 30" LCD and, like you, am in Visual Studio most of the day. Go for it. Being able to see more lines of code and even to run VS as a windowed app side-by-side with the one you're debugging makes a HUGE difference. If you go as big as a 30" though, you'll probably change your habit of having the windows full screen, I definitely did.
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Gary Kirkham wrote:
I have two 32" 30" monitors. I don't think that there is any real advantage for programming, I am just here to brag.
I'm using 30 2" monitors ... it's like having the compound eye of a fly. Sometimes it's hard to get context, but I sure can move fast ;-) Actually, I still prefer CRT's to LCD's but I'm going to have to eventually change (prehaps LCOS will save me :-). I use a single 22" at work and have a 22" and 17" at home but I never use the 17" eventho it's plugged up and can be used as a second monitor. It's difficult to have multiple CRT's (size, weight, heat issues). Flat panels are very nice for that. If you do GUI programming I think having two monitors is VERY useful. It can also be helpful in more complex developement environments like Visual Studio where when you are debugging you often need to have a lot of context available. I think resolution and clarity are of equal importance to size. Don't just compare size, look at DPI. Remember! as you get older everything shinks up and gets smaller ... even the text on the screen. :-)
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I have two 32" 30" monitors. I don't think that there is any real advantage for programming, I am just here to brag. :-D -- modified at 11:35 Monday 15th October, 2007
Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot Me blog, You read
I use a Dell M2010 for development. It has a 20.1" widescreen, but dont call it a laptop until you try using it in your lap. It is much more of a mobile desktop. Has the horsepower for development and the mobility I need to visit and demo at multiple clients in a single day. But I am getting off track... The 20"W is perfect for me, but I have a 24" wide at home that I use as well and honestly I cannot tell much difference in real estate between the 1600 res on the 20" and the 1920 res on the 24". It is nice to have enough space to pin open the toolbox, property window, solution explorer and server explorer all at once, but hardly necessary.
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
I also use visual studio for the majority of most days, and about 8 months ago, I had to write a justification for my boss to purchase dual screens for me (along with the associated card). I did a bit of research to see if I could find any substantial information (stats/studies, etc..) to support the idea of dual screens. After a bit of digging around I found one. http://www.humis.utah.edu/humis/docs/organization_951_1147817063.pdf[^] (The relevant section is on page 33.) After reading the justification, my boss couldn't wait to get dual screens, because of the relative low cost and potential productivity increases. You don't need to get humongous monitors since the price usually skyrockets per square inch as you go up past 19" or so, the numbers are likely more favorable to get more smaller monitors instead. I have to say that my experience entirely corroborates the claims from the study. The additional real estate has a valuable impact on the continuity of my attention. Task switching and 'window housekeeping' take up more time than ppl think. We have since obtained dual screens for all the developers in my team, and the project leader. I just found this on google too: http://research.microsoft.com/displayArticle.aspx?id=433[^]
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
I have a 32" Visio lcd TV I use as my programming monitor, with Visual Studio maximized, it makes it easier to see everything in the development environment. I also have 2 19" CRT monitors. One is used for testing programs in various resolutions, and the other has the email and IM clients running, so I don't have to keep swapping out windows.
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I have two 32" 30" monitors. I don't think that there is any real advantage for programming, I am just here to brag. :-D -- modified at 11:35 Monday 15th October, 2007
Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot Me blog, You read
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I currently use a 17'' lcd monitor, I'm in visual Studio all day pretty much. I'm thinking of going to a bigger monitor but I'm not sure if there is any real advantage to it. Currently my monitor is fairly close, about an arms length away or less if I'm leaning in. I hate having multiple windows in view at the same time and always run them full screen and swap instead. That would not change no matter how large my monitor is because I like to focus on one thing at a time. Is there any real advantage to having a bigger monitor for Visual Studio? And what size are you using for programming?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt
We all have dual 19" (maybe 21" - bigger than I've ever had before) at work - and it's the best money the company ever spent on developers. I thoroughly recommend using one or more 19" to 21" panels (resolution of ~1400 x ~1200). The extra screen real-estate means that your solution explorer can be wide enough for comfort - and you still have room in the editor window for long lines of code (necessitated because of VeryLongFunctionNamesThatTellTheirWholeLifeStory():laugh:.) A lot of my work requires that I have a remote session connected to a second PC: having dual monitors (one dual head video card) is perfect - I can have each PC in its own monitor, as if the 2nd was local, not remote across the network. And when I'm not connected to a remote PC the 2nd monitor is great for displaying the app I'm debugging, while VS is full screen on the other monitor. Chris