Choosing the right display for your space and needs
The first thing to consider is the size of the display you already have. If you use a desktop computer and have a single display attached to your screen now, how do you feel about it? Is your desktop cluttered with icons and windows? If you had a few more inches, or the ability to increase the screen resolution of your display, would you? You can check the screen resolution in Windows in the Display Properties, and in Mac OS you can find it in the Displays System Preferences.
A note about screen resolutions: the larger your display, the greater the native resolution, which means your toolbars and icons will look smaller. This means you get more real estate, but can also make captions and labels hard to read. A sure ticket to eyestrain is to purchase a large display and run it at 1024x768. Make a point to run your display at its native resolution (1440x900 on most widescreen 19-inch displays, 1680x1050 on 22-inch displays, and 1920x1200 on most 24-inch displays. Check the manual that comes with your new display for details) if you can. If you find everything’s still too small, use the Display Properties in Windows and the Finder “View” Options in MacOS’s to make your icons and desktop text larger.
Next, consider the role you want your monitor to play. Most new monitors now comewith additional video inputs, making it possible to turn your workstation into an entertainment center. If the idea of connecting your XBox 360 to a shiny new 24-inch display at your desk excites you, you may want to look for a model that also has HDMI or component input ports.
If you’re an avid photographer, you may want to look for a display that has a built-in card reader.
Next, consider your workspace. If you have a desk that’s wide but shallow, two 24” displays may force you to physically turn your head to get from the left side of the left display to the right side of the right display. That won’t work. Massive displays for a small desk, or small displays for a large desk are both great ways to experience eyestrain. In this case, there is such a thing a screen that is too big or too many displays in a small workspace. Two will work for most desks, but once you start looking to add a third or fourth, not only do you have to pay attention to whether your computer’s graphics card can handle it, you may need to shop for a desk that can support that many monitors.
If your primary computer is a laptop, you may consider purchasing a single larger display, rather than the two smaller displays you’d want if you used a desktop. Some laptop users turn off their built-in screens as soon as they connect to an external one, but we personally prefer to leave thelaptop display on and put the e-mail client in the smaller display while we work in the larger one. On the desk, we have two displays of the same size and keep primary apps in the display on the left, and secondary apps (e-mail client, IM client, notification apps and widgets, and my app) all on the display on the right.
If you do decide to leave your laptop open while you use an external display, keep in mind you may be running your laptop monitor at a different screen resolution than the monitor it’s connected to. You may also need to work with the display settings to make sure the external one is the default display, if that’s what you prefer. Most apps will still open as though the built-in monitor is the default one, and you’ll find yourself dragging windows a lot and having to resize them. The same applies if you’re running a desktop with multiple displays with different screen resolutions: you’ll wind up dragging and resizing windows more often than if you had two monitors that are the same size. For most people it’s no hassle, it just takes getting used to.
