×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Monitors, How many do you use?
2

Monitors, How many do you use?

Monitors, How many do you use?

(OP)
Just curious how many designers out there use more than one (1) monitor? Advantages, disadvantages? Thank you.  

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

We use two. A 24" (1920x1200) in normal landscape mode for graphic work, and a 17" (1280x1024) in portrait mode for text work (emails, web browsing, etc). It's always advantageous to have more desktop real-estate, and using an old monitor in portrait mode as a second monitor is a good way to extend it's useful life.
Our head engineered poo-pooed having two monitors until I set him up with a pair, now he swears by it.

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

I have had 2 monitors and loved it. I now have a 24" wide screen and would almost prefer 2 20" over the one 24'. Ideal would be what Kasey has.

Desktop real estate could be an issue, since I have 2 computers. Adding a second monitor to the one would work, but would be crowded.
 

"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

I use 2 also.
Main display is a 22" widescreen.
2nd is a standard 20".

I undock my machining navigator, assembly navigator and my part navigator and put them on the secondary monitor.

This way I have the entire widescreen for visuals. Works great.

J

NX 6.0.5.3

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

Double 22" and it really is helpful!

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

I forgot to add this.

Until you have used 2 monitors, you don't see the benefit.
Once you have used 2 monitors, you wonder how you lived without them for so long.

Flatscreen technology has made this more affordable.
 

"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

Here in the development offices in Cypress, CA (and at lotehr locations) the standard set-up are either dual 20" monitors or a single 22" (most people opt for the dual 20's).

Note that in my office I have 2 workstations, an older desktop machine which I use only for 'office automation' (that is I don't use it for NX) with a single 22".  As for the other, that's my mainline mobile workstation (i.e, laptop) with a full fledged docking station setup which includes a full-size external keyboard, mouse, 3D Connexion's Space Pilot-Pro and a single 24" monitor (which I actually purchased myself).  While I would personally like to have a dual monitor set-up, mine is a special situation.  You see, Ben is RIGHT, once you start using dual-monitors you'll never go back (sort of like a Spaceball, which is why I carry one the compact ones with me when I'm on the road), but in my case since what I give presentations and demos at User Group meetings and when meeting with customers, almost always this will involve projecting the display from my laptop and so inorder to not fall into 'bad' habits and to keep my demo skills honed, I have NO choice but to also run in my office on a single large screen.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
 

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

I would add, if you are not in a rush for a second monitor pace yourself and wait for sales.

I am a huge fan of Dell Ultrasharp monitors. They always go on sale, usually during what Dell calls "Days of Deals", about 4 to 6 times a year. Savings are usually better than 25% off, and sometimes hit close to 40% off. Often shipping is free as well.

For CAD work the Ultrasharp monitors are fantastic.  

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

(OP)
Sounds great, glad I can justify having two on my desk today lol. I just bought another one and people are saying, "who does that?" Looks like almost everyone!!

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

I use (2) 20" hooked to my Dell m6500. Then I have 2 more 20" hooked to my Teamcenter and Unix boxes with a single keyboard and mouse. Those are mostly used for PDM and remote desktop work.(4) 20" LCD monitors in my cube. People think I am insane - until they sit down behind them.

They are Optiquest Q20wb. I also bought them myself since work would not spring. Got them all used for udner $100 a piece.

I'll never go back to a single monitor - unless it's a 55" LCD tv - which I use at home : )

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

Heck, I have 2 at home. I wish I could get 2 at work. The Dell I have here is a 1280x1024. I can not even open NX menues fully

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

(OP)
Wouldnt you all agree that the company should purchase those if they see your more productive with two monitors??

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

That's how we justified offering our developers dual-20's.  Besides, we were replacing CRT's so often this actually freed-up deskspace and certainly helped with power consumption and heat-load.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
http://www.siemens.com/plm
http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
 

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

I use 2 Samsung SyncMaster 213T 21"...I've been thinking about swapping one out for a Dell 24"

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

I'm a cam guy who does big parts so I prefer a single 28" monitor. That said, if you want the sweet deal on a large dual setup: go for the older 3/4 aspect flat screens. The dual setups for me are to wide and narrow. The older ones give you height for a more square setup. Also look for a thin bezel so if you're panning across the two screens you don't notice the split.

--
Bill

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

2 is good.

I have been using a 30" LP3065 for NX and a 23" for office apps, vieuwing PDF's etc. for 2 years now. I undock the assembly and part navigator and display them on the 23" so I have full 30" for 3D modelling.
I am planning (er...advising my manager that is) to buy a new 30", because I use also NX viewer to display the same part on the other monitor and I also want to stretch my desktop.

In some cases I use a single monitor configuration. Makes me desperate, wondering how I managed to live with this little workspace available...
 

Older budweiser

RE: Monitors, How many do you use?

(OP)
Funny situation here where I work. After I bought a second monitor on Black Friday and brought it in to work, everybody else said, "Hey, I want two as well" no just this week our IT guys is busy hooking up another screen for our other departments. Now if I could just get our engineering department to use Assemblies, forget about layers, stop photo copying emails rather than just forwarding them, we'd be almost out of the stone age. lol.  

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources