Can you live with one monitor? ;)

[Frick]

I'm a single monitor user, always have been & probably will continue too. The myth of multitasking is just that - a myth. It only appears to the observer that the individual is clever & multitasking, but in effect the human brain only process one task at a time.

It's not about multitasking, it's about referencing. One monitor for Work stuff, the other monitor for Stuff you have to reference for work. Think of them as windows. You can replace two monitors with a big wide monitor, but for some stuff I think multiple monitors are better (Full Screen game on one, movie/show/whatever on the other). For GMing over Zoom my one 32" 4K plus the 24" 1080p is almost not enough!

Back when I hardcore played WoW (raid leader and all) I had two monitors and I really, really wanted them both. So many options with it; put the raid roster on it, plus a teamspeak or ventrilo server, or a browser window with info, etc.

Ever since I went to UW 21:9 I don't think I'll ever go back to two separate monitors. I have a work laptop and main monitor side by side here now and I just watch the main monitor. The only reason I use the laptop screen is when I need to have another document to get info from, a rather similar use case to the above one with WoW. Basically, one screen to read and another to work on, yeah that works. You'll never work on two at the same time. At least I never did.

On the UW I just snap windows to left and right halves of the screen, its fantastic, no bezel in between.

You have stuff in windows instead, personally I find that annoying.

yes one, allways have, some pockets are deeper than others

Old monitors can usually be had for literally nothing. They're not good monitors, but they'll work.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

4 Monitors are connected on my PC but usually I am using three or two.....my main monitor is 28" 4K Benq powered by 6900XT but side panels are my old small 19"(1024x1280) Eizo monitors and I really like those "oldies" I using them mostly for browsing reading or watching youtube while I am gaming on my main monitor also those side panels are connected on my reliable second GPU which is Matrox and I am using it just for 2d my 4rth monitor is also Eizo but it's 1080p and he is a bit far away and I am using him only for movies and videos when I go to bed.....I been rocking minimum 3 monitors setup for almost a decade now and as OP said If I am using just 1 monitor I almost feel like 1 of my hands is tied behind my back......

 

[kilo]

2x Ultra wide 21:9 and 2x 1080p here. While windows has improved snapping windows with w11, there's more to he desired, which is the main reason I use more than two monitors.

 

[Vayra86]

It's not about multitasking, it's about referencing. One monitor for Work stuff, the other monitor for Stuff you have to reference for work. Think of them as windows. You can replace two monitors with a big wide monitor, but for some stuff I think multiple monitors are better (Full Screen game on one, movie/show/whatever on the other). For GMing over Zoom my one 32" 4K plus the 24" 1080p is almost not enough!



You have stuff in windows instead, personally I find that annoying.



Old monitors can usually be had for literally nothing. They're not good monitors, but they'll work.

All things take some getting used to. Its pretty fascinating though at first glance to get two docs fully readable and usable on the same screen. No erratic cursor stuff between screens either. It really feels like spacious real estate much more so than separate screens. Dont you also have the two windows going if they are on separate screens? All you cant do, is fullscreen them, so in my mind, all that changed was swapping alt+enter for 'win key + arrow'.

Another interesting advantage of single monitor is the reduced gpu load.

2x Ultra wide 21:9 and 2x 1080p here. While windows has improved snapping windows with w11, there's more to he desired, which is the main reason I use more than two monitors.

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[Shrek]

For me one high resolution monitor (2K or above) is better than multiple.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Sure thing, I think this one started my short search

Thanks for that - but frankly, I am not buying that guy's excuses one bit. It is his opinion and he certainly has the right to it. And FOR HIM, it may be totally valid, and that's fine too.

But note his [IMO, flimsy] excuse,

If my email or social media feeds are available at a glance, then I’ll check them constantly. This isn’t just unnecessary, it’s counter-productive.

I find that silly, if not total nonsense. Why must he "check them constantly"? If he is that easily distracted, then he has a serious attention disorder he needs to get help for!

I get on average, about 60 emails/day. It is silly to check for new emails constantly - especially when my email program polls for new emails once every 10 minutes. And even then, when new email comes in, then and only then do I see motion in my inbox. But only "IF" I want to, I can glance over to see if there are any that need my immediate attention. Most do not.

And if he feels he has to constantly check his social media feeds, then he also has a serious FOMO problem he needs to get help for too.

He goes on to say,

As a developer, I write code on a daily basis. So I often read docs. But I rarely need the docs visible at the same time I’m writing code.

This is more total nonsense. If he does not need those docs visible "at the same time" when writing code, then close them out! How hard is that? Seriously, that was just dumb and a clear indication he has no clue how to effectively and efficiently use a multimonitor setup.

There is no right answer here. It is purely subjective with influences from the individuals unique circumstances.

Here's a fact. My blue truck is better than your red truck. So there! End of discussion.

 

[skizzo]

the only reason I don't use more than one monitor at home is because my one monitor is a 50" TV

otherwise two is what I always used and that was due to audio work. one screen for the mix window, another screen for the edit window. as time went on I did much more with MIDI and drum machines and would flip flop the MIDI window with the edit window with a hotkey. That got old eventually. So, rather than get a third screen for the MIDI window, I said, if I can get a single screen big enough I can have the edit window take up all the width but half the height. Then have the mix and MIDI window take up the bottom half in height and split the width. So, now I can have all my relevant windows displayed simultaneously

Also, it's bigger, so better, right? It does make playing games more immersive. Especially since I can have audio go through the nice studio monitors rather than the crummy TV speakers

I do still keep one of my old displays setup on top of my audio rack to the side to be used as an auxiliary screen should I need it. I was using it regularly for a bit, but all I ever did was plop HWInfo and stuff like Pro Tools system resources, basically just monitoring software over on that display. I didn't find myself really needing to look at it too often to justify the need so I leave it unplugged and only plug it in when really needed now.



At my day job I have a pseudo three screen setup, two dedicated monitors, but also have the laptop monitor open to the side too. Email is always on the laptop screen and work is done on the other two.

 

[Deleted member 229121]

I use two monitors at work / one at home and am totally fine with that.
At work if I could fit a third I would, at home I don't care - just browsing, watching content or playing a game.

 

[Knight47]

I have 3. On the two side monitors Rainmeter is running, on one of them I watch TV with Elgato+obs. If I don't game JDownloader is on the other side, if I game then Firefox for looking up stuff like quest locations etc.

 

[sneekypeet]

Two things....

Much sadness in the lack of setups.

Running an odd setup for most, but I have a 42" over a 41.5". Since i recline at the desk and roll with a keyboard in my lap, it isnt such a pain in the neck, no pun intended.

 

[cvaldes]

My answer has varied over the years and has been separated between work and home.

At my last corporate job, I started in a position that did not benefit from using multiple monitors. Later my role at the company changed and the benefit of an additional monitor increased and eventually my manager approved a second screen.

These days I work from home but my current tasks don't require a second monitor.

All the while, I have found that for personal use I have little need for a second monitor. I have the budget and at one point I had a desk that could have easily accepted multiple larger screens. But a compelling reason to add another monitor never materialized.

There's a second monitor in the house but it's in another room (for a secondary/backup gaming rig).

One thing for sure, I will never buy another PC monitor for gaming. My primary gaming computer is connected to an LG C2 OLED TV (4K@120Hz with HDR, G-Sync Compatible, Dolby Vision, blah blah blah).

And frankly I'm okay these days saving a little electricity by only running one monitor. My eyes aren't getting any younger and staring at more screen real estate isn't something my eyeballs crave.

There are some very rare occasions (like 2-3 times a year) at home where a second display is useful. I just use my iPad for this. There's also a rarely used notebook PC in the house but it's far more of a hassle pulling it out, booting it, etc. The iPad is right there in arm's reach.

 

[Assimilator]

For example my work has me infront of a desk coding, sshing, or otherwise accessing systems and control panels all day. That’s what I get paid to do.

So you can be damn sure my desk, my monitor, my computer, my peripherals, my chair is what I put all my money into.

My couch? My shoes? My clothes? No.

My PC and things related to it are my “tools”. Like steel toed boots or uniforms.

Amen coding brother!

 

[Ivan Bliminse]

I can only concentrate my full, undivided attention on one monitor, two or even three would be of no use to me..

 

[P4-630]

I can only concentrate my full, undivided attention on one monitor, two or even three would be of no use to me..

Or one super wide?..

 

[oxrufiioxo]

I could never go back to 1 monitor. Currently using a 1440 ultrawide Oled and standard 1440p mini led monitor.

My secondary setup is also dual monitor ips/VA combo.

 

[Fokker]

I have 3 on the gaming rig. I can live with a single, but it's not great unless I'm doing basic tasks. My main computer for years was a laptop and I daily a laptop right now, but I do like the ability to spread out. Multi-monitor is almost a 'must have' if you're doing anything that requires references on screen or more screen real estate (i.e., video editing).

 

[wheresmycar]

I voted 2 but have 3 screeners. The 3rd being a large TV mounted on the wall to my right with an extended HDMI, for home security camera screening + playing big brother in the sky on the office staff

As for general productivity, work, etc.. I can never go back to a single display. A 2-monitor setup is a must and makes life so much easier. Beats the living daylights out of split screening. I guess it boils down to the type of tasks we run on a daily basis... i've got image editing on the flow, accounting and trading packages on the go, running 2 website businesses where the side panel is often used for remote access to our office machine and a ton of other stuff which gets a little messy to work with. My most used application is the desktop version of whatsapp... 80% of work related comms runs through there so the side display is never without use. If i didn't have my Mid-tower sitting on the desk to the right, i would have probably bagged a third panel just for comms (well if we include the tele that would be a 4th). I'm just stuck on the fence with replacing my aesthetically pleasing tampered glass rig with a SFF to make that possible but then again it's not entirely necessary.

I'm a single monitor user, always have been & probably will continue too. The myth of multitasking is just that - a myth. It only appears to the observer that the individual is clever & multitasking, but in effect the human brain only process one task at a time.

its not about managing multiple tasks at a given time but convenience in quickly reverting to secondary sets of data/apps/notes/comms/etc. Even with 2 panels, i occasionally still get frustrated with having to switch through tabs/windows to find what i need. Even as we speak the left monitor in set in split mode with a word document open with several actively engaged notes/reminders/to-dos and the other half of the split screen running whatsapp where i'm receiving work related material regularly... all that whilst my primary 1440p panel is engaged with you and a couple of other stuff which i'll be shortly reverting to (click click click). Convenience and instant accessibility - not sure how anyone can live without it. Even when i was single i had a double bed (lol not sure where that came from).

 

[Sithaer]

This topic made me kinda curious about the percentage of the users around here who use their PCs for work related stuff or at least heavy multitasking related activities. 'personally I don't do any of that so a secondary monitor is not needed in my case'
Maybe there should be a poll about that one too.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Yes, one with 4k resolution is enough, as you can run two browsers side by side comfortably.
It's very hard to use something with lower resolution now.

 

[Courier 6]

It's not about multitasking, it's about referencing. One monitor for Work stuff, the other monitor for Stuff you have to reference for work. Think of them as windows. You can replace two monitors with a big wide monitor, but for some stuff I think multiple monitors are better (Full Screen game on one, movie/show/whatever on the other). For GMing over Zoom my one 32" 4K plus the 24" 1080p is almost not enough!



You have stuff in windows instead, personally I find that annoying.



Old monitors can usually be had for literally nothing. They're not good monitors, but they'll work.

No pun intended or anything bad/ofensive, I´m just saying that I can´t afford to have two or more, computer stuff got expensive around here, with all the taxes and bs, I hope that you understand

sorry I forgot to quote the others that did reply to my post

 

[Totally]

One very big one, I do think about a second time to time.

 

[xtreemchaos]

ive 2 monitors 36inchUW curved and 27inch curved on my work rigg and 1 lg 4k 50inch and a 7 inch oled info screen on my bedroom rigg. but i could manage with one my 27 inch is only on when i need it.

 

[Frick]

No pun intended or anything bad/ofensive, I´m just saying that I can´t afford to have two or more, computer stuff got expensive around here, with all the taxes and bs, I hope that you understand

sorry I forgot to quote the others that did reply to my post

No I get it, I've been genuinely poor for most of my life, but old monitors has always been readily available, and I'm gonna say they still are. I can right now buy a random old monitor for less than a (as in one) decent beer. It will not be a "good" monitor, but it'll be one.

 

[Launcestonian]

....
its not about managing multiple tasks at a given time but convenience in quickly reverting to secondary sets of data/apps/notes/comms/etc. Even with 2 panels, i occasionally still get frustrated with having to switch through tabs/windows to find what i need. Even as we speak the left monitor in set in split mode with a word document open with several actively engaged notes/reminders/to-dos and the other half of the split screen running whatsapp where i'm receiving work related material regularly... all that whilst my primary 1440p panel is engaged with you and a couple of other stuff which i'll be shortly reverting to (click click click). Convenience and instant accessibility - not sure how anyone can live without it. Even when i was single i had a double bed (lol not sure where that came from).

No offense, but it sounds like you could be encouraging ADHD within yourself. We're all human, ( bots aside!) so there are biological limits to concentration spans in humans.

 

[Bill_Bright]

No pun intended or anything bad/ofensive, I´m just saying that I can´t afford to have two or more, computer stuff got expensive around here, with all the taxes and bs, I hope that you understand

There is nothing wrong or offensive about that. Everyone has their own priorities based on their own personal wants and "needs", and available resources. With very few exceptions (and I really can't think of even one), no one really "needs" more than one monitor for their personal computers. Even most work computers really only "need" one computer. So in reality, having multiple monitors, for most users, is a luxury, not a necessity. Consequently, there will be higher priorities - especially if responsible for the welfare of family members.

***

As a proponent, I will add another advantage to multiple monitors; redundancy. If a monitor fails, you can "limp along" on the remaining monitor(s).

I also agree, for must users, it is NOT about multitasking. That is, I cannot do more tasks with multiple monitors. But I can do the multiple tasks I do normally more easily and efficiently with multiple monitors. HOWEVER, I probably could be just as efficient with one big screen.

But to that, another problem FOR ME with using, for example, one 42" monitor instead of two 24" monitors is height and the wear and tear on my neck - or rather the wear and tear on the cervical discs in my neck. Swiveling my head back and forth is no problem. But constantly moving my head up and down as well soon becomes painful. I would/could never, for example, sit front-row in a theater or concert. But again, that's me.