I figure I will be running a PLP setup with a 32" 4k in the middle and two LG 24UD58-B’s on the sides. I picked the two on the side for their size and resolution mainly. I think they are a bit expensive for what they are, but understand that what I am looking for is a bit out of the ordinary. I don’t however know what I want/need for the middle.
I often have a lot of text up at one time, with multiple terminals and documents. I spend a lot of time writing documents in MS Word and will often have at least one webpage up with documentation, multiple terminals split into quads (8 or more terminals open regularly).
I do not play any games.
The two side monitors will sometimes have documentation, but more often than not, have YouTube (just for quick glancing), an email client, SMS client, IRC, ChatGPT, and lastly camera feeds from around the property.
I want to be able to have all of this up without having to tab around to panels or move things around a lot. Space is not much of a concern. For reference, I am currently using a 27" 4K monitor and sit around 24-30" away from it.
Sorry if this is a bit scattered, I am writing as it comes to me.
Dell Ultrasharp series has been my goto for productivity monitors for many years, even though I do not buy PCs from Dell. Not affiliated with Dell, just a customer.
Also be on lookout for coupons and special deals, those can knock down the price significantly.
Can’t go wrong with dell, just make sure to check when the panel was released. The cheaper ones might be older. If you work for a large workplace, check to see if your company has a discount or loyalty points.
If you want a single monitor solution, I’d recommend looking into 43 inch monitors. It’s 3 vertical 27 inch monitors horizontally stacked together. Also with a window tiling solution, you don’t have to deal with moving windows across monitors.
I got the Dell U4230Q because the weight distributon of LG was apparently unbalanced, but on my monitor arm, it definitely sags more to the left
probably not useful advice, but I think something to consider for long hours of writing is lower minimum brightness.
I recently got a new monitor, and it’s minimum brightness is closer to half the max brightness of the previous display. I’ve found that, when spending long sessions playing useless grind games, my eyes hurt a lot less on lower brightness displays.
I’ve never seen a desktop monitor that can get dim enough to present a readability problem in an indoors environment, so I think the lower the minimum brightness, the better the display for long hours of reading, youtube, or any other thing. As a bonus, bright flashing things are less distracting at lower brightness, and despite lower real contrast, blacks tend to look blacker in a lit room because of the ambient light and lower black level.
I don’t have recommendations, though, because minimum brightness is often not specified.
@bedHedd I’ve thought about doing one large monitor like that, but was concerned with PPI. Figured if I was looking at it for hours, I’d want it as easy on the eyes as possible. I wonder how the market is for 8K monitors.
@alkafrazin That’s a good point. I will run my current monitor at the lowest brightness to see how it works out for a bit. Thanks for the idea!
@Den-Fi This is the first I’ve heard of them, but they look awesome. Have you seen, or do you use more than one being used in a setup? I have become very accustomed to the PLP setup and don’t really want to change it up. I am curious what it looks like with multiple.
I have two more sitting in a box. I have to build my new desk in my second office before I set them up… and to say I’ve been procrastinating is an understatement lol.
Wow, yeah those are a lot larger than I expected. I think I sit too close for these to be beneficial. Those plus a 40+" monitor would have me breaking my neck. Very cool monitors, but I am not sure they are for me. Looking online though, there are some awesome PLP setups with these! Here is a Reddit poster’s setup with these.
It’s a little tight on the dell, but I heard that it’s the perfect size and resolution, anything larger and it becomes unwiedly see wendell’s mega desk video and david zhang’s video on using a TV as a monitor
