Six New Monitors

Three of my monitors recently died, and I bought a TV about half a year ago.  As a result, I'm down to 4 horribly mismatched monitors.

A couple years ago, I got sick of it and decided I was going to get all six of the same model. I bought two Dell 2208WFPt's, planning to buy the other four in pairs as money was available.  Once it finally was, the model had been discontinued, and of course Dell decided not to make 2209WFPs nor 2210WFPs. So I've been stuck with these wierdly oriented screens for years and years.

Today a third monitor died.  Third one in as many months.  If I were superstitious, I'd take it as an omen.  So currently I'm down to two 22" widescreens, a 20" widescreen, and a 26" widescreen TV.  At least the ones I'm left with are all 1680x1050, but they're of three different sizes and two different aspect ratios (i.e. 16x9 vs 16x10).  Wonky as all get out.  Will never buy Westinghouse again.

So finally I got sick of it.  I had saved a nest egg for a forseen pending period of unemployment, and recently got re-employed; so I was left with half my savings.  Recently I bought the Tablet PC, but that has since lost its "new toy" appeal and is now just another tool for its intended purpose. 

So in combination between the desire for "New Toy" appeal with the recent frustrations over my newfound lack of pixel goodness, I just ordered six new screens, all of the same model.

Asus VE245TL-P

• 1920x1080 (1080p)
• Height, swivel, tilt
• 24" Widescreen
• 100x100mm VESA mount points

 I'm a huge fan of Dell monitors. I nearly bought six 22" widescreens at $200 a pop, but changed my mind as they lacked VESA support and adjustability. I must have one or the other, so they may all line up properly.

I thought about buying some Ergotron arms to stick them in a 2x3 array (2 rows of 3 screens each), but decided against it as the arms I wanted would have been $1000.  I thought about going with Digital Tigers or 9X Media, but they're ridiculously expensive and use low-spec'd monitors (which have apparently not been respec'd in five years).

Finally, my dream is achieved.  Don't worry, I plan to post pics and maybe video of the setup.

Edit: OMG, I just realized I can now watch 2160p video.  I must find some somewhere.

youre famous for monitor envy!   POST PIC/VID!! 

I have a single 22" monitor at home.

Bass said:

I have a single 22" monitor at home.

Monitors and video cards are fairly cheap, if you don't go for the crazy high spec ones. What's stopping you?

SlackmasterK said:

Bass said:

*snip*

Monitors and video cards are fairly cheap, if you don't go for the crazy high spec ones. What's stopping you?

I'll probably go with dual 24" when this monitor breaks. I have a long queue of technology purchases that I plan to make, but certain other expenses have taken priority.

I am sure a local engineering shop could fabricate a 2x3 stand for you at a fraction of the cost...

I'm doing all my dev on a laptop with a 10 inch screen & fear I may be missing out.

Ian2 said:

I'm doing all my dev on a laptop with a 10 inch screen & fear I may be missing out.

I'm still getting used to my single wide-screen monitor at home after 2 weeks spent using my EeePC (old PC died, took 2 weeks to replace with a new one).  Solitaire still looks huge!

Herbie

Dr Herbie said:

Ian2 said:

*snip*

I'm still getting used to my single wide-screen monitor at home after 2 weeks spent using my EeePC (old PC died, took 2 weeks to replace with a new one).  Solitaire still looks huge!

 

Herbie

 

 

 

I still use a CRT as my main monitor and my LCD is just my second display. The regular LCDs you can buy at Staples are still horrible at resolving enough colours or having the correct contrast at anything but certain angles.

When my big old Trinitron dies (or starts getting too bright or purple looking which it looks like it's doing) I will finally get 2 identical LCDs (probably 22" models) but they will have to be good ones.

At least it'll stop my desk from sagging

dentaku said:

Dr Herbie said:

*snip*

I still use a CRT as my main monitor and my LCD is just my second display. The regular LCDs you can buy at Staples are still horrible at resolving enough colours or having the correct contrast at anything but certain angles.

When my big old Trinitron dies (or starts getting too bright or purple looking which it looks like it's doing) I will finally get 2 identical LCDs (probably 22" models) but they will have to be good ones.

At least it'll stop my desk from sagging

Is this thread in danger of turning into a Monty Python sketch?

dentaku said:

Dr Herbie said:

*snip*

I still use a CRT as my main monitor and my LCD is just my second display. The regular LCDs you can buy at Staples are still horrible at resolving enough colours or having the correct contrast at anything but certain angles.

When my big old Trinitron dies (or starts getting too bright or purple looking which it looks like it's doing) I will finally get 2 identical LCDs (probably 22" models) but they will have to be good ones.

At least it'll stop my desk from sagging

Dentaku - totally agree about low to mid-level LCDs. My old 17" Mitsu CRT keeps on trucking. It takes a little longer to reach full brightness, but the colors and high DPI can't be matched.

jh71283 said:

I am sure a local engineering shop could fabricate a 2x3 stand for you at a fraction of the cost...

Ended up ordering three of these.

jamie said:

youre famous for monitor envy!   POST PIC/VID!! 

Initial (verbose) writeup and introductory videos here.  Will repost the videos here, but they really don't do the writeup justice.  I sound a lot smarter when I write

Vids are 1080p, so you'd do well to pop out of the C9 window and view full screen.  My apologies in advance for the white noise in the background; I have a lot of computer fans.

Ion Todirel said:

dentaku said:

*snip*

that's because you've got cheat TN panel

"that's because you've got cheat TN panel"

Yup, I know. Unfortunately that's what most people have and they're cheap.

When I finally replace my CRT it will have to be with some good IPS panels. They still have the problem of only being crisp at their native resolution because they're still just LCDs but at least they can display a whole lot more colours and probably have much better contrast at varying angles.

SlackmasterK said:

jamie said:

*snip*

Initial (verbose) writeup and introductory videos here.  Will repost the videos here, but they really don't do the writeup justice.  I sound a lot smarter when I write

 

Vids are 1080p, so you'd do well to pop out of the C9 window and view full screen.  My apologies in advance for the white noise in the background; I have a lot of computer fans.

 

 

 

I'm interested to see what you come up with. Keep posting videos in this thread.

Dr Herbie said:

Ian2 said:

*snip*

I'm still getting used to my single wide-screen monitor at home after 2 weeks spent using my EeePC (old PC died, took 2 weeks to replace with a new one).  Solitaire still looks huge!

 

Herbie

 

 

 

I have a 9" Eee PC, and I honestly don't see how you could get anything done on it.  Mine barely suffices for taking notes. 

Then again, if Solitaire is a major portion of your day, I can see how that wouldn't be a hurdle.

Kidding

I don't really understand the whole multiple monitor thing. I bought 2 22" widescreens when I first started to work professionally; looking back I think I did it to look hardcore. But when working from day to day I found myself never really using the 2nd monitor, I can't read things on more than 1 screen at a time so dual monitors was just ended up being a distraction (I'd leave an IRC client or RSS reader open). I currently only use a 22" widescreen or my 15" laptop, I've never felt the need for more screen space.

I can't think of a single instance that would drive me to need 2 monitors, let alone 6.

But to each their own... Enjoy your new setup.