Monitor upgrade from 5x 22" 1050p 16:10 to ....?

[RUWO_builder]

Hello, i'm looking for what monitors I should upgrade to from my current setup. I currently have 3 Dell 22" 16:10 1050p 50hz monitors in a row, and another row of two stacked on top. This works quite well but i'd like a little more pixels to make small text more readable, and also just an upgrade away from CFL backlights and maybe a bit better color. I should mention I don't play games on this setup, it's purely for work related things. I don't have much more space to use, but i could probably upgrade to the same config just with 1440p 24" screens(I haven't found any 22" 1440p monitors). however, monitor tech has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and i haven't kept up. These are some configurations i've considered after some research, other suggestions welcome:

5x 24" 1440p, row of 3 and row of 2

3x 21:9 1440p, two next to each other and one on top.

2x 32:9, stacked

huge(idk, 45" or smth) 4K tv with maybe a vertical 16:9 next to it

2x slight smaller huge 16:9 4K monitors(32" maybe?)(i like this one the least I think)

I would also like to ask how the windows experience is for you having multiple windows on one display. I've gotten really used to just having 5 full screen windows open all the time and not having to deal with lining them up or resizing them. Can I for example just split an ultrawide in to 2 monitors as far as windows is concerned? i know nvidia allows you to use multiple monitors as one display. What monitor setup do you all use for having multiple programs open and visible at once?

[mariushm]

I'd suggest going to 3 x ultra wide at the base, and two or three at the top if you really need even more screen real estate ( 3 x 3440 should be plenty, considering you jump from 5 x 1650 ). 

This way you'll have a main monitor in front of you, no ugly borders in the middle. 

 

You could have a flat one in the center, and two slightly curved 34" (3440x1440) on the sides, so they curve a bit and help you see the whole area easier. 

Thinking of something like MSI Optix MAG341CQ, Acer ED7, Phillips 346B1C  - all 3440x1440 VA 100 Hz curved ... but search for reviews and do your own research first. 

 

Some monitors have Picture in picture, or dual input , where you feed it two video inputs and it splits the image in half (or shows one input in a corner of the screen). You'd have to look at reviews for that. 

 

[Biomecanoid]

I believe there are window manager that allowed you to split a big monitor into logical parts. Maybe you should search on that.

 

From all the setups you described and since you don't game i would go for the last setup 2xhuge 4k monitors because they provide a lot of desktop real estate which minimum setup complexity 

 

If you would game on the setup i would say 3x 24 monitor since games look very nice with extended field of view

[RUWO_builder]

2 minutes ago, mariushm said:

I'd suggest going to 3 x ultra wide at the base, and two or three at the top if you really need even more screen real estate ( 3 x 3440 should be plenty, considering you jump from 5 x 1650 ). 

This way you'll have a main monitor in front of you, no ugly borders in the middle. 

 

You could have a flat one in the center, and two slightly curved 34" (3440x1440) on the sides, so they curve a bit and help you see the whole area easier. 

Thinking of something like MSI Optix MAG341CQ, Acer ED7, Phillips 346B1C  - all 3440x1440 VA 100 Hz curved ... but search for reviews and do your own research first. 

 

Some monitors have Picture in picture, or dual input , where you feed it two video inputs and it splits the image in half (or shows one input in a corner of the screen). You'd have to look at reviews for that. 

 

unfortunatly i don't have space for 3x ultrawides next to eachother. 3x 24" is about the max i can fit next to eachother. if i went 3x ultrawide it would be 2 next to eachother and one on top

[Biomecanoid]

12 minutes ago, RUWO_builder said:

unfortunatly i don't have space for 3x ultrawides next to eachother. 3x 24" is about the max i can fit next to eachother. if i went 3x ultrawide it would be 2 next to eachother and one on top

Usually people that do office work like 16:10 displays and not ultrawide because they are bigger vertically and not horizontally so they allow more lines of text to be displayed. 

[G27Racer_188]

I would go for 5x1440, since that is the closest to what you have now so it will require minimal effort to adjust.

[Exidor]

I run a 48 Inch LG CX OLED And a 27inch 4k portrait mode next to it exactly the same height.

I cant go back anymore..... OLED is a completely different experience. 

[RUWO_builder]

6 minutes ago, Exidor said:

I run a 48 Inch LG CX OLED And a 27inch 4k portrait mode next to it exactly the same height.

I cant go back anymore..... OLED is a completely different experience. 

oooh someone who actually runs that! I was heavilly considering that. probably with a slightly cheaper display than a CX tho. do you find youself having multiple windows next to eachother on the 48 inch most of the time?

[Exidor]

I run it mostly like this.

The 27inch as the main screen with desktop icons start bar and all that crap....

Top part of the 27inch I reserve for system monitoring and messaging VOIP apps. Bottom of the 27inch usually has a browser open for quick checks email and such it can easily fit 2 webbrowsers side by side if needed. But usually I just run one.

And the 48 I usually throw what ever I am working on, on the moment code browsers text etc.... I usually end up running 3 or 4 windows on that thing. Actually I keep it on my left so I rarely use the far left corners as it is too far. I usually throw on 2 windows on top of each other right side closer to me and something I use less further left. It fits 4 windows easilly.

 

Maybe if you do 4k video editing all the time you would run stuff fullscreen on it but I only run games and other media fullscreen on it.

 

I tried DisplayFusion to cut it into virtual monitors but that was too much of a hassle. Just dragging windows to what ever size I need tends to work best for me.

 

I think I effectively have something like 5 width by 2 height so effectively 10 1080p screens.

 

 

I have a sit stand desk and this actually encourages me to stand more

You sometimes feel like taking a step back to view the whole picture. Or I can view it from the other room from the kitchen so like 6m away?

[RUWO_builder]

3 minutes ago, Exidor said:

I run it mostly like this.

The 27inch as the main screen with desktop icons start bar and all that crap....

Top part of the 27inch I reserve for system monitoring and messaging VOIP apps. Bottom of the 27inch usually has a browser open for quick checks email and such it can easily fit 2 webbrowsers side by side if needed. But usually I just run one.

And the 48 I usually throw what ever I am working on, on the moment code browsers text etc.... I usually end up running 3 or 4 windows on that thing. Actually I keep it on my left so I rarely use the far left corners as it is too far. I usually throw on 2 windows on top of each other right side closer to me and something I use less further left. It fits 4 windows easilly.

 

Maybe if you do 4k video editing all the time you would run stuff fullscreen on it but I only run games and other media fullscreen on it.

 

I tried DisplayFusion to cut it into virtual monitors but that was too much of a hassle. Just dragging windows to what ever size I need tends to work best for me.

thanks! i'll try display fusion, otherwise i'll just stick with power toys advanced window snapping. I think this is the option i'll be going with then, i usually have a chatting app, a browser, a pdf reader and then 2 or 3 windows of what i'm actually working on(IDE, game engine, CAD program, etc)

[Exidor]

3 minutes ago, RUWO_builder said:

thanks! i'll try display fusion, otherwise i'll just stick with power toys advanced window snapping. I think this is the option i'll be going with then, i usually have a chatting app, a browser, a pdf reader and then 2 or 3 windows of what i'm actually working on(IDE, game engine, CAD program, etc)

power toys advanced window snapping have not tried that maybe will try that.

So it would let me snap 4 windows on the 48inch?

[RUWO_builder]

2 minutes ago, Exidor said:

power toys advanced window snapping have not tried that maybe will try that.

So it would let me snap 4 windows on the 48inch?

I looked it up and the actual name is FancyZones. its not super flexible but it makes it do you can change the default snap locations and sizes. it's a part of power toys: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/fancyzones

[Exidor]

Just now, RUWO_builder said:

I looked it up and the actual name is FancyZones. its not super flexible but it makes it do you can change the default snap locations and sizes. it's a part of power toys: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/fancyzones

Thanks will try that.

Would be nice to make this dragging thing less fiddly...