Two Monitors and Setting Up Screens

BUSINESS · GLOBAL

Two Monitors and Setting Up Screens

Whether two helps, placement, resolution and connections, and eye comfort

A second screen is the most common desk upgrade and helps in some kinds of work considerably more than others.

Does a second screen help

It helps where you compare, reference or copy between documents constantly. It helps far less for single-task work such as writing or coding on one file, where a single large screen is usually better.

An ultrawide monitor is one alternative — the same width with no bezel in the middle and one cable.

Placement

If you use one screen most of the time, put that one directly in front of you and the second to the side. Splitting the difference means you spend all day facing a bezel and turning your neck.

Both should be at the same height, with the top of the screen at or just below eye level and about an arm's length away.

Resolution and size

Two 24 or 27 inch screens at the same resolution is the easiest arrangement, since mixed resolutions cause scaling problems when dragging windows between them.

Higher resolution is more useful than higher refresh rate for office work.

Connections

Check the laptop can actually drive two external displays, which depends on the graphics and the ports rather than the dock. USB-C docking simplifies everything to one cable.

Eye comfort

Match screen brightness roughly to the room, position screens away from windows rather than facing or backing onto them, and look at something at least six metres away for twenty seconds regularly.

Cables and desk space

Route cables with enough slack for any adjustment, secure them under the desk and keep the floor clear. A single dock reduces the cables reaching the laptop to one, which is the biggest single tidy-up available.

Label each power supply, since identical black bricks are impossible to tell apart later.

Breaks

Getting up every half hour and varying posture matters more than any equipment on the desk.

Laptops and docks

A laptop screen used all day forces the neck down. A stand raising it to eye level with a separate keyboard and mouse is the single most useful change most people can make, and it costs very little.

Employers in many countries must assess workstations, including at home, and most people never ask.

Lighting and glare

A window behind a screen makes it look dim; a window in front causes reflections. Position screens side-on to the light and add a task lamp for paperwork.

Match screen brightness roughly to the room rather than running it at maximum.

Arms

A monitor arm frees desk space and makes height adjustment trivial.

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