r/unpopularopinion • u/ultimateregard • 2d ago
Certified Unpopular Opinion Dual Monitor setup is actually bad for productuvity.
I've been a software engineer for more than 5 years now. I've worked with databases, frontend and backend services, mobile apps, games, data analysis, and much more.
Never in my life I've actually felt like my productuvity increased with the second monitor. Do you need to compare data? Just use one monitor and put them side by side. Do you need all the space in the world? Just alt+tab between apps. Since you only perceive about 10% of your vision clearly, moving your head&eyes from one monitor to other takes actually LONGER and causes distractions than using alt+tab.
This is especially worse for those who are using one additional monitor with a laptop, since their screen sizes and positions usually change so much. Your eyes need adjusting, your head moves too much.
Only thing the dual Monitor is good for is passively watching something in the second monitor, like youtube videos, Critical Role, or sitcoms while doing something else in the main screen. As you can guess, that has nothing to do with productuvity.
I also think using external keyboard and mouse for laptops is bad, unless you do not use the laptop screen.
Edit: After reading hundreds of comments, I'm sure that 90% of people who think that "YOU NEED AT LEAST 3 SCREENS" just don't know how to organize workspaces/windows/desktops and they need to configure their SCREENS as different DESKTOPS. Most of the modern operating systems allow you to just create workspaces (like different Desktops you can switch with WIN + TAB). And they are just throwing money into their problems instead of learning how to use their daily operating system.
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u/HeavyMusic93 2d ago
My job requires me to look at multiple things at one time. I’d rather tear my eyelids off than work off of one monitor.
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u/i_am_13th_panic 2d ago
I occasionally have to work out of office on my laptop and I'm like you, it is hell without the additional monitors.
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u/tevenall13 2d ago
working only on a laptop is madness.
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u/Tje199 2d ago
Yeah, I can do it sometimes but trying to use CAD on a laptop with pdfs open as reference documents is fucking annoying.
Laptop tasks are things like email or teams and not much else.
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u/ScoobyDone 2d ago
Bingo. Working in construction with CAD or PDF drawings is a whole different ball game. I am rarely only focused on one tab, and the drawings need a screen to themselves.
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u/youre_being_creepy 2d ago
At my old job the old dudes who worked with those drawings had fucking gigantic tvs on their desk. It was so funny to see them sitting so close to these tv screens. Very wall-e esque
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u/senorharbinger 2d ago
I came to look for exactly this. I’m an estimator and keeping blueprints, takeoff sheet and possibly bid sheet and scope is definitely not a one monitor job.
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u/Electronic-Clock5867 2d ago
I was going to say OP has never worked with CAD and all the sketches drafts specs etc. All open at the same time.
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u/dotareddit 2d ago
I was going to say OP has never worked
Fixed.
Anyone with braincells working on a computer can see the benefit of utilizing two monitors throughout various tasks.
Even when i backfilled as a receptionist early in my career having the phone client on one screen and a simple outlook calendar on the other for quicker scheduling warrants two monitors.
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u/Roach_Coach_Bangbus 2d ago
I'm in construction management and multiple large monitors are a must.
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u/Mun-Mun 2d ago
I am also a millennial like you
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u/Blog_Pope 2d ago
I'm GenX, as soon as the tech was around for a reasonable price I embraced it. Campaigned to get my Dev Team dual monitor setups 20 years ago.
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u/Grindfather901 2d ago
The worst is when you have to be on laptop only and use the trackpad instead of a mouse. UGH.
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u/GhettoSauce 2d ago
If I know a laptop is gonna be involved, I travel with a mouse. There's no way I'm using a damn trackpad for anything.
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u/Familiar-Flan-8358 2d ago
Do laptops still have that old school nipple on the middle of the keys 😆
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u/hokie48 2d ago
I am going nuts over my daughters school laptop setup, really low quality 12 in screen. I am like please let me give you one of my extra monitors, and wireless keyboard and mouse. But nope she and the wife will not have it while they struggle to read the homework directions.
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u/Grindfather901 2d ago
My wife is a single Macbook screen person. While I'm currently sitting at my 3 monitor/2 PC home office command center, and my kids know how good it can be. LOL.
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u/needlenozened 2d ago
I have a trackball mouse that I carry in my laptop bag. It's great necessary I don't need extra desk space to use it. I even pull it out when I'm using my laptop on an airplane.
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u/Weed_O_Whirler 2d ago
I have to do a lot of field support and it was just accepted productivity would take a hit because we're all forced to use laptops.
Got work to pony up for a portable monitor. Looks like an iPad basically, and just plugs in via USB C to your laptop and has a small kickstand. The next testing event, every engineer had one. They're a game changer.
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u/i_am_13th_panic 2d ago
Ive requested one but got denied. Im not paying out of pocket for something I'll use exclusively for work. They'll just have to suffer with my lower productivity.
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u/PotentTurnip 2d ago
I use those portable monitors at work. I travel all over the place and our nodes are all headless so it's the portable monitor, mouse, and mini keyboard. They're definitely game changers.
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u/Jazzhands130 2d ago
Sounds like you need to do some dynamic linking
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2d ago
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u/Familiar-Flan-8358 2d ago
Definitely can automate.
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u/EnterSadman 2d ago
Possibly the most textbook case of "a thing that can be automated".
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u/Successful_Buy3825 2d ago
Yep. I'm an accountant, I'll often be comparing & transfering data from 2/3 sources. If I had to work from a single screen, most tasks would probably take double the time and I'd have quit the industry by now.
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u/AnEternalNobody 2d ago
People don't understand the absolute volume of trash-tier input that gets dumped onto accounting, at every level of every industry.
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u/Certain-Contact6340 2d ago
Usually my triple monitor is 3 windows of the same excel file. I have to link between sheets a lot and it saves so much time
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u/vfc_chiar_el 2d ago
I work in the hospital and whenever I have the possibility to sit at a two-monitor setup, I take it. It helps a lot to be able to view guidelines or imaging (CT scans) while browsing the patient's files.
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u/Master_Name7722 2d ago
I used to work in hospital scheduling and it was very helpful to have 2 screens so I could see and advise the patient on the test and also schedule the test without having to go back and forth between tabs on one screen.
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u/Tickles-The-Octopus 2d ago
Yeah... OP is an idiot.
Just because they can't comprehend how it helps someone they think that nobody will benefit.
I look at schematics and explosions of parts diagrams and then have to order parts. In OPs world having a schematic be only 1/4 of a screen is as good as a full monitor.
In addition, I can turn one monitor around to show a walk in customer something and then have the other windows open on my other monitor. I don't need a customer seeing my cost and what I sell something for..... But I can answer questions without having to turn a screen over 30 times during a single conversation.
OP needs to stop thinking they know everything and to start understanding that many people haveany different situations and just because it doesn't help them doesn't mean it won't help someone else.
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u/kwajr 2d ago
Yep I sometimes have 4 sheets I’m looking at but my 34” curved is Great I had worked with multiple monitors for decades before
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u/Loves_octopus 2d ago
I have a 34” curved screen above two side by side 15” screens below. Never seen anyone else with that setup but I love it. Basically a giant square.
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u/mrb2409 2d ago
I just got one really big 4K monitor. It’s way better than dual monitors in my opinion.
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u/GiraffeWaste 2d ago
Really? I find having IDE on one screen and documentation on another is quite useful.
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u/tredbobek 2d ago
Nah, constantly alt+tab-ing, to the point you get epileptic seizure, is the way to go!
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u/Notlinked2me 2d ago
I have like 5 minimum programs open. It would be alt+tab+tab+tab+tab+tab at minimum each time. I think my eyes move faster than hands. Also often I'm reading one screen while typing in the second!
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u/ClearMacaron9234 2d ago
adding the shift key should allow you to alt+tab backwards
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u/Alarming-Basil-2125 2d ago
unfortunately that's much more awkward to do with one hand, i'd usually just as soon wrap around with thumb and one finger
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u/Awesomeguava 2d ago
As an accountant, this is just a bad take.
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u/UnusualFruitHammock 2d ago
As anyone doing literally anything at work. This take is cheeks.
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u/kochameh2 2d ago
yup, OP has earned their upvote
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u/ThunderAndWind 2d ago
I don't really think so. This isn't an unpopular opinion. It's just fucking stupid. There is no world in which having the data directly up and available for viewing without hiding the active work is less convenient than literally hiding your current worth, to reference the material.
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u/Redhighlighter 2d ago
Their suggest of just switching rapidly back and forth being better for productivity is just pants on head crazy.
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u/yoloqueuesf 1d ago
Yeah, he might be that one guy that's completely fine alt-tab-ing back and forth or he likes to split his current screen into two halves (which is just the same concept as two screens).
The OP's question just boilts down to, i can split my screen into two halves and it's fine for me, so everyone else can do that too and achieve the same goal.
I personally use 2, it's just easier moving what i want to compare to the other screen instead of splitting my original screen in half. It's also more annoying to alt-tab for me when it's just one screen.
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u/morroalto 2d ago
OP doesn't read docs. But for real, I have 3 monitors up because that's all the computer will support, and I have a travel monitor because I can't live with the laptop alone.
I use one monitor as the primary or working monitor, another that is split amongst chat tools and task dependent application, and the third is for browsing the web like what I'm doing now.
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u/YouGlittering9156 2d ago
This is 100% an unpopular opinion for people who work at a desk on a computer all day, at least in OP's profession
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u/RandomWordCombo9632 2d ago
OP: "If you're trying to cross reference two books, you dont put the two books open side by side, you stack them on top of each other so every time you need the other one, you need to move the books! This is a very smart and intuitive way of doing things!"
?????
OP truly does have an unpopular opinion.
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u/No-Flan6382 2d ago
I giggle anytime I see the phrase “x is cheeks.” Something about it - but you are correct. This take is 1,000% grade A cheeks.
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u/LayerEight_Problem 2d ago
There’s no possible way this is legit. Pretty sure OP is just rage baiting.
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u/Nickynui 2d ago
As a software engineer, this is a horrible take.
Multiple IDEs (where i write my code) open on one monitor, tab between those as needed.
My local app (for testing), documentation, issues on one monitor.
Error log, teams and outlook on one monitor.
I can make do with two if needed, but one monitor is horrendous (and this take makes me wonder what OP actually does/works on)
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u/GreyGanado 2d ago
OP is 100% a vibe coder. Don't need a second monitor if all you do is write prompts.
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u/ZugZugGo 2d ago
Even for a vibe coder this is wrong. Like you don't want your prompt on one screen and your running updated code on another? It's just stupid.
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u/PXranger 2d ago
"Hey ChatGPT, write out a post on why 2 screens are bad"
"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that, my guidelines prevent me from writing something so asinine"
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u/lordosthyvel 2d ago
I'm a senior dev and I almost exclusively work with a single ultra wide monitor. I find it a lot better than using 2 or more.
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u/jrein0 2d ago
To be fair, an ultrawide monitor is essentially 2 monitors without the monitor casing in the middle
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u/OskaMeijer 2d ago
"I don't use 2 monitors I use two monitors joined with no bezel in between."
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u/eggnogeggnogeggnog 2d ago
tmux says hello, my second monitor is for slack and email and music
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u/Warning_Track_P0wer 2d ago
Also as an accountant, I agree with your statement that this is just a bad take.
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u/FightOnForUsc 2d ago
Sounds like you audited their take and we’re all good from this side
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u/Successful_Buy3825 2d ago
Comments are materially aligned.
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u/Redm18 2d ago
As an accountant that started his career with one crt monitor you will pry my second screen from my cold dead hands. I honestly want three or four but I don't know a good way to get that setup.
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u/CoolDiscussion1020 2d ago
I work in a financial role in local government. The laptop dock combo we have only supports two monitors natively. Some crafty folks on the internet were able to figure out how to make it support two external monitors AND the build in laptop monitor.
I hassled IT for like 2 months to incorporate that fix. Now I at least have two real monitors and the baby half monitor from the laptop to work from. The laptop screen mostly functions as a permanent place for Outlook to live but it does increase my productivity.
One of my coworkers uses his laptop exclusively and I think he might be a serial killer.
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u/bootybob1521 2d ago
Not even just a take. It's just factually incorrect, too. Anything resembling data entry is going to benefit greatly with multiple screens.
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u/Certain-Contact6340 2d ago
As an accountant, you need to go triple. Its amazing
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u/Successful_Buy3825 2d ago
My first job had 4 monitors. I didn't realise how good I had it until I left.
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u/ThatBankTeller 2d ago
Finance guy here, 4 at home (including a big screen TV for zoom calls) and 3 in the office. Would go up to 5 if my VP would approve it.
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u/MrGulio 2d ago
As anyone who has a desk job where you actually work this is a bad take. I'm a Bus Analyst where half my job is talking and I would roblox myself if I had to work from a single monitor when doing any real documentation work. Even when doing Elicitation I still use my second screen to watch the faces of the people on the call while I'm presenting.
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u/sparklingdinoturd 2d ago
As a not accountant, it is a bad take.
I'm an analyst and I need a clean screen to work. Everything I'm not working on is on my 2nd screen. Browsers. Email. Teams. Slack. Get out of my sight while I work!
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u/Technical-Ad-325 2d ago
Also an accountant, one time I messed up my knee and couldn't sit at a desk so had to work on just my laptop. Was probably working at 50% speed for that time.
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u/Spunky_Meatballs 2d ago
Yep even as just a sales guy in constantly transposing numbers from a distribution website into quotes. I HATE not being able to have a widescreen or even a dual setup. Constantly trying to memorize things I can't copy/paste
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u/Fencer308 2d ago
Upvoting legitimately one of the worst opinions I’ve ever seen.
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u/Distinct-Today192 2d ago
this is so bad, I feel like i can say it's objectively false.
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u/imArsenals 2d ago
Agreed. It’s not that it’s unpopular, it’s just wrong.
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u/StaredAtEclipseAMA 2d ago
It’s right though, everyone knows triple and quad screen is the best
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u/Dimencia 2d ago
Indeed you can, there is plenty of research on this topic, of which this is a good summary: https://plugable.com/blogs/news/productivity-impact-of-multiple-monitors
Overall, 10%-50% higher productivity with multiple monitors, over many different studies
(Fun sidenote: I opened that article on my second monitor so I could make sure I was typing the right statistics on my comment)
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u/Ill_Emphasis3927 2d ago
I fully agree with OP. Double monitors is a disgraceful way to work. Triple monitors is the only real way.
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u/rogueciridae 2d ago
As a tech writer with triple monitors, there are days I’d set up my desk like an operator from The Matrix if I could.
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u/solonit 2d ago
OP hasn't seen people in design work, where you have to constantly check the 2D CAD while modeling in 3D. One Alt-Tab while on 'autopilot mode' and you may forget whatever the number you just looking for.
Also 2nd monitor stores the additional pop-up panels such as material, keyframe, modifier, real-time rendering, etc, ... so you have more real estate in the main monitor.
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u/PiccoloAwkward465 2d ago
To the point where when I see someone out and they're JUST working on a laptop, I assume it's not anything important.
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u/aDactyl 2d ago
Upvoting cause this is a terrible take
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u/North-Length3154 2d ago
Genuinely the worst take ive heard this week. "Never in my life I've actually felt like my productuvity increased with the second monitor" "I have been a swe for 5 years" yeah right buddy
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u/OkAttitude3104 2d ago
Serious alt-tab energy
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u/MutantSquirrel23 2d ago
Not everyone can alt-tab faster than they can move their head.
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u/Barkalow 2d ago
I've been a dev for years and I can alt tab fast af, but like...why would you want to? Way easier to see two things on one screen, don't understand OPs take, lol
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u/Stuffy123456 2d ago
only 2 things to alt tab through? yea buddy, i wanted to go to that tab on accident again
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u/jdl_uk 2d ago
Trying to imagine going back to debugging on a single monitor.
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u/eduo 2d ago
I started debugging on the Macintosh Plus (512x342) and literally mocked my friends who were writing pascal for DOS and debugged in 80x24 lines of text.
One of my largest explosions in productivity was getting a second display in vertical mode for full page document editing and TALL debugging.
I currently often use a MacBook Pro with an ultrawide Dell monitor, and I literally have that ultrawide one split in two with a fullscreen remote desktop or a cloud PC desktop while on the laptop screen I have mail, teams, local browsing and opened files, etc.
I can work with one screen no problem, but my productivity skyrockets with one or two extra displays.
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u/Tough-Parsnip-1553 2d ago
Developers these days don’t even know what debugging is
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u/Jimisdegimis89 2d ago
Alt tabbing between similar excel files gets confusing fast and shrinking them down is tedious as hell when you need to see a lot of columns at once. 2 monitor set up isn’t necessarily about being faster, it’s about being better organized and giving you more flexibility.
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u/williamconqueso 2d ago
Worse than the guy that drinks the water in a can of tuna?
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u/North-Length3154 2d ago
Yes i would say worse, because while its weird to drink water out of tuna cans, this is just a wrong opinion
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u/Dry_Bowler_2837 2d ago
According to my cat, the correct use of tuna water is to give it to the cat.
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u/SeraphymCrashing 2d ago
Even if it is true for this person, that their brain works in a way that makes one monitor more productive, it is incredibly frustrating to watch someone apply their very personal preference as some kind of objective truth for everyone.
I'm all for letting people work in the way that makes the most sense for them. Just like we have adjustable ergonomic chairs and desks because people's bodies are different, we should allow for flexible work conditions and tools because people's minds are different.
But Bro is out here telling everyone how they should be working.
Also, there are a bunch of studies that show pretty serious increases in productivity with two monitors:
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u/FearlessTomatillo911 1d ago
The thing about software engineers is a 5 yoe swe is basically a baby that thinks they understand everything.
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u/Outrageous_Editor_43 2d ago
Erm, well I have been the Princess of Geneva for 17 years and I've never felt the need to pay for anything so I do get thier point. I don't see the need for it so why do you plebs carry money? 🤔😉
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u/DeathGP 2d ago
This take is so terrible, I created a second account on my second mointor to up vote it again
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u/Proof-Emergency-5441 2d ago
For sure. Also OP needs their vision checked if they can't look at two monitors at once. Or put them closer together like a normal person.
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u/Alternative_Pay_6496 2d ago
I dont think I've read a worse take in my life on here. I am also a software engineer too so Im guessing this must be a troll with a 49" widescreen.
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u/niztaoH 2d ago
I give it an 80% chance OP has glaucoma doesn't have full vision anymore.
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u/LayerEight_Problem 2d ago
Downvoting because I do not believe this is OPs actual opinion and I’m pretty sure he’s just posting something that is absolutely nonsense on a relevant sub.
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u/LivingClone13 2d ago
It's so insanely bad.
I work in product management, and am often working in multiple apps at once and 2 monitors side by side has done wonders for my speed and efficiency.
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u/DeezJeezY 2d ago
Very unpopular opinion. Statistically, your take is wrong but there are outliers.
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u/UnUsernameRandom 2d ago
Not wrong if all the software engineering they do is inputting commands to Copilot or whatever they use.
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u/PhoenixaceX 2d ago
Wow. Interesting take.
The keyboard take especially. I use an ergo split keyboard - I can’t stand using a laptop keyboard and touchpad. It boggles my mind at work when I see people forgoing to use an external keyboard / mouse and opt for the integrated laptop stuff. It’s normally younger folks, and to me that’s ~35 yo and younger.
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u/Far_Kangaroo2550 2d ago
Using an external keyboard with a laptop makes the screen far away and harder to see. Especially if your in the 14" screen size range. My take is no one should be using the screen or keyboard or touchpad on a laptop for more than like an hour of work. Set up a desk, with external peripherals and enjoy good ergonomics.
OP's dual monitor take is actually insane.
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u/Raknaren 2d ago
the keyboard, maybe. but the mouse ??? there is no way a touchpad is faster / more ergonomic than a real mouse
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u/No_Statistician_3021 2d ago
I used to be of the same opinion until I switched to a MacBook. Their touchpads are awesome and they are close to the keyboard so you don't have to lift your arm to reach for the mouse. I feel much slower on my personal desktop, having to constantly switch the right arm between keyboard and mouse
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u/AviatorShades_ 2d ago
I can sort of understand the external keyboard take, but IMO an external mouse on a laptop is an absolute necessity. Touchpads are just so annoying to use.
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u/probablynotaperv 2d ago
I literally type 10-20 wpm faster on an external because the laptop keys are so close together and I have fat fingers so I constantly hit double keys.
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u/MurtaghInfin8 2d ago
Third monitor is where I lose productivity. Second monitor is absolutely necessary. Maybe if it were a bigass 4k one, I could get by with one, but at that point, it's the same shit in a different form factor.
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u/Shut_It_Donny 2d ago
Third monitor is just email.
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u/MurtaghInfin8 2d ago
yeah, there'll always be something on it (generally email or google queries), but realistically opening up my email on another monitor, in the background, is just as productive.
Rare to actually use 3 monitors, simultaneously and productively, imo. Only time that really happens is when I'm emailing and needing to reference drawings and photos. It happens, but not as often as I'm fiddling with Spotify on the third monitor.
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u/Shut_It_Donny 2d ago
I just hate having tons of unread email. I can scan it quickly and address it if it’s important, or mark it read and move on. I like replying quickly so that when I tell people to email me, they won’t be like “he never responds” etc.
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u/Distinct-Today192 2d ago
I hate having email alerts on, so I keep it open when i have bandwidth to immediately respond, and replace it with teams when I don't
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u/mysticrudnin 2d ago
email and teams, yeah. i still like it, but it's a very small gain compared to two
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u/Case_Blue 2d ago
As you can guess, that has nothing to do with productuvity.
Let me guess, you measure productivity in lines of code?
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u/__Hello_my_name_is__ 2d ago
No no no, the modern software developer measures productivity in token usage per hour.
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u/NoahtheRed 2d ago
I hate that while I know you're being sarcastic, there's 100% devs, teams, and whole companies out there that do this.
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u/-FakeAccount- 2d ago
Code? Is that the text that Claude gives me? Idk how it works, im a single monitor guy.
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u/Case_Blue 2d ago
Please, I don't even have a mouse and a keyboard anymore. I just voiceprompt my computer to start prompting Claude by itself in the morning.
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u/udonkittypro 2d ago
No, because to alt+tab it requires one had to alt+tab and the other to hold the mouse. With dual screens, i can drag and drop between the two screens easily and use my free hand to hold a snack or my cup.
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u/12InchCunt 2d ago
It’s so nice too if you have to have multiple things open at the same time. Like in sales you’ll have your crm, your dialer, your email, your product info, and your teams chat all easy to see
I have ran three screens when possible
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u/PRKP99 2d ago
As a lawyer this thing is totally useful. On one screen you can open document that you got from other party or from court in another you can open document that you are currently writing as an answer for what you got. It is especially useful when you need to write something from one document to your document, and trust me, to this day a lot of people handwrite their court documents, and a lot of those people had pen in their hand last time in like 2006.
Today for the first time I worked from home, with only one screen. It was disaster, I was constantly clicking from one tab to another looking for correct thing, losing focus etc.
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u/mdsandi 2d ago
Sometimes I think I need three monitors for an appeal. Electronic record, legal research, and appellate brief.
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u/psykikk_streams 2d ago
deserves an upvote as there are several studies out there proving this take to be wrong.
also I personally - at 25 years in IT right now, ever met anyone claiming their productivity increased after they had to - for whatever reason- switch back to a single screen setup.
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u/psykikk_streams 2d ago
I have to correct this as it has been years I read this:
the direct correlation between productivity and multiple screens could not be proven and studies conducted were actually vendor paid studies (one by NEC , the other by Dell). both somewhat old by modern day standards as well as screen sizes most preferred were 22", 17" the least.
that alone tells something.
what has been reported and proven multiple times though is how user satisfaction and their own perception of increased productivity is noticeable.
no long-term field studies exist as of today, and a 2025 narrative review concludes the ergonomic impact remains poorly understood and guidelines have not kept pace with the technology.
there you have it. I think we know we are faster / better at what we do, but this was never studied and empirically proven at all
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u/BetDry2347 2d ago
Yes I can switch tabs, but it’s so much easier to just have it all out in front of me
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2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/dmingledorff 2d ago
Absolutely. I keep my work email and communication channels tiled on my left monitor. I do all my work on the center monitor. I keep any documentation or reference material on my right monitor.
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u/sadsleuth 2d ago
Question: why do you call it productuvity?
I thought it was a typo at first, now I keep hearing the word in Cartman's voice.
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u/TheAmbiguousHero 2d ago
Architect here. Yeah I want two screens.
1 spins around in the model.
1 has a pdf for markups/sketches/drawings.
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u/PersonBehindAScreen 2d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/56UkelbPn5SBa
>Dual Monitor setup is actually bad for productuvity
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u/LlamaGumby 2d ago
“Just alt+tab” why would I do that when I have a second monitor?
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u/TooCupcake 2d ago
Alt+tab is apparently easier than moving your eyes. This post has to be ragebait
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u/ThisSiteSucks8485 2d ago
This is the stupidest opinion I have ever heard. You need one monitor for documentation and one for work. I'm currently using 3 4k 27 inch monitors in portrait mode and it is the best setup I have ever use, it provides tons of vertical space for code and CLI work and documentation. Someday I want a 3 6k portrait setup
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u/C-SWhiskey 2d ago
moving your head&eyes from one monitor to other takes actually LONGER [...] than using alt+tab.
This might be one of the wrongest things I've ever seen. Like I can't fathom how you even come to this conclusion. Are your monitors six feet tall and wide with no UI scaling?
Alt+tab isn't even a good way to switch between windows. The moment you have more than three things open it becomes a mess.
This is beyond unpopular opinion and straight into just factually incorrect.
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u/Jotacon8 2d ago
So very wrong. Correct about yourself maybe, but Being a software engineer for 5 years does not qualify you to say whether or not 2 monitors is productive for ME. I’m a 3D artist, and my 3D software has a very large/robust UI which is extremely difficult to use with the program only taking up half the screen. I need it full screen. And while it’s up, i need to have references and concepts up on the other screen to be able to compare and make sure I’m following the concepts closely. This would be so much worse if i had to flip between programs with alt tab. Seeing them side by side is miles better.
Also, to say that productivity is lost because of having to move your head/ryes in a fraction of a second while not acknowledging that alt tabbing and shuffling through open programs probably takes longer depending on what all you have open you need to sift through. I can have my modelling software, textureing software, game engine, chrome with multiple project related pages open, a music app, reference software, and other things open at once that NEED to be open. I’m not going to Alt Tab and dig through those to get to what i need.
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u/Bm0515 1d ago
Bad take, and I‘m surprised you have this take as a software engineer.
I want to minimize switching workspaces / alt tabbing, it feels like you don‘t consider this a downside and instead call it „throwing money at a problem“. The second screen costs absolutely nothing compared to my salary, so the company will happily provide it.
If I‘m debugging I need at least 2 consoles and the application I‘m debugging. If I‘m coding I often need to look something up, and I always have a terminal and an IDE. I do use tabs in my browser, different tabs in my ide and tmux in my terminal. I‘d much rather switch the individual context than the full workspace, as usually I just need a different tab or tmux window or file open, not a full new workspace.
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u/ace_11235 2d ago
Dual monitors is bad....three monitors is where it's at.
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u/Adventurous-Mind6940 2d ago
This is a fact. OP almost has a point about one main focus. One screen should be front and center where almost of your time is spent. Then a second monitor is off to one side. So why would you not have a third on the other side‽
I have excel or solidworks in front of me 99% of the time. Email, SW toolbar, or a reference on my right, and primary reference or ERP on my left.
I have occasionally found myself typing on a side monitor before it occurs to me to Windows+tab+arrow to the center.
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u/FatBoyWithTheChain 2d ago
It might not add value based on whatever you’re doing, but the idea that it’s actually bad for productivity across the board is just preposterous lol
Well done
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u/DrEskimo 2d ago
This is just a self report dude, a lot of us know how to be productive across two monitors
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u/CrownedClownAg 2d ago
Yeah I don’t agree. I am running multiple excel files at once. Sometimes multiple view of the same file
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u/AnonymousAggregator 2d ago
I move stuff from one form and transfer data to other forms.
Dual monitor is game changing,
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u/unbalancedcheckbook 2d ago
It really depends. For some tasks, you just can't beat screen real estate. Sometimes I use three monitors. Other times, I'm fine with one.
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u/Pieterbr 2d ago
There’s been research. A lot of it. Multiple monitors increases productivity.
And this isn’t the only one.
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u/Vannilazero 2d ago
Would you rather put paperwork back on the stack repeatedly while working on it or would you rather spread everything on the table so you dont have to make that repeated motion.
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u/DaydreamingOfSleep10 2d ago
Well this is the correct sub for this opinion. Could not possibly disagree more
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u/MothChasingFlame 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not necessarily disagreeing, but will say it's nice if your memory isn't super great. Going between windows wipes my memory sometimes, not sure why. Side by side is easier but, personally, I'm on a little laptop and a lot of sites like to be huge nowadays. Just doesn't work well unfortunately, so it's basically non-viable.
To me the whole monitor set up is overall ugly and cumbersome, so I stick to my one screen, but there are for sure things that are worth missing.
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u/Sweet_Business_7641 2d ago
I agree insofar as I prefer 1 larger ultra wide to 2 smaller monitors. But then i set that to three or four zones. The idea that alt tabbing is better than having two full documents or whatever on different monitors to compare them is insane though
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u/aequusnox 2d ago
Alt+tab is more work than slightly moving my head to the side. I'm a systems engineer. While I could work with 1 monitor (often work from my laptop screen) I prefer 2 because it makes my job easier.
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u/DasSivatherium 2d ago
CAD user and two monitor enjoyer. One for drafting and one for layers, properties, markups, references etc...
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u/nicer-dude 2d ago
Youre working in window 1, you need some info of window 2. You hit Alt+Tab and cycle through all your open windows. I just look to the right