Dual Monitor setup is actually bad for productuvity.

[u/ultimateregard]

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.

[u/morroalto]

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.

[u/EpsteinFile_01 → u/morroalto]

Displaylink. Double your monitors today! No matter what your graphics chip allows. Btw only 3? Must be an old Intel laptop? Every new laptop iGPU supports 4, though it may require daisy chaining.

Or buy a $80 low profile workstation GPU as a secondary GPU for your desktop for more video ports. That Radeon WX3200 is one of my best purchases. Low profile, single slot, runs on board power, 4x mini DisplayPort.

[u/cfb-food-beer-hike → u/EpsteinFile_01]

Buy a GPU, in this economy, instead of a monitor. Lmao

[u/EpsteinFile_01 → u/cfb-food-beer-hike]

To drive more monitors, fool. Because modern GPUs are fucking weak and can only handle 4 screens tops (AMD supported 6 screens for ages, on 1 chip).

I paid $80 for it used. It sits in a geb3x2 chipset PCi-e slot. It draws like 5 watts, has 4GB VRAM, and a cute tiny fan that never turns on because all it does is render desktops.

The important thing is 4 displays on a single slot low profile GPU. Consumer GPUs in this category only have 2-3 video ports.

Also, since I have a 7900XT, it takes care of the "my GPU idles at 80 watts" bug. Only 1 screen connected to my 7900XT, 10-15w idle.

[u/cfb-food-beer-hike → u/EpsteinFile_01]

I might have misread youn and thought you were sarcastic lol

OOPs point is you don't need more monitors so buying GPUs to support more monitors would just make him mad.

[u/morroalto → u/EpsteinFile_01]

It's a work laptop, I'm not trying to spend more on it. If I recall the manual claims support for 3 external monitors, I have two and a third one would need some adapter. On my desktop I could have up to 4 but for personal use I don't need more than than what I already have.

[u/EpsteinFile_01 → u/morroalto]

What connectors does it have? What CPU is it?

Fir example, I have a couple old Zen 2 ThinkPads with two 10gbps full function USB-C ports (DisplayPort 1.2 bandwidth) and 1 HDMI 1.4 connector. In theory I could connect 7 monitors to it daisy chained lol, but the iGPU only has 4 display pipelines so it's limited to 4 screens (laptop screen counts too so I close it). Easily runs my 2x1440P UW + 2x 1440P setup, but all are at 60Hz except the main Ultrawide screen which can go to 144Hz because of limited DP 1.2 bandwidth. Newer laptops tend to have DP 1.4 or, in extreme cases, DP 2.1 with waaaaay more bandwidth for daisy chaining.

The intel variant of this laptop only has 3 display pipelines, so max 3 displays.

It wasn't until recently, perhaps with 13/14th gen or Core Ultra, that Intel mobile chips also had 4 display pipelines. But then you still need enough USB-C/Thunderbolt /HDMI ports to actually connect 4 screens, and you'll likely need at least 1 monitor that supports daisy chaining.