Pros and cons of multi-monitor configuration

Original author: Steven Snell
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The desire to become more efficient and productive leads many designers to search for methods to improve the workflow. One common solution is to use multiple monitors, which can provide significant benefits. This article discusses the pros and cons of such a decision.

"BEHIND"


+1) Labor productivity is growing


The greatest advantage is, of course, the growth of labor productivity.

There have been many studies that have tried to calculate exactly how labor productivity changes from the introduction of a multi-monitor system. According to Jon Peddie Research, productivity is up 42%.

A 2005 Pfeiffer report says that as a result of increased productivity, investing in a second monitor (or increasing the diagonal of the first) can yield annual returns of up to several thousand US dollars.

A study conducted by the University of Utah in conjunction with NECfound a 10% increase in productivity and a 20% decrease in the number of errors (not counting the reduction in the amount of stress) for a test group of workers with multiple monitors. The company in which the experiment was conducted received 600% profit on this investment. From the report: “both 24˝ wide-screen and two 20˝ screens turned out to be significantly more effective than one 20˝ ... For working with spreadsheets, two 20˝ turned out to be slightly more effective than one 24˝” . However, the same report indicates that productivity stops increasing and even sometimes decreases if the diagonal size becomes too large.

+2) It is more convenient to work with several programs simultaneously


Most designers use several programs at a time. Perhaps you switch back and forth between Photoshop and Illustrator, or between a set of HTML editor, browser and FTP. Be that as it may, it is very rare that a designer works with one single program and does not periodically switch between tasks. Therefore, the presence of a second monitor can significantly reduce the costs of this "juggling" windows and increase your productivity.

+3) Give communication a separate screen


If it is important for you to be accessible to your clients or to stay in touch with colleagues at work, perhaps the second screen will make it easier to achieve these goals.

Instead of using a single screen for everything, everything in your work, you can select a separate screen for constantly open mail or twitter. Although this practice is usually associated, on the contrary, with a drop in productivity, having a second screen for these purposes can help you stay focused on your work, while at the same time allowing you to quickly look at your inbox (and respond quickly too quickly) with minimal impact on the main job.

+4) It goes well with working on a laptop


Many work on laptops and do not spend all day at one workplace. This allows the designer to have a work office with two screens, without losing flexibility in choosing a workplace, since connecting / disconnecting a second monitor and moving to a new place is very simple.

+5) Data sharing is easier


Designers not only work simultaneously with several programs, but also share data between them, for example, copying code from one application to another, or opening an image created in Photoshop in Dreamweaver. All of these things can be enhanced with a second screen. Moving from screen to screen is often easier than constantly pressing Alt-Tab on one.

+6) You can call on Skype without losing access to other programs


Some participate in video conferences with clients or colleagues. If on one screen you can place the Skype window, on the other you can always see the information that arose when talking. Indeed, in most cases, you need to look at something on the computer: sites, layouts, etc.

+7) It's easier to compare


Designer's work often requires attention to detail. Sometimes you need to compare different versions of the design, check how something behaves in different browsers. In all of these situations, it’s easier, faster, and more efficient to compare neighboring screens than constantly switching between windows.

"AGAINST"


−1) Risk of distraction


Probably the biggest drawback of multiple monitors is the increased risk of distraction. It's easy enough to get distracted when you work with one monitor, but even easier if you add a second.

I already mentioned the possibility of using a second monitor to keep email and twitter in full view. While communications will be faster and easier, without some concentration, this can kill productivity. Depends on your personal workflow and preferences.

−2) Impact on computer performance


From a technical point of view, there is such a drawback that the power of a video card is shared between all connected monitors. Depending on your computer configuration and the set of your programs, system performance may vary.

−3) Out of space on the table


Unfortunately, the lack of free space on the table can easily become an obstacle in the struggle for maximum efficiency. Fortunately, LCD monitors take up significantly less space than their predecessors. Also, as a solution to the problem, you can consider cleaning the table or acquiring a larger one.

−4) Money


Have to spend money. Although prices have dropped significantly, this can still serve as a barrier, especially if a person is not sure that he will like to work with a second monitor.

−5) Too much space


Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror calls it the Paradox of Big Monitors: behind a very large monitor, you can spend too much time resizing and moving windows. Such an effect is invisible on smaller monitors, where they often work with one window wide open at a time.

 
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Plus from me personally (which is not directly mentioned): the laptop screen is not as large as the second monitor can become.
And minus: the simple and effective once open windows in Windows may already be excessive - you can start thinking about layout managers and Co.

PS The fifth “pro” paragraph “Sharing Data Between Applications Can Be Easier” turned out to be quite clumsy. If anyone copes with it better, it would be interesting to see how other people's brains work.

PPS thanks to the authors of the free QDictionary , to which, however, it would not hurt to attach the dictionary more fully :-)


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