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I could really benefit from dual monitors. I currently have a Samsung 226BW as my main LCD. Is there an "ideal" setup for a second monitor to use. I know the two don't have to be the same size, I was just wondering if there is a preference among people that use 2 monitors. My GTX275 has 2 DVI ports.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I find that having monitors that are the same size is only beneficial if you have something that is spanning across the two monitors. Otherwise, you're basically using the two monitors individually as separate work spaces, and you just want the largest amount of real estate you can afford to get.

Well I know for me having two monitors of different size is not very pleasing to the eye. It's visually jarring and distracting. Functionally, though, i don't think it will really matter. If you get one that is bigger, it'd be good because eventually you're going to want to replace that old one anyway, and then you'd only have to buy a match to your bigger one instead of two new ones.

Having the same dot pitch is more important than the same size. This way, the mouse handles the same on both of them.

For $212 each + tax + free shipping, you could get a pair of Dell UltraSharp 2209WA monitors.
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1698576
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1181717

Thank you all very much for the suggestions.

I need the second one just to see one document or website, while typing on a document or website on the other. I'm not quite ready to make a major purchase of a main monitor. I was actually hoping to spend less than $150.

I'm not very clear on the dot pitch thing. The dot pitch on this 226BW is 0.282 and a native resolution of 1680x1050. Is that a fairly standard dot pitch, or do they vary greatly?

Thanks again everyone.

You could purchase a single UltraSharp 2209WA for $212 + tax + free shipping following the links that I posted. The 2209WA has the same 22" dimension, 1680x1050 resolution and 0.282mm dot pitch as your existing monitor. The UltraSharp 2209WA uses a superior IPS LCD panel rather than the nasty TN LCD panel found in the Samsung 226BW.

RickyTick wrote:

I'm not very clear on the dot pitch thing. The dot pitch on this 226BW is 0.282 and a native resolution of 1680x1050. Is that a fairly standard dot pitch, or do they vary greatly?

Dot pitch is (roughly) the size of the pixels. Looking at Newegg, they appear to vary between .243mm and .311mm, which is a fair bit -- your mouse will move the same number of pixels on either monitor but it will move farther physically on the one with larger dot pitch. This may or may not be a problem for you; it was a little obnoxious when I was running two 17" CRTs at different resolutions but one of them was basically just to show iTunes so I dealt with it.

In any case, try making use of the Power Search in Newegg to find monitors. For instance, there are a lot of 22" 1680*1050 monitors in the $160 dollar range that should be more or less the same as your monitor.

Or, if you really just want a secondary monitor you can get a 19" monitor that's got close to the same dot pitch for ~$120.

Dot pitch used to mean something useful (possibly more ethereal) with CRT's- with LCD's and their fixed resolutions, dot pitch is really just the size of the pixels, which is directly determined by the area of the monitor (H x W) divided by the number of pixels. So, at the same resolution, say 1920x1080, the pixel size will increase with screen size. The pixels on a 21.5" screen will be much smaller than the same resolution at 25", etc.

Saying all of that to say this- the dot pitch measurement is an easy way to determine how large the pixels will be, which may make the screen easier to read.

Airmantharp wrote:

Dot pitch is really just the size of the pixels, which is directly determined by...

Dot pitch = d x 25.4 mm/in ÷ sqrt (H² + V²)

d = Diagonal screen measurement, in inches (e.g.: 22.0 inches)
H = Horizontal resolution, in pixels (e.g.: 1680)
V = Vertical resolution, in pixels (e.g.: 1050)

Dot pitch = d x 25.4 mm/in ÷ sqrt (H² + V²)
= 22.0 in x 25.4 mm/in ÷ sqrt (1680² + 1050²)
= 558.8 mm ÷ 1981.1 pixels
= 0.28206 mm/pixel

Thanks JAE, I was trying to summarize . Danny, that 245T is a great monitor, long as you don't play games on it (input lag, according to reviews). I wanted one until I understood what input lag was. I am surprised to hear that you cannot use the U2410, as I said above I wish I could afford one.

Airmantharp wrote:

Thanks JAE, I was trying to summarize . Danny, that 245T is a great monitor, long as you don't play games on it (input lag, according to reviews). I wanted one until I understood what input lag was. I am surprised to hear that you cannot use the U2410, as I said above I wish I could afford one.

sorry, I removed my post after I saw the OP was looking to spend less than 150.

Yeah, I'm not sure what the deal is with the U2410. It is very nice for photo work. I'm guessing if I give it a longer chance and let my eyes adjust I'd probably get used to it for text also. I actually do game on the 245T and havent had any problems yet. Crysis & COD4. I wasnt really paying attention though. I'll watch more for any lag next time .. but usually if something lags bad you'll notice it without trying to.

danny e. wrote:

Crysis & COD4.

Well, if it were me with Counter-Strike, I'm pretty sure I'd notice it, but outside of that it'd probably be a non-issue. Thankfully for the OP, TN monitors in his price range don't have input lag issues, as they don't have the processing (or expensive VA panels) that would cause it.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

You could purchase a single UltraSharp 2209WA for $212 + tax + free shipping following the links that I posted. The 2209WA has the same 22" dimension, 1680x1050 resolution and 0.282mm dot pitch as your existing monitor. The UltraSharp 2209WA uses a superior IPS LCD panel rather than the nasty TN LCD panel found in the Samsung 226BW.

This would be a better monitor than what I'm currently using. That's really a nice price, isn't it? Another 22" widescreen would take up a lot of room on my desk, but it would fit easily. For some reason I had it in my mind that a simple 19" LCD next to my 22" widescreen would be a decent combination. I have an open account with Dell and would not be opposed to buying a refurb from the Dell Outlet. Any thoughts?

Thanks all.

SNM wrote:

Or, if you really just want a secondary monitor you can get a 19" monitor that's got close to the same dot pitch for ~$120.

That's sorta what I had in mind, just wasn't sure if it was a practical solution. I'm certainly open to all suggestions, and appreciate them all too.

RickyTick wrote:

I'm not very clear on the dot pitch thing. The dot pitch on this 226BW is 0.282 and a native resolution of 1680x1050. Is that a fairly standard dot pitch, or do they vary greatly?

That's a fairly average pitch and you'll see something close to that on a lot of monitors (your typical 24" 1080 16:9 screen will be .277). But there are outliers -- the Hanns·G 28" (actually 27.5") is .309 while the Dell SP2309W packs 2048 x 1152 into 23" for a pitch of .249

I find that having the main monitor landscape (1680x1050) and the other monitor portrait (1050x1680) works best for me.

So make sure that one of both of the monitors and rotate.

UberGerbil wrote:

But there are outliers -- the Hanns·G 28" (actually 27.5") is .309

I'm using one of these now; it has it's quirks, but for me the price, resolution, size, and the highest rating on Newegg for a monitor sold it to me. If it gets passed down (as most of my equipment does), it will probably find a home with a blind family member. Also, on the subject of dual monitors, I have a Samsung 204B as my secondary, which is 1600x1200 at 20.1". It's much smaller text, but the same vertical number of pixels.