Thursday, January 27, 2011

How many monitors do I need for software development?

A constant theme for me is to improve the way I work. I just replaced my chair (unfortunately not a Hermann Miller) and adjusted the lighting. The remaining items are a better keyboard and finding the optimum monitor setup.

Right now I use two monitors but today I realized that I need three. While working I usually have three separate pages I need to constantly access. The main one is the development screen where I write code (Matlab, Visual Studio, Netbeans). Second page is the specification/design document for the problem at hand or the help page of the development environment. Third page is my notes about the code (steps I followed while solving a bug, lessons learnt etc.). I use Microsoft OneNote for this.


Therefore I need, three monitors (actually four if I had separate monitors for spec and help, but that would be too crowded on the desk). Other programs usually open all the time are Total Commander, MS Outlook and IE, but since I don't have to access them as often, they don't need their own monitors.

Further reading supporting my point:

* Why Developers Need a Multi-Monitor Setup
* What's your ideal multiple-monitor setup for programming?
* Joining The Prestigious Three Monitor Club
* Three Screens For One Computer

Technical details:

* Main questions:
** Does your motherboard support dual graphic cards?
** Are the chipsets of your graphic cards the same?
** It's crucial to have an adequate power supply, otherwise the PC will suffer low performance and random shutdowns as it overdraws the PSU's available wattage and amperage

* Multiple Monitors and Productivity: Motherboard must support it and both cards must have same chipset.
* Ultramon: for having separate taskbars on each screen

music: Massive Attack - Teardrop

2 comments:

Rahmi Lale said...

Dort ekran olayina cozum onerisi,
Iki adet 'genis ekrani' yan yana koy, her ikisini de 90 derece dondur. Ekranlari farazi ikiye bol, dort uygulama calistir, nasil?
Linux'ta bu isi yapan desktop uygulamalari var lakin sana gelmeyecektir ;)

Rahmi Lale said...

Yeni eklemeler olmus:
Su ilaveye istinaden: "Are the chipsets of your graphic cards the same?", Matrox grafik kartlara baktin mi, zibil ekran destekleyen kart ya da harici modelleri var.