Ultrawide vs Dual Screen - what is the best setup for productivity?

So ultrawide monitors are great for gaming and watching videos but are better than dual screen setups for productivity purposes? Here are some of my thoughts after testing out my ultrawide vs dual screen for the best productivity setup.

Some of my monitor picks whether you prefer to go dual screen or ultrawide:

* 27" | 2560x1440 *

* 34" | Curved | 3440x1440 *

Or if those are a bit out of your price range a pair of smaller/lower resolution displays might be more to your liking:

* 24" | 1920x1200 *

* 34" | Flat | 2560x1080 *

* 29" | Flast | 2560x1080 *

Wallpaper:

Music:
Triton - Borealis

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[omgwtfbbqstfu]

separate monitors create a more natural division of tasks.

[kocesat]

Another advantage of dual monitor setup is that in meetings you can share only one of your monitor and keep the other secret from viewers. You cant just do that easily in ultrawide setup without going all the hassle like choosing the portion and sharing in zoom app. Also there is chance that some of the video conf apps don't support portion or region sharing..

[BW]

In most content creation tasks it is also extremely useful to have one monitor not running non-standard resolutions, scaling, or aspect ratios. While your video editor, code editor, web designer, etc. might love an ultra-wide high-resolution screen... often you need to just see your video, site, program, etc. running on a standard 1920x1080 screen at 100%. I've seen a lot of developers working at some odd resolution only to find the image/form/screen/etc. is clipped or has scrollbars to 90% of people looking at it or things look odd because the screen is scaled to 125% or something.

Advantage of the dual monitor is you can put a standard 1080p monitor their, scale it to 100%, and quickly see what your work looks like to most people. Further, you can change the scaling to quickly see what it looks like for other DPI settings without affecting your "working area".

[jelarv]

Great video! Another thing that just occurred to me (I'm thinking about upgrading to an ultrawide monitor) is that I wouldn't be able to "share monitor" when I'm webcasting with my clients without them seeing everything on my monitor. Using my current 2-monitor setup, I only display the one I want them to see (such as my PowerPoint presentation) while I have my notes and other confidential information on my primary monitor. I believe there's a way to "share application" while webcasting, but it means I would need to keep designating the specific app each time I change from one to another, which I don't need to do when I'm sharing everything on my second monitor.

[freedonx]

Dont forget the 27" you can pivot to vertical and be able to see vertical documents (PDFs).
The most productive is having one screen horitonzal and the other vertical

[bashfulrobot]

What kind of monitor stands are those? I like how clean looking they are. Thanks.

[HelloDavid]

*Dual UW > Dual UW+Spare > Dual 16:9 > UW* for productivity.

[MrTherber]

the answer to the question is:
3 ultrawide monitors
easy

[EposVox]

I think I'd have to stick with dual monitors, but I'd love to have a single ultrawide and side 16:9, maybe a vertical monitor on the left.

[charlesparedesrossel]

as a programmer, I prefer 2 monitors, just code in one monitor and the preview in the second

[cmelft]

Never considered the full screen mode some apps require. Great point, great video!

[seethisth]

Connect two hdmi\displayport cables from your GPU to monitor, go to settings, turn on PBP - and now you have two monitors on one screen - you can even watch youtube in fullscreen on one half of the screen. (at least it works that way on my LG34UM68).

[anabellecurtis]

I think you nailed the perfect setup - 1 34" Ultrawide for stuff like timelines (music / video type work) so you can avoid bezel distractions, and 1 other monitor, like a 24" next to it for app separation. I have dual 24" 1440s and losing 30+% screen space is not ideal. Having dual 34" would be too much. But having at least one screen with a lot more horizontal width is a no-brainer for productivity - just with the added monitor to right like you have.

[wge]

great video, really helped me. one thing that wasn't addressed though - it looks like you're defining productivity as 'how many things can I do at once' but IMO, productivity is decreased when you're multitasking too frequently. I think back to one of my coworkers who told me that he only has one computer screen and creates virtual desktops that he switches between, because he is able to monotask and therefore be more productive more easily (he was a very bright software engineer). this makes a lot of sense to me as for my old job, I was by far the most productive when I was limited to a single, small screen (the job was pretty basic and required a lot of writing and batch tasks). For my new career, I need to have multiple things on the screen that I cross reference frequently. I think for this, my productivity would probably be highest with an ultrawide, but my personal preference is still leaning towards dual monitors. it's a really tough decision!

[SpatSnaSZ]

Your desk is so clean (Y)
what monitorstand are you using?

[gerardopujado]

Dude, the Windows left and right function just blew my mind! Thanks for that one!

[LukeBares]

One aspect that is better on ultrawide: you can have one large window in the middle and two smaller ones left/right. I use this quite often :)

[Techademics]

I like to record my screen on one monitor and have the software on the other monitor. But I am thinking of getting an ultrawide monitor. With this in mind, will it be best to stick to dual monitors? I just want a single monitor in the middle of my desk.

[TaskSwitcherify]

I have *nine* curved 36" monitors. Help, I'm surrounded and I can't find the exit. This may be my last message

[nzshareman]

I love it when people make my decisions : )