Should You Get an Ultrawide OR Dual Monitor Setup?

What’s better? Having two heads? Or one big one?

With the rise of ultrawide monitors growing in popularity, I thought it would be a great idea to create a discussion on the matter of whether an ultrawide or a dual monitor setup would be the better option. Today we’ll compare the 2 with 5 different metrics

Price. If we compare the price, they’ll both make you poor. Comparing price of two monitors to the price of an ultra wide, two monitors is just plain cheaper. The cheapest ultrawide from a reputable brand retails for around $230, for that price you could easily buy two 1080p monitors for around $110 each. Price savings are tiny, but in return you get a lot more total screen real estate because dual monitors literally have 50% more pixels than an ultrawide setup.

We just talked about their screen real estate, but we never discussed their desk real estate. It’s basic math here. Two monitors use more desk space. One monitor takes less desk space. So if you’re trying to save on space, an ultra wide beats a dual monitor setup by far. You could disregard this part altogether if you pay for monitor arms, but not everyone wants to shell out more money for it, unless you feel the need to. Go ahead.

Do you prefer a more immersive gaming experience or more immersive video experience? Content is affected by the type of monitors you have as well. Most HD content on YouTube is shot in 16:9 which is the length and the width of a video as well as most TVs and regular monitors. If you tried watching this content on a ultra wide, it’d look something like this, with black bars on the side. So if you primarily watch videos, especially your favorite channel, get the dual monitors, where you also have an extra screen to write out how annoying I am. Gaming however is much more immersive with an ultrawide, but some games with cut scenes, may render in 16:9 causing that portion to also look bad. But at least you won’t have bezels interfering with your game.

Now we have to talk about the productivity benefits. Dual monitors allow you to run multiple programs in parallel and use them both at once, while you still have to tab + alt on ultra wides unless you lay them side by side. For something like web development or video editing, either can be real beneficial. With things more like streaming might be better served with dual monitors.

The last one is appearance. You may like how streamlined and simple a ultrawide may look, or may prefer the command center look of a dual monitor setup. Either way appearance wise, each setup is different because each monitor is different

Now, my own personal preference is an ultra wide with a regular 16:9 monitor laid out on top of each other. Like this. But again, that creates a whole new list of pros and cons like your desk is still cluttered, but now all content will look great on your monitors. But that’s for another time. I hope this helped you a bit in deciding what you wanted in your desk setup.

Honestly, I could go all day about pros and cons of each individual monitor setup and make like a 30 minute video, but let’s face it, you’ll probably make up your mind based on what you’re planning to do on your computer. All I’ve done is merely expressed my opinion on what it can or can’t do well.

So, I hope you guys found this video useful, if you enjoyed it, give it a thumbs up, comment, and don’t forget to subscribe. I’ll see you guys next time.

[SomeSomething]

"If we compare the price of both, they'll both make you poor"




:, (

[TheExtream]

sandwich a ultrwide betwen two monitors what a master plan :D

[C_x_wtchrexe]

Dual monitor setup with both a 16:9 on the left and a 21:9 on the right = perfect solution for me :D

[drewlehmann]

Jimmy something has been bothering me, your channel is called Jimmy tries world, but your in your room. why don't you do your videos outside in interesting places.

[liftkit]

I like when it's a short video but all the key points are covered. Thanks!

[Twatical]

you'll grow fast, great video pal.

[ChadWilliamson]

Awesome video. This is the only review that actually answered some of the questions I had. Great work!

[Madridavid]

The future is 1 ultrawide in the middle and 2 normal, one on each side

[heatherjo]

You just saved me from sacrificing productivity for appearances! Thanks Jimmy!

[deganni]

what are your thoughts in comparing dual 27inch and dual 32inch monitors?

[Tree.c]

I’ve been looking for a non biased pro and con video and this takes the cake 👌👌 thank you

[AyzekUorren]

Samsung odyssey g9 replace any negative points for dual monitors vs single monitor. We can use dual monitors with two sources PIP/PBP.
Also, you don't have black bars between two monitors with two sources. Of course, you can play on the full monitor, and it looks amazing.
But prices like tree good monitors.

[Bihigos]

What in the world happened to your camera at 0:08 on the black curtain to the right of the video?

[stephenadams]

Liked just for the "watch your... favourite channel" line lol. First time watching your videos but I'm a fan!

[MSJsetter]

On your Ultrawide. When you open excel and make it full screen. How many Columns and Rows do you see? I'm trying to decide if I can get a single ultrawide and use it in triple display mode since the programs I use for work are narrow but have a lot of vertical content. Triple monitors just cause too much unused space on the screens and too much used space on my desk.

[ZoltanHanko]

I've be using a ultrawide monitor (LG 29" 2560x1080) for 3 years and i love it!

[Jebble]

Or to digest video content you could use displayfusion to make a virtual 16:9 and 5:9 monitor and use improve youtube extension to scale to full width without black bars :)

[TheHackPlack]

My opinion:
Ultrawide for gaming
Dual for work

[Michaelkayslay]

My question. Can my card handle 2 x27 inch monitors? I have a msi 970gtx. How do I plug in both monitors? Is it better to get 2 vs 1? I very confusion. Only game I play is world of warcraft and total war games

[smash]

Just moved from dual 22" 1080s to 35" 3440 x 1440 ultrawide. It's cleaner and takes less space. You get more vertical real estate and don't lose much on the sides. Also far better for gaming.