Ultrawide monitors

[DGuller]

Does anyone here have any experience with ultrawide monitors?  I'm thinking of getting new monitors.  I currently have two 27" monitors, and I really do need the functionality of two monitors (i.e. work on one thing while monitoring the progress of the second thing).  I'm wondering whether it would make sense to replace both monitors with one ultrawide, cut down on cables, and maybe even leave myself open the possibility of using it as one wide monitor for some tasks without having to work around the bezel.

Any thoughts?

[Threviel]

Please try and let me know how it works.

[Liep]

We have four 27" at work and getting 2 curved ultrawides instead. I would maybe not have picked the curved as it takes up a lot of space due to being much thicker.

It's nice but I haven't really noticed much difference. (There's still a bezel in the middle and it's still a mess of cables and whatnots below the desk because we have several computers and switches. So your mileage may vary.)

[crazy canuck]

Does anyone here have any experience with ultrawide monitors?  I'm thinking of getting new monitors.  I currently have two 27" monitors, and I really do need the functionality of two monitors (i.e. work on one thing while monitoring the progress of the second thing).  I'm wondering whether it would make sense to replace both monitors with one ultrawide, cut down on cables, and maybe even leave myself open the possibility of using it as one wide monitor for some tasks without having to work around the bezel.

Any thoughts?

Check software compatibility - one of the programs I use for document management at work does not like wide monitors.  Which is a bit of a problem since I got the wide monitor for viewing documents....

[MadBurgerMaker]

This is an old post I'm replying to, but I don't come around much and also happen to use a curved 48" here at home.  It's the same screen area as the 2x 27" I replaced with it.  It's nice not having the bezels and all that, but there are some limitations.  Playing games, for example, results in a) a gigantic fullscreen view (which, while cool, can really tax the GFX card), b) a display of the center with just black bars on the sides, or c) relying on the windowed version of the game to not suck and allow you to have other stuff running around it.  CK3 likes to run right in the middle of the screen, BUT, when fullscreen, there ends up being enough available real estate to have a TV show or movie or something running in a Chrome popout window while not really interfering with anything I'm doing in the game.

You can use software like PowerToys (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/) or something similar to make "zones" for various windows if you want to split it more than Windows or whatever OS you're using allows, but you can't fullscreen Netflix or whatever on just one side and keep using the other like you can with a dual setup.  It takes up the whole thing.  Mine, and some others, can use more than one DP/HDMI/whatever input to split themselves or show picture in picture type (useless) stuff, but outside of games I *do* appreciate the ability to split it in to several different zones.

E:  Also, this only resulted in one less cord.  There are 2x display cables and 1x power cord now, vs 2x2 previously.  i suppose it would depend on the model you get though.  My PowerToys layout looks like this:



One bigger one in the middle-ish area, a 2/3 or maybe 3/4 on the right, then a small one I don't really use except for things like non-fullscreen Skype on the left.  You just hold the Shift key when you're moving windows around to make them fullsize in the zones.  Oh also, a program called TaskbarX moves your taskbar stuff to the middle instead of it always being on the left.  Personal preference there.  I had gotten used to those icons being shown on the monitor where they are displayed, and this sort of feels better than everything being on one side. 

[Syt]

Thanks for this MBM, I was just discussing this with a coworker the other day. He's very much in favor of super widescreen, while I'M skeptical about basically what you said. I often have a game on screen 1 and watch something on screen 2. I think for the time being I'll stick with a dual screen setup.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Thanks for this MBM, I was just discussing this with a coworker the other day. He's very much in favor of super widescreen, while I'M skeptical about basically what you said. I often have a game on screen 1 and watch something on screen 2. I think for the time being I'll stick with a dual screen setup.

Sure thing.  I will say, I'd probably rather have this for just a work computer than at home.  With things like PowerToys, you have a lot of uninterrupted and organized screen real estate that isn't broken up by bezels and all that (that's just my setup for here; you can add more of those sectors and resize them however you want).  When I remote in to my dual monitor work machine, I end up being able to have more things open, and use the middle section where the bezels would be, than I am when I'm physically there. 

At home though, on something you use for games as well as work due to the Rona work from home situation?  Dual monitors and VR seems like the way to go instead, at least until there is some sort of virtual monitor software that makes Windows think there's more than one attached so games would recognize it. 

[MadBurgerMaker]

I solved the "problem" by just getting a $30 tall monitor stand from Amazon and mounting a 21.5 up above the UW.  It doesn't look as good as a curved one up there would, but it'll do the second monitor thing just fine until it dies and I buy another one.  One of The 27" monitors I had before would be way too big for this, IMO.  Just a giant screen looming over you.

This...uh...works pretty great for having my work email up there while stomping around in fullscreen Mechwarrior below..