Calling all devs with multi monitor setups.

What made you decide to get another monitor? I am asking because I want to buy one, but can't *really* justify it.

For ref, I have an Asus ROG Strix G17 laptop which has thin bezels, 17.3 inch screen.

P.S. I am aware that I'm using 'rant' tag. Please don't hate me lol.

I stopped using multi monitor at certain point. I just use windows side by side instead. But I'm doing not much visual stuff. Maybe that's why

@retoor That means u still bought it to begin with. What was it that made u decide to buy it?

Meetings. I have soooooo many meetings, and having a larger screen in front of me while using my laptop (in a stand up mount) as a second screen allows me to see real work stuff while on a full-screen teams meeting.

Besides, everything gets easier when you can just snap auxiliary information (stack overflow, requisites, WYSIWYG output, slack, teams) on a side screen and keep your main focus on another screen.

Your non-laptop screen doesn't have to be an expensive one, I use an 9-yo 27" TV.

don’t get a second monitor. you’ll only want more. a third. a fourth. my wife left me.

@SidTheITGuy nah, got from company

I had a MM setup since I started my IT career for, idk, 5 years? I loved the geeky vibe and it was somewhatbeasier to work when I had to multitask and actively monitor the infra events LIVE.

One of my coleagues was an old linux/unix wolf and he didn't use any monitors - only one laptop with the built-in screen. What a psycho..

Now I understand that the geeky vibe is the main thing the MM setup can offer. Multitasking is easy with dmesg notifications, multiple open windows, multiple well-organized workspaces [I always use 9 of them].

Since I discovered the power of workspaces, I no longer need the MM setup. And I no longer use it.

It also keeps me lean and mobile as I do not depend on very speciffic requirements - number of monitors

also, I'm no longer annoyed by spoiled arrangement of the apps' windows each time I [dis-]connect my monitor[s]

I needed to open browser all the time when I was developing software. Alt tabbing was tiresome.

The real benefit isn't that you'll get an extra monitor. It's that you'll get a good main monitor and the ability to use a full keyboard, instead of ones that are small and can't be positioned separately.

Two were bestowed upon me at my first job. Now there is no going back

I have 3. Usually I have one with my IDE, one with ticket spec, and one with either technical. documentation or, if in a meeting, teams.
Sometimes if I need to compare or copy code or work on a few hughly interconnected classes in different files, I have another IDE window open on the second monitor.
It's just convenience.

What made me decide to get a second monitor? Gaming.
Game on one screen, on the other some resource open, or a platform to talk with friends, or some chat open, or a YT video.
Then I became a dev and it came in handy.
Code on main screen, documentation or tutorial or a drawing/sketch/plan of whatever I'm coding on the second screen.

It also comes in handy with my job a lot when there's online classes, but that's only relevant to me.
I have my class open on my secondary screen so I can see if someone raises their hand or looks confused, and my whiteboard or IDE or pdf or whatever I'm explaining on the main screen as a screenshare. I also throw everything I don't want them to see on the second screen when I'm yoo lazy to close stuff and voila, no accidental sleep-ups in class because you shared the WRONG thing.

Tho if you are going to work with clients last point will also be useful to you. Open them on one screen and whatever you're showing them on the other.

Using 4 monitor as we're speaking. Many people asks me why and the answer is:

I hate windows workspaces ( don't use linux because ... work and older .net not core ) and I prefer having everything at once ( message, discord, spotify, editor, browser, company tools )

I hate laptops from the bottom of my heart. I don't get these tech-fluencers who uses just a macbook because I fucking can't . My eyes, back, arms, legs hurts after 1h of sitting down ( and I'm working 6h a day ) . And working on fly ... fuck no .

For me, it all boils down to having to alt-tab between windows when a split-screen setup is not sufficient. No way am I going to alt-tab between windows every few minutes.
For me it saves time, prevents context/focus switching, and makes me more efficient in everything I do.

Need to write docs? Open two full-screen windows: one for code and one for docs. Code can be split into more boxes when you have different contexts.

Need to debug? You'll definitely need a full screen window for stack tracing and more, depending on what languages/tech you work in.

Have a meeting or need to present/demo something? Use your second screen to keep an eye on the chat and the cameras while shared content is on your main.

Experimenting with new packages/functions or simply having issues with third-party packages?
Open their official docs/etc in a Web browser on one monitor and have your IDE open in a second one.

Visualizing/tidying data? Have your scripts on main and visuals/tables on the second.