Buying new monitors for my computer setup

After working with laptops for some years, I went on and built a desktop computer about 4 years ago, which included dual monitor setup. Two Dell 2407 monitors were my choice and haven’t regretted at all. They have been excellent monitors throughout this time, offering plenty of workspace for either trading or multitabling at poker. I decided to buy 2 more monitors and setup a quad monitor setup. After a long research I chose once again 2 Dell Ultrasharp 2410 monitors, the newest model of my old monitors.

I have launched a new online trading blog some weeks ago, since I started trading the stock exchanges abroad and forex using Interactive Brokers as my broker. Although I’m still testing out things, the need of more workspace soon emerged and adding a monitor or two seemed inevitable. Besides, the quad monitor setup will help me multitable more efficiently at online poker and I have also some more ideas for making the most out of the new monitor setup. One of those ideas is to use one of the monitors for Twitter, Facebook and other social networks along with the administration of my blogs, so that I add content while I do stuff on the other 3 monitors. In that way there will be a constant flow of updates and news on how I am doing throughout the day. I think it would be interesting to find out how that turns out.

The difficult part was to decide on what kind of monitor setup would be ideal for me. After a long research online for the best monitors regarding my needs, I was between Dell 2410 and Dell 2711, a new 27′ monitor that offer 2560 x 1440 resolution. I was thinking of moving to a triple monitor setup, with the centered monitor drawing all the attention. For that reason I was considering the 27′ monitor and because its price was somewhat reasonable while the reviews are all praising it. I could buy it for 675 euros from a Greek store, although German and English amazon had it available for 1,000 euros! However, I went for the 2410 since having a monitor of bigger resolution in the middle, would make my life difficult when moving windows from one display to another.

As I had made my mind on a Dell Ultrasharp 2410 (for 465 euros), I thought of buying two. I don’t know why I always end up buying more than one when I decide on a piece of equipment. Maybe it’s because I have spent so much time searching for it, so I believe I should take advantage of all that work and buy more! Haha! Anyway, I believe the quad monitor setup would be even more beneficial that a triple one. I have not yet decided on how I would place the monitors. I surely won’t be placing them in a square layout with two below and two above, as I don’t want to block the sea view from my office. I am thinking more in the lines of an upside down “T”, meaning triple monitors setup in a row and one additional monitor above the center monitor, or 4 monitors in a row. Thankfully, the office I bought 2 years ago offers plenty of desktop space. In addition, 4 monitors of 1920 x 1200 can fit horizontally exactly above of 3 monitors of 2560 x 1440, in case I need even more space in the future. That would be 2 rows of monitors with total resolution of 7680 x  2640!

I am expecting the monitors to arrive today or tomorrow and I will publish some photos as soon as I add them to my dual monitor setup.

Concerning the dual monitor vertical desk stand that I may need for the upside down “T” setup, I am looking at the famous Ergotron product line and might buy one for 260 euros found in a Greek retail store. I might also give it a go and contact Ergotron themselves to offer me one for free in exchange for the advertisement! I will also need a graphics card but I have not made my mind on that yet. Should I add an identical VGA card as my media center/Home Theatre PC so that I crossfire them in the future? Should I look for a cheap secondary card with dual DVI outputs, or replace my ATI 1950XTX that already hooks up the two monitors via DVI with a QNY card with quad monitor connectivity feature? There’s also the new ATI Eyefinity gaming feature that might come in handy, although I don’t like to mix business with pleasure and have not played more than 10 hours in my office computer the past 4 years. Decisions, decisions, decisions…

This is how my office with dual monitor setup looks like before the new monitors.