I am looking to purchase a desktop setup that I will run from my 13" MBP Touchbar, as the 13" is just getting too small. I wont be doing any editing, just salesforce stuff. What are your thoughts on going dual vs. single monitors? Im probably going to go a cheap route, as I dont need a crazy setup.
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Dual Monitors or Larger Monitor?
- Thread starter Jdreyes
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I found using my work 13" Macbook Pro with an external monitor was as a good combination of desktop and mobile laptop use.
I did however use the Macbook and external monitor with the laptop closed. The 27" HP monitor was enough. I didn't find great benefit to have the 13" laptop display going while using the external monitor.
If you want to use both the laptop screen and external monitor screen you might consider a monitor stand so you can keep the laptop in front of you without blocking the monitor (unless the monitor's stand adjusts in the vertical).
That said I just added a 27" Dell to my iMac and I am loving it. Frankly, if I had it to do over again I'd probably get the new Mac mini and a largish curved screen. One thing I don't like is the Dell screen has anti-reflection and of course the iMac does not. I'd prefer the same look.
Good luck! More screen is usually a good thing!
I did however use the Macbook and external monitor with the laptop closed. The 27" HP monitor was enough. I didn't find great benefit to have the 13" laptop display going while using the external monitor.
If you want to use both the laptop screen and external monitor screen you might consider a monitor stand so you can keep the laptop in front of you without blocking the monitor (unless the monitor's stand adjusts in the vertical).
That said I just added a 27" Dell to my iMac and I am loving it. Frankly, if I had it to do over again I'd probably get the new Mac mini and a largish curved screen. One thing I don't like is the Dell screen has anti-reflection and of course the iMac does not. I'd prefer the same look.
Good luck! More screen is usually a good thing!
I prefer a single 2560x1440 over dual 1920x1080 monitors
You always have the screen on the laptop for smaller second monitor
You always have the screen on the laptop for smaller second monitor
Yes, I did notice my work Macbook Pro 13" did run hotter with the external monitor. I ran it with the lid closed. I added a vertical stand with the venting pointing up. That seemed to help, plus I could access the ports easier. Too bad slip-in docks for Mac laptops seem to go dead a long time ago. Not sure if they worked well or not.
Down the road if budget allows you can get an EGPU enclosure, a good vid card and 2 good 4K or 5K displays. I think the macbook wont warm up as much since the eGPU is doing all the work.
It can, however, in my personal experience, it runs at pretty close to the same temp with just one monitor as it does with 2.
I personally would rather have 2 monitors, as it is easier for me to snap windows and use multiple desktops with two monitors versus one large monitor. My current setup is two 25" Dell Ultrasharp Monitors, connected to my 2017 13" MBP via a Caldigit Dock. I love the dual monitor setup.
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It runs hotter since merely the fact of plugging an external display in triggers a high power GPU mode.
[doublepost=1546874521][/doublepost]For OPs usage, I’d certainly suggest multi-monitor setup, since they are after scream real estate above everything else.
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Well, that’s a problem. A budget monitor probably rules out 4K and anything g below that will look terrible compared to your laptops native display.
Right now I am using a Dell 3219q and it’s a rather nice monitor, but def. not budget. And still the image quality is inferior to the MBP...
I know it wont be as good as my MBP, very few are, but I dont think 1080p looks that bad. I use some inferior monitors at work, and I dont think they are terrible. Im not doing video editing or anything.
Different people have different tolerances
I work with text and every time i have to go back to a low dpi screen my eyes start tearing. These new displays have been such a great jump in text clarity that I simply can’t imagine going back to low dpi. But if it’s fine for you, that’s a great chance to save some money of course.I'm the same way. Working with code I can't imagine going back to anything that isn't retina quality. I've not found a single display other than the 4k / 5k UltraFine that even comes close. I'm running dual 4k off of my 2018 MacBook Pro and haven't seen any kind of performance hit at all. Kind of wish I had gone the 5k route, but getting the 4ks for 269 each from Amazon was a steal.Different people have different tolerances
there is no such thing like retina quality, retina slogan it's a part of Apple marketing
Call it a marketing term, that is perfectly fine, but the 4k UltraFine looks much better than running, say, a regular 4k display on a Mac or a PC. It has that "retina" quality because of the difference in pixel density.
personally I don't like LG doesn't matter if 4K or 5K because they have only 60Hz refresh rate, also they often have inclinations to image retention which it's unacceptable
Really depends what you use it for. At work i use 2 monitors and love it since I can have Excel or reports on one screen all the time and on my other monitor I have whatever else Im working on. Very handy. I couldn't imagine having just 1 large screen. The more the merrier.