Hi everyone I am looking a 3 monitor setup like the one in the image below. The centre monitor will be my laptop so in effect, I am looking to add an additional 2 monitors one on each side. The laptop will be on a riser support to bring the level of the monitor up to save me some neck strain, this is important to know as the new monitors will have to align and will, therefore, need to also be on supports that raise them up to the correct height. {I will be using a separate keyboard} On the right of the image are some support backers. The first 2 are single arm bracks the next is a 3 monitor bracket (in this case I would not be using the centre support) and finally below the main image is a dual arm support.What I am looking is some advice, so do you have such a rig or something similar and can advise me what type of support brackets and monitors. As a guide for price, I am looking to spend between £90 and £120 per monitor or $120 to $160 The price for the brackets would be as above in the image My laptop is a HP ENVY 15.6 - Windows 10 - Intel i7-4700MQ CPU @ 2.40GHz - 12GB DDR3 Ram - 64 Bit OS The dimensions of the screen are hight 23.5 cm (9 inch) - width 38 cm (15 inch) Diagonal 43 cm (17 inch) these are outside measurements This is a 21.5" monitor smaller would be better, closer in size to the laptop screen 17" but I accept this may not be possible. Let me know what you think and thanks in advance Silk
Hey Silken_thread, Looks like you have a neat project going on here. While I may not have such a setup, I do have a 2nd monitor that I can use, but rarely do. I took a few moments though to look into your setup, and found this interesting monitor / screen that looks to be ideal for what you want to do. If your goal is to have 3 separate screens, then I agree with where you are going, but in the long run, a few (2) larger screens for about the same price of investment may actually net you more pixels. You could in theory just use your laptop like a mobile desktop and simply close it down flat when connected to the additional screens. Well, this was just a few thoughts on the topic, and maybe that link will prove helpful, even if you don't want to buy that particular one, it is cool to know those kind are out there Have a Blessed Day, and Good Luck in your Endeavor. KnightZer0ne Tempered Outpost Founder
Thanks KnightZer0ne That screen looks about right including the price, so great stuff thanks a bunch for finding that. The setup is more for study university work, flicking between screens can get a bit too much at times and having reference material opened up while typing assignments and being able to see both screens will make a big difference.
So not to be the sour puss on the prior suggestions guys, but if you intend to be looking at these a long time and are doing anything graphical (or gaming) you likely want to look for a minimum 120hz refresh rate. Also, depending on the area, you may want to watch the brightness as getting below 300 can make it much tougher to deal with well lit rooms not to mention if you have any chance of sunlight/glare. I have not been in the market for monitors for some time but I can tell you that in my life in IT I've been down the roads on many a hardware reviews and some things are worth the little extra. With that said, I do like the AOC monitors and while I can only share my own experience, I purchased one that gets TONS of use and is now roughly 5 years old and is still a very nice looking and functioning monitor. Since I had no other restrictions I did go with a 26" and no second one at this time since my old one died. At work I use 2 24s with a 17" laptop, and love a 3 monitor set up.
I think 60hz is just fine. I don't think I've ever used a monitor with a higher refresh rate, though. I've also never come across a monitor that couldn't go light enough. I usually have my monitors at the lowest possible level. If the sun shines too bright, I can always close the curtains if I want. (obviously this is simply my experience: I'm still glad you posted your own! )
I'm with 607 on this one. I wouldn't even consider them unless you know for a fact (after you have personally used one) that you couldn't live without it. You wont need a 120Hz, I'm not saying that people can't tell (because some can, or at least claim to and can correctly guess most of the time). As far as advice goes, I'd just recommend you make sure you have a moderately colour-accurate monitor (I know the pain of this one) though if you know it wont bother you it doesn't matter, though I'd say you shouldn't overlook it if you work with photo or video. Also, stay with the same monitor for both if you can. As far as this goes, I think that as long as you make sure your monitors are VESA mountable (not propitiatory), and obviously make sure you have VESA arms. (Don't take this as gospel, let someone correct me first ) Good luck with your project ^u^
I completely agree on the VESA and assume most if not all monitors and mounts are compatible with this. As far as the 120hz, this is somewhat based on a persons needs, pocket book and as mentioned your tolerance of things like screen flicker, ghosting, delayed video and pixel speeds. I merely mentioned it as I know you play Minecraft and though basic looking, it is still a 3d game. I am ok with being out of the majority on this, but I have had enough monitors with ghosting mouse pointers that I want to make sure I don't get that in my games too. My main use of my home computer is gaming, which may be one difference. It seems you can save some cash though if you are able to avoid the 120hz.
One more question, as my laptop will be in the centre, should I go for 1 support arm for both monitors or 2 separate ones. Due to space I am looking at small monitors they will be just for document work, not for gaming
--> you don't need 120Hz. 120Hz is only really useful for gaming, because that can take advantage of the high framerate, while a word document doesn't have much use with more frames, since it's only showing a text page anyways. (adding these quotes together because a point I want to make goes for both) The difference between a 60Hz and a 120Hz monitor is definitely noticeable (for some). When playing Mimecraft, I personally can easily notice the difference between my slow (explained next §) 60Hz monitor and my fast 75Hz monitor (yes, 75Hz). That's why I try not to play Minecraft on that 75Hz screen too much, as it's quite a bit faster than my main 60Hz monitor, and I don't want to get used to it being smoother. As for what I meant with "fast" 75Hz and "slow" 60Hz: refreshrate (Hz) isn't the only thing that makes the smoothness of a monitor. There's also a thing called the "grey to grey response time". Quote from wikipedia: "Response time is the amount of time a pixel in a display takes to change. It is measured in milliseconds (ms). Lower numbers mean faster transitions and therefore fewer visible image artifacts. Older monitors with long response times would create display motion blur around moving objects, making them unacceptable for rapidly moving images. Response times are usually measured from grey-to-grey transitions" This grey to grey time is probably what bothered you, mjnoe. It's what can make the difference between a slow 60Hz monitor (like mine) - so with a high GTG time, of like 7+ ms - and a fast 60Hz (or 75Hz) - so with a low GTG time, of approx. <6 (often it's 2 ms or similar). The difference in GTG response time can generally be connected with the panel type and colour quality. The two most common/known are TN (low GTG, not as good colour) and IPS (higher GTG, better colour). There are many more panel types with different specifications, which would be way too much to list here, but you can find these when looking at the specifications of a monitor. Yeah you're pretty much right. The general VESA standard for computer monitors is 100 x 100 mm (10x10 cm) - often called VESA 100 (x 100). There's also a VESA 75 x 75 mm, but that's only really used for really small monitors. The VESA standard also has bigger sizes, but those are only used for TVs. Computer monitor VESA mounts pretty much always support 100 x 100, and often also 75 x 75. Be sure to check whether the monitor you buy also supports VESA mounts, as not all monitors do. Have you thought about trying to get one monitor above your laptop? I personally have 4 monitors, a 3+1 setup, and I mostly use the middle and top monitors, even though my side ones are bigger than the top one. Also, are you going to let one (or both) of the monitors "fly" (hang above the ground, and not your desk)? If yes, I'd think (not sure) it might be better to hang them all on one, to support the overhanging weight. If not, then I'll ask a question: what exactly is your reason for wanting to get a monitor arm? (this can help further answers). (oops I typed this all on my phone lol)
Yes, I have, a 3 monitor setup I think will suit me, one being the laptop I think should be fine and I don't really have the room for one above. I do have the option of fixing them to the wall but I would prefer to have the mobile option and avoid drilling the wall full of holes. I am back in full-time education so lots of assignment work and I tend to end up with a lot of tabs open on the computer. Jumping back and forth between screens can be a little disorientating hence the extra monitors to make life a little easier. Most likely going to get this Monitor
I'll have to agree with you on that For me it's easier; it sits on a shelf behind my main monitor (so I can still move and replace it), but if you don't have that and don't want to drill holes (I agree) the only option would be to not have it, or (and they do exist) to get a monitor arm that also has a monitor far up. But if there's no space there anyways, then never mind that option. And could you answer this? That could help with deciding what would be best regarding the monitor arm(s).
Ah, I realise now that you might not understand what I mean. I'll show you a picture of my setup. You can see that my center and right monitor hang on an arm. That right monitor is hanging in the air, partly above the ground, partly above my bed. At night, I swing the monitor back so it doesn't stick out as much (and I can't hit it with my feet ). (those are 3 24" screens, and a 19" one) This saves a great amount of space on my desk, looks cool, and makes it so I can sit really lazy with my legs on my bed Anyways, so, are you looking to do this as well (or got inspired by me )?
That looks great, and I did understand, I was just messing around with the elytra thing . But with respect to the support arm, I have seen these that can hold 6 small screens but I was thinking about the one in the image in my first post, its the 2 arm support bracket in the bottom left of the image. My thoughts were if this would allow enough space in the middle so I could put the laptop there and support a monitor on each arm and on each side the laptop if that makes sense. my other thought was to have 3 small screens in a row above my laptop but I am not sure how high these support frames go and if there would be enough room. But I think I will stick with just the 2 additional monitors as discussed. That's one tidy desk, by the way, mine is not so neat at the moment.
