| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Setting up a two-monitor system: is it worth it? Thread poster: Mikhail Kropotov
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Tony M
France
Local time: 23:00
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Brilliant for me! | Sep 3, 2009 |
I have been using 2 monitors with my laptop for well over a year now, and it's just been fantastic — a real improvement in productivity.
I have had some issues with my external monitor not being properly supported by the XP drivers in my laptop, but it works well enough to be usable.
I usually keep my primary working document open on the big, external monitor, and all my other stuff (browser, e-mail, IM, etc.) on the laptop's own (smaller) screen.
This wa... See more I have been using 2 monitors with my laptop for well over a year now, and it's just been fantastic — a real improvement in productivity.
I have had some issues with my external monitor not being properly supported by the XP drivers in my laptop, but it works well enough to be usable.
I usually keep my primary working document open on the big, external monitor, and all my other stuff (browser, e-mail, IM, etc.) on the laptop's own (smaller) screen.
This way, it is easy to copy and paste back and forth, etc., and I can drag individual windows back and forth as I need to.
The only snag I've really found is the occasional problems when using Wordfast, which sometimes gets awkward if you have more than one document open at a time in Word — and I quite often have 4 or 5!
My only regret is to not be able to have 3 or 4 monitors connected, but the USB solution mentioned above looks like being mys solution to that one!
Regarding CPU loading: I don't think it has much inherent impact, but where I have encountered problems is simply because using 2 screens encourages me to leave more applications open all the time, and my poor old system struggles a bit! What with Word, Excel, Acrobat, Firefox, Outlook Express, Skype, MSN, various dictionaries... it all gets a bit clogged up! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Multiple screens on laptops | Sep 3, 2009 |
Tony M wrote:
I have been using 2 monitors with my laptop for well over a year now, and it's just been fantastic — a real improvement in productivity. quote]
A good solution is to buy a docking station with VGA/DVI output.
If your notebook is somehow old, you can find really cheap ones, e.g. I recently purchased a dock for my old HP nx7010 for 5 (five) euro
The advantage is you plug in/out the notebook in a breeze, all the cables (screen, mouse, Ethernet etc.) are plugged one time for eternity.
Cheers
GG
[Edited at 2009-09-03 18:06 GMT]
| | | | NMR (X)
France
Local time: 23:00
French to Dutch
+ ...
I bought a big monitor for my laptop, so I have two screens. It was so fantastic that I bought the same for my husband and as soon as I can afford it a third one for my old backup pc. The setup now is: laptop + a normal USB keyboard and mouse + big monitor + typist table and chair.
- Have you tried it yourself? => yes
- Was it successful? I.e. did you improve your productivity? => yes, I got crazy on the small laptop, and besides I wear spectacles, so a big monitor is very co... See more I bought a big monitor for my laptop, so I have two screens. It was so fantastic that I bought the same for my husband and as soon as I can afford it a third one for my old backup pc. The setup now is: laptop + a normal USB keyboard and mouse + big monitor + typist table and chair.
- Have you tried it yourself? => yes
- Was it successful? I.e. did you improve your productivity? => yes, I got crazy on the small laptop, and besides I wear spectacles, so a big monitor is very comfortable.
- In which translation scenarios did it benefit you most? => 1) In the normal working situation, I have my e-mails coming in on the laptop screen and I work on the big monitor, if necessary divided in two or three parts. 2) Powerpoint and PDF files.
- Ultimately, was the investment worth it? => yes
- Do the monitors have to be identical? => no not in my case (big monitor on small laptop)
- What size monitors are best for this setup? => depending on your situation.
- Do you need a second video card? => NA
- Does the CPU get strained as a result? => don't see any difference ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Best investment I've ever made in technology | Sep 26, 2009 |
I resisted getting a second monitor for years until my memory degraded so far that I found myself constantly toggling back and forth between windows on my single screen. With the second monitor, I am able to work much more efficiently and benefit from greater magnification than I would have on printouts. It's so convenient that I find myself dragging the second monitor along when I travel now too.
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Per Bergvall 
Norway
Local time: 23:00
Member (2002)
English to Norwegian
+ ...
MODERATOR | Two is probably enough | Oct 5, 2009 |
I haven't owned a stationary PC for 8 years, so was never into multiple video cards and several CRT's. Windows' extended desktop made it possible to connect a bigger/better screen to my laptop, and use it either as a second (bigger/brighter) display with the same content as the laptop screen (like you would with a projector screen behind you and an audience in front) or as a desktop extension.
The latter brought a huge improvement in efficiency and control. My laptop has a 17-inch screen ... See more I haven't owned a stationary PC for 8 years, so was never into multiple video cards and several CRT's. Windows' extended desktop made it possible to connect a bigger/better screen to my laptop, and use it either as a second (bigger/brighter) display with the same content as the laptop screen (like you would with a projector screen behind you and an audience in front) or as a desktop extension.
The latter brought a huge improvement in efficiency and control. My laptop has a 17-inch screen with 1440x900 res, while the 24-incher I usually connect does 1980x1280 or some such. I keep all the destop clutter on the smaller screen to my left, and use the bigger (to the right) for the documents I'm working on. Here, I can display and edit 2 A4 documents side by side in Word, while the laptop screen shows the TW and Concordance windows, Outlook with mail and calendar, and anything else I need.
The system used to get confused when I fired it up without the extra screen, like when travelling. On occasions I needed to find a spare screen in an Internet cafe to retrieve an application trying to display on a screen that wasn't there - and drag it back into the laptop screen. That's how I learned to keep all the clutter on the laptop screen, and only Word on the extended screen, and to drag Word into the laptop screen before shutting it down when packing to travel.
My next laptop will have a 20-inch screen, and I'll connect a 26-inch panel to it. Just like cubic inches (if you're into V8 engines), there is no substitute for square inches. You can never have too much of them - but two reasonably sized screens should probably be enough. ▲ Collapse
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