Monitor Screens

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Author Message Ron Beard CCS Senior Member Username: rm_beard_ccs Post Number: 266 Registered: 10-2002 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:25 pm:    I recently heard about a study indicating that use of large size monitor screens increases an employees' overall efficiency by 70 hours over a the course of a year. I am currently considering replacing my 17" monitor with one of a larger size and higher pixel quality. Since my primary use will be reading text, having a view of two pages seems to be a desirable feature for pursual and editing of text. Pixel count is important to visual quality of text at a smaller size. Since most of this group spends a large percentage of their time in front of monitors, does anyone have comments, recommendations, and/or experiences with the evaluation of monitors? What is recognized as the most desirable screen size? What is the minimum pixel count for this application? Melissa J. Aguiar, CSI, CCS, SCIP Senior Member Username: melissaaguiar Post Number: 65 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:35 pm:    I went from a 17" to a 24" and it is amazing. I do work better now because I found that my eyes do not strain any longer to see text while developing specifications. I would recommend a larger monitor. I have my dpi is set at 1680 x 1050. Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 259 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:43 pm:    It's amazing how tachnology changes our expectations. I can remember when 21" color televisions (not monitors) were absolute state of the art, that only the rich could afford. Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP Senior Member Username: redseca2 Post Number: 90 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:44 pm:    Our office standard is TWO monitors side by side. In some kinds of spec editing the difference is astounding and you work out entirely new ways of doing things. I like everything to be 100-percent, true size, what was called "wizzywig" (what you see is what you get)in the computer publishing dark ages, and you can have almost four pages accessible in that format at one time. Russ Hinkle, AIA, CCS Senior Member Username: rhinkle Post Number: 43 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:46 pm:    get two. I had dual screens at my previous employer and could be so much more efficient. I also printed out less paper as I could compare two documents electronically without flipping between windows. Christopher E. Grimm, CSI, CCS, LEED®-AP, MAI, RLA Senior Member Username: tsugaguy Post Number: 131 Registered: 06-2005 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:50 pm:    almost goes without saying, but you want the flat screen type (no problems with flicker as compared to old CRT), and yes two monitors! Ours are 17", seems to be an ok size. Melissa J. Aguiar, CSI, CCS, SCIP Senior Member Username: melissaaguiar Post Number: 66 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:56 pm:    Ok, I guess I am a chicken here about two monitors; how do you work two screens on one CPU system? I thought about doing that but for my one woman business thought it would be a bit much for me. Could two monitors really change the way I review my docs? Don Harris CSI, CCS, CCCA, AIA Senior Member Username: don_harris Post Number: 179 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 03:59 pm:    Ron, I just got upgraded to a 20 inch diagonal flat screen at work. Two pages are very readable at 85% zoom. When I go to 100% it only shows one page. So maybe 24 inches might be better. Problem is I now have to buy a new monitor for home. The difference is phenomenal. Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 21 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 04:11 pm:    I had 2 - 19" inch monitors at last employer. System must support two monitors. Current employer is moving to large single 21-22" monitors. Go with Russ's configuration or buy the biggest damn montior you can afford. My associate in the next workstation uses 2 - 19" monitors. One is set portrait and one set landscape. If you are also a CAD user this configuration is a productivity enhancement. We use ViewSonic monitors. Good products. Wayne Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 171 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 04:20 pm:    I have a widescreen 24 inch as my main monitor and a 19 inch as my second and it makes a huge difference. I do save a lot of paper and is much more efficient. I can keep outlook on one screen to check emails, or a TOC on one screen while I scroll through sections etc etc. With the widescreen, I can have documents side by side, but with the dual monitors, I don't have the added task of sizing docs to fit side by side. I can really tell the difference when I do work at home and only have one monitor - I miss my office setup! They are worth every penny! Bob Woodburn, RA CSI CCS CCCA LEED AP Senior Member Username: bwoodburn Post Number: 233 Registered: 01-2005 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 04:55 pm:    I like a vertical screen for a full-page display, and used a 17" Portrait pivot CRT (big and clunky!) up to 6 years ago, while I was an independent consultant. Liked it better than the 19" conventional CRT where I went to work in-house, until I discovered that the Nvidia video cards we use could do portrait format with just about any monitor, so for years I had my conventional 19" CRT turned on its side! That was much better than 19" landscape. But I still wanted something at least a little bigger. Now that the office has standardized on twin 19" LCDs for the CAD folks, I asked for a single LCD monitor - but a bigger one, that pivots to portrait mode. Got a 22" HP w2207. It was the envy of the office... It also comes in a 24" model, but this 22" is almost too big (and significantly cheaper, in the mid-300s). I can see a whole page, larger than life, and still have room for WordPerfect's reveal codes panel below the page. Or, I can turn it back to landscape, and page through the PM two pages at a time at about full size, to check pagination. It's a great monitor (1680x1050@60Hz), slightly marred by a couple of minor flaws. The pivot software isn't quite right yet -- mainly, it doesn't automatically sense when you turn it, as it's intended to (I have to use the Nvidia software and a few mouse clicks to change the orientation, but that isn't often). And the double-jointed base, while handy, has to be extended for clearance while pivoting. (I jury-rigged some attachments to fix that.) Also, it has a glossy screen with a glossy bezel - looks great, but I had to be careful orienting it to eliminate reflections. Also, since we moved, small text looks a little blurred in places. I think before the move it may have had the anti-aliasing turned off, but I can't figure out how to get it back to the crisp look it had. Tomas Mejia, CCS, CCCA, LEED Senior Member Username: tmejia Post Number: 43 Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 08:34 pm:    I use a 21" and 24" ViewSonic side by side. I think they are easier on the eyes. When I have to use my laptop with a single 17", I am less productive. Being able to open e-mail on one and look at your document on the other works great. The two monitors also allows you to review Drawings on one screen while editing your spec on the other. My computer supported two monitors so it was a plug and play installation. Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 626 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 11:43 pm:    I use two monitors, with one at 22 inches. It works great--I'm even thinking of adding a third. Monitor 1 (Smaller): Email and internet searching Monitor 2 (Large): Specification writing and CAD (for my code work) Sheldon Wolfe Senior Member Username: sheldon_wolfe Post Number: 305 Registered: 01-2003 Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 02:17 am:    Now here's what you need! Lynn Javoroski CSI CCS LEED™ AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 742 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 07:00 pm:    (Just as an aside, it's "wysiwyg" - pronounced "wissywig") David J. Wyatt, CSI, CCS, CCCA (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 11:28 am:    This is a refreshing discussion! For the last year, I have been working with two computers on at the same time - my desktop monitor and my personal laptop. On my laptop I keep MasterFormat, PRM, and other key references, which I use all day long. On the desktop I edit and write projects. I also use the laptop to enlarge drawing details so I can read them while writing the specifications. About a month ago I was asked by management to stop using my laptop. For some reason they felt it was superfluous and would not indulge it. We argued about it a little and I lost. On reflection, I thought perhaps I was wrong and they were right. But, reading this dicussion thread makes me realize I am not alone. This is one of the great things about such forums - the benchmarking that lone spec writers need. Thanks folks! Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 738 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 12:11 pm:    David: if its your laptop, what does management care if you use it or not? Marc C Chavez Senior Member Username: mchavez Post Number: 291 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 12:12 pm:    Kill the bosses! No dual monitors and I'd go on strike! not to mention anybody touching my red stapler! Richard Baxter, AIA, CSI Senior Member Username: rbaxter Post Number: 70 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 12:13 pm:    My office recently gave me the widescreen desktop monitor and laptop setup and I love it. It is so nice to be able to look at other documents on screen as I edit the master documents. I can view as many as 4 documents at the same time including Masterspec evaluations, manufacturer guide specs, produt info, e-mail, drawings, and spec sections from other projects. The office gave me the laptop when I informed them that, with my busy schedule, I could attend more project meetings if I could still work on specs at the same time. Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 23 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 12:17 pm:    David, Levels of importance. Does management back up the requirements in their specs during CA with the same vigor? Did they also demand you stop using your personal coffee mug? Update your resume. Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 631 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 12:47 pm:    David: Ask for a second monitor on the same computer. Also, this will eliminate the problem of having to switch back and forth between keyboards and mice on the different computers. Gerard Sanchis (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 05:23 pm:    I've used a 24-inch and a 19-inch side-by-side for a while and I now have difficulty working on a single monitor at home. I've been at another spec consultant's office in the last month and he uses a 47-inch plasma TV bought at Costco around Xmas for less than $1,000. He had no less than 6 full size (19-inch) screens open at the same time which makes referencing and dragging and dropping a breeze compared to my 2-monitor set up. Resolution is critical - the TV needs to be high res; the results are as good as my 24-inch Viewsonic. I am a consultant and time and ease of use is critical for me. I think I'm going to go large screen if I can find room on my desk.