External monitors

[hughlle]

It states 2 4k monitors. I believe

Will the sp4 (i am considering the base i7 model) be able to power 2 of the current gen 34" ultra wide curved displays? Just got a a cheque from the taxman and 1 screen can be 2 sorry, I'm a bit drowsy and can't recall if it was mentioned during the launch event.I appreciate that at this point in time rlepkies will be nothing but speculation, but most you guys know more than I do

 

[daniielrp]

Size doesn't matter

It's all about resolution, if it states 2x4k then as long as those monitors match it, you should be fine.

 

[nogridbag]

Have you seen the 34" curved monitors in person? They're massive First, I think you'd have problems aligning them on your desk - you certainly don't want them perfectly centered or you'd have the bezel directly in front of your eyes. So you'd probably have one main monitor and one monitor on the side. I think you would have to physically turn your body to see the full width of the other monitor. It will certainly look cool, but I don't think you will get much utility out of having more than one.

I used to use dual monitors back on the day and used Ultramon to put an additional taskbar on the second monitor. The second taskbar definitely helped reduce the cognitive load of having so many windows open. I wonder if Windows finally added that functionality to the OS.... I've been using a single monitor for several years now and for whatever reason I don't feel the need to have an additional monitor anymore. Perhaps I just got used to using keyboard shortcuts to switch between open windows (using a macbook).

 

[hughlle]

Have you seen the 34" curved monitors in person? They're massive First, I think you'd have problems aligning them on your desk - you certainly don't want them perfectly centered or you'd have the bezel directly in front of your eyes. So you'd probably have one main monitor and one monitor on the side. I think you would have to physically turn your body to see the full width of the other monitor. It will certainly look cool, but I don't think you will get much utility out of having more than one.

I used to use dual monitors back on the day and used Ultramon to put an additional taskbar on the second monitor. The second taskbar definitely helped reduce the cognitive load of having so many windows open. I wonder if Windows finally added that functionality to the OS.... I've been using a single monitor for several years now and for whatever reason I don't feel the need to have an additional monitor anymore. Perhaps I just got used to using keyboard shortcuts to switch between open windows (using a macbook).

I am aware of the size and have a considerable desk. It is all good so far as positioning goes. I am always working with my external monitors at over 45 degrees from my sp3. My external displays are purely for research material and odds etc. All work is done on the surface. These are for glancing at and reading odds etc, not doing continual work.

Ordered 1 today so I can get a feel for it and then go from there now I just need that fancy new surface dock and I'm happy those displaylink docks are pretty crap I've decided.

 

[nogridbag]

Hope I didn't discourage you from getting the second I'm sure you'll love it.

Having the little SP3 sandwiched between those two beasts as your primary is a little odd, but you know your needs best! I used to have a 5 monitor display array just for the heck of it hehe - but I used spare monitors sitting around the office so it looked pretty bizarre.

 

[barry.pearson]

Hey just thought I'd throw my hat into the ring on this one. I have a SP3 and 2 AOC ultra wide monitors running at 3440x1440 (so a little over the equivalent of 2 1080p monitors each). While the SP3 does manage to drive these two monitors the performance certainly takes a hit. I also find that the width of the monitors also means I can't read whats at the far edges very well. This may not be as much of an issue with curved monitors though, I don't know.

I've since moved one monitor from my little office into the bedroom to use for watching movies (its what 21:9 was made for anyway) and I've really not missed the second screen thanks to snap and the high resolution of the display. Anyway thats just my thoughts.

 

[hughlle]

Hope I didn't discourage you from getting the second I'm sure you'll love it.

Having the little SP3 sandwiched between those two beasts as your primary is a little odd, but you know your needs best! I used to have a 5 monitor display array just for the heck of it hehe - but I used spare monitors sitting around the office so it looked pretty bizarre.

Yes, rather unconventional, but it's a combination of factors. This student room is gonna start feeling very cramped before long.

Went with the Dell u3415w. Hopefully it's a few hours before it arrives because I've a lot of work to get do e today before I can let myself get distracted by shiny.

 

[No_ax_to_grind]

Yes, rather unconventional, but it's a combination of factors. This student room is gonna start feeling very cramped before long.

Went with the Dell u3415w. Hopefully it's a few hours before it arrives because I've a lot of work to get do e today before I can let myself get distracted by shiny.

How'd that U3415W end up working for you? Bouncing back and forth between the Dell and a LG 34UM95-P and am about to pull the trigger.

 

[JordanAT]

Please post back with results. The SP4 dock is incapable of driving 2 - 4k monitors. I have to plug one into the dock and one into the SP4 itself. Even in that scenario I had to fiddle a bit to get the monitors recognized and arranged.

Note: I've found that when docking or un-docking, (1) the color profile is not activated without a logout/login or reboot and (2) scaling is very, very broken without a login/reboot. Note: my 4k monitors are set to 100% scaling and the SP4 is set to 200% scaling. Setting my SP4 to 1/2 resolution fixed the docking issue, but 1/2 res is not really all that useful for when it's undocked, and changing is a pita.