Swapped my single monitor for a vertical dual stack, desk feels twice as big

For 3 years I had one 27 inch monitor dead center and a laptop off to the left, my neck was always twisted and I kept running out of flat surface for sketches. Last month I mounted the second screen above the main one using a cheap gas spring arm from Amazon, now the bottom is for code and the top for reference images. The change hit me when I timed a layout revision, it took 12 minutes before and now about 6 because I stop scrolling less. Only issue is the top monitor gets warm and my cat likes to sit behind it, blocking the screen. Has anyone else tried a vertical stack for a design space, or do you stick with side by side? I'm curious if a third screen floating portrait style would help even more with long mood boards.

1 comments

1 Comment

betty_shah6d ago

Had a side by side setup for years and thought vertical stacking was just a gimmick for people who liked watching videos while they worked. Your timing thing is what got me, cutting the layout revision time in half is a huge win that I never would have guessed. Now I'm honestly thinking about trying it, especially since my main monitor is ultrawide and side by side always felt cramped. The cat thing is hilarious though, my dog does the same thing with my laptop, they always pick the worst spot. A portrait third screen for mood boards sounds wild but also kind of brilliant, long vertical boards would finally make sense. Might have to dig my old monitor out of the closet this weekend and see if I can stack it without knocking over my coffee.