Game Design, Programming and running a one-man games business…

New monitor. Tempted, but why?

cliffski

I haven’t treated myself to any geek purchases for as long as I can remember. i was waiting till I finished Kudos 2, and then combining that with my recently passed birthday, I think I can justify splashing out.

The thing is, I am a man of simple needs. The only things I want to buy are

  • A new house
  • A Prius
  • Maybe a new monitor

the first two are out of the question because they cost tons of money and I don’t have much, but the monitor is a possibility. The problem is, there really is nothing much wrong with my current one (a  19″ iiyama one)

So there is the option if buying a newer, bigger one, probably a 24″ widescreen one like a mate of mine got recently. This would mean a bigger screen res and desktop, which could in theory be handy for coding, and could in theory make games look mroe awesome. But Do I really NEED it? Is it not a bit gratuitous to buy one when I already have a working one sat here on my desk.

A new monitor is about £260 here. And it’s a business expense, and I’d claim the VAT back, so it’s slightly cheaper than that. On the one hand, it’s not a lot of money, on the other hand it’s profits from over 26 games!

Anyone here gone from a 19″ monitor to a 24″ widescreen one and gone OMFGZ! TEH AWESOME!?

talk me into/out of it…

12 thoughts on New monitor. Tempted, but why?

  1. I’m currently at a 17″ normal aspect ratio at home. I’d rather have another 17″ (for programming) than a new 24″ ws – then again, I know several people who are more happy with one big than two small screens.

    So; sorry. Cannot help you. Guess a big screen is better for gaming than two small ones, though.

  2. I once worked with this guy in “corporate” setting. We had to go on a fruitless “team building” exercise as is the way of corporations.

    Anyway, the question came around at the exercise that asked how the working environment could be improved. And this guy said “we have to work sitting at our desks all day – the least we should have is a decent chair to sit on”.

    And lo, the boss got the guy a chair. And he sat on it and saw all was well. And studiously ignored our envious glances.

    That chair went on to become the “pregnancy chair”, as after he left, every woman that sat in it became pregnant shortly after. And then sat in it until they left to have a baby because it was the best chair.

    Anyway, the moral of this rambling story and the point the guy was making is that whatever your working situation, you should try and make it the best you can. So if you have to sit a lot for work – get a good chair. If you dig, get a good spade. If you stare at a screen all day, get a good screen – and if you code, get at least two. I’d say three is optimum, coding screen, testing screen and a third screen for reference materials (or distractions depending on your approach).

    Oh, and the guys name? It was Cliffski.

  3. I went from a 19″ CRT to a 22″ CRT, back to the 19″ (22 broke my desk)… finally to a 22″ LCD… the change to a larger screen is always welcome.

    I was finally completely spoiled when I got a 28″ Viewsonic (which is cheaper then VS lists it for on it’s website, I got it for $480 (US) on sale):
    http://www.viewsonic.com/products/lcddisplays/xseries/vx2835wm/

    I still use the 22″ on another computer, it’s still great (actually I think it looks better then the 28″)… There’s definitely a difference with larger amounts of space to play with. The amount of available tools on the screen makes a difference itself for development.

    …Fallout 3 (and games in general) in 1920*1200 is also a nicely added touch…

  5. Wow. I’m so filled with sexual energy even chairs I sat in have magical powers.
    I remember getting that chair :D They gave me a chair catalogue and told me to pick whatever I wanted :D.

  7. Get another 19″ monitor and use both. I don’t find larger monitors add much for coding but having two monitors helps a lot because you can easily look at the code side by side with the result.

  8. hey cliff

    I got my dell 24″ monitor way back when after the movies and it’s excellent, it’s nice to have the extra space. I have one at work as well, and maybe i’m spoilt but i hate working on anything less now.

    I hear the dell ones aren’t quite up to scratch any more – they’re using different panels or something – but that may just be hearsay.

  9. I would highly recommend moving to a 24″ widescreen display. As a software developer of over 20 years, I highly recommend the productivity improvement afforded by the 24″ monitor. (and this is coming from a man who is cheap, and always thought his 19″ monitor was good enough!). I splurged for one about a year and a half ago, and I was completely surprised at my productivity improvement.

    I’m a java guy who uses eclipse… an IDE that has tons of windows/panels/views. My productivity easily went up by about 20%!!!

    And I also recommend keeping your 17″ around in a dual monitor config (if you can). It’s nice to have that one around for web browsing, e-mail, IM, etc…

    Good luck!

    P.S. I have the Dell 24″ (2407WFP).

  11. I use a 19″ widescreen and I’m happy. I suspect a larger monitor is a good investment though, it’s supposed to make you marginally more productive.

    How about this: challenge yourself. Say to yourself: if I can sell 500 copies of Kudos 2 this month (or whatever number sounds reasonable), I’ll get the larger monitor. If not, I won’t. Use it as an incentive to make yourself work for it.

  12. yeah, similar to others comments, I moved from a standard 17 incher to a 24″ widescreen and its a huge difference to work + pleasure. OK, moving from 19 might not quite be the same effect. the price has dropped a lot over the last few years, it reached a point I thought justified the upgrade.

    I dont use the old monitor, but I have PC + Mac both plugged into the 24″, and can flip between them (one on DVI, other on dsub).

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