Do big monitors make a difference to your work?

I know this is unrelated to RoR, and im sorry. I'm just considering upgrading from my 17" LCD monitor and was wondering if people thought it was worth it.

Absolutely. I've got a 24" dell at home and it was easily the best purchase I made.

How much better is a big monitor, say >17", to work with?

Much, much better. Though as many people say, you may get as much value out of adding a second display.

Could you go back?

Yes and no. At work I have a 20". It's noticably smaller but still nice. I want more real estate though.

Did you notice a change?

Yes.

What is the difference?

More code on the screen. More windows open at once... less alt/cmd-tabbing. Tail a log while refreshing your browser, and see both on screen at once. It's great.

Again, though, many of these benefits can be had with two monitors. I work on a powerbook, though, so I only get to have one. I'd have a 30" if they were out when I bought my display.

My recommendation would be to get yourself the largest (quality) monitor you can afford (Dell Ultrasharp pretty much can't be beat on the quality/price metric), use it as your primary, and keep your 17" hooked up for other uses. I keep logs, email, and IM on my laptop screen while code and browsers stay on the big display.

Ben

I use one monitor for log tailing, console, and the browser, another
for text editing.