Multi Monitor Set-up.dual or tri?

Is a third monitor "over-kill"? worth the pci slot?

[Hubie]

I've recently installed a 3rd Monitor. I enjoy the real estate, but lately i'm wondering...is it worth it? I'm not talking about cost...if I can get full use out of it then it'd be well worth the price. I'm worried more about the real estate INSIDE my machine. My PCI slots are filling up fast, and now i'm full. I want to get one of those TV tuner cards, and I ask the question...

DO I NEED A <B>THIRD</B> MONITOR?

Wondering what others think (who have two OR three and have an opinion)

Hubes

[topr8]

i have 4 and although i do use the forth and find it handy sometimes, it is a rule of diminishing returns...

the second monitor is lifechanging
the third is very handy indeed
the fourth is a bit of a bonus and i could do without it.

>> My PCI slots are filling up fast

you can get dual and quad headed cards, eg 2 monitors or 4 monitors out of one card ... i use x2 dual head cards, and they work fine on xp pro, they are just cheap/low end cards.

[Hubie]

I never knew they had quad monitor cards...here's my dilmena...

I'm using windows media center edition PC...most graphics cards do NOT work with it. Right now, my 3rd monitor can't display it (so I use MCE on the other two monitors which are hooked into the card that come installed with the MCE coomputer).

Think i'm out of luck? The quad card could be what I need for my other machine though...if it works with MCE that would be absolutely ideal.

Hubes

[percentages]

For me, as a slow ass, well I can only look at one monitor at a time and give it due thought!

I can of course look at 20 monitors and give them no thought, but, where is the advantage of that?

So, for me 1 monitor is enough.

Humans can multi-task, but when they try they usually end up splitting their dicisions multipal ways........think about it!

[LifeinAsia]

For me, the benefit of using dual monitors is not so much multitasking as being able to directly compare 2 things easily.

For example, if I have 2 sites open and need to compare things, I could just flip back and forth on one monitor. Or open one on one monitor and one on the other and compare them more easily.

Another example is the office manager when I used to work. Doing financial paperwork, on one screen she had archived versions of the person's paperwork and the new paperwork she was working with on the other screen. It was much easier to look at the first screen while she was entering the information on the other screen instead of flipping back and forth.

[aspdaddy]

2 screens does speeds up site development/testing but any more is overkill IMO.

Humans can multi-task but they are not very good at it, though they wont ever admit it :)