Do Dual Monitors Have to be The Same Size?


Introduction

I love dual monitor setups. They make it easier to compartmentalize working on a computer. There’s more room to spread out your workspace and feel like you’re being more productive. You can adjust the monitors at different angles and some of them rotate vertically. You can find a ton of examples on YouTube of people who have ones with curvature or even have a triple set up. If you don’t have a setup but are planning to, then this is a question that might come up.

I’ve set up a desktop that displayed different sizes before without losing the native resolution on either of them, but what if you’re a gamer or worried about technical issues? There isn’t an exact manual that says when it’s a good idea to have two different sized monitors working in conjunction.

So do dual monitors have the be the same size?

No, dual monitors can be any size you want. You can easily set them up and maintain their native resolutions while working or gaming from one desktop PC. For gaming, it’s important to have monitors that are close in resolution. Otherwise, your image quality will vary too much for an enjoyable experience. This article will talk about these aspects of a dual monitor set up in more detail so you can better understand what the best decision is for you. 

People create makeshift dual monitor setups all the time. It really depends on what you want to use your set up for. I do think it’s worth deliberately buying two monitors that are the exact same model if you don’t already have a single monitor. It’s more appealing to look at and you won’t have to tweak the settings to get it exactly how you want.

See also: Can I use a Gaming Monitor for Normal Work?

Is Resolution Affected?

I originally thought dual monitors of different dimensions would severely impact the gaming experience. From my experience setting up a dual monitor display at my family’s house and doing my own research on this, I’ve found that resolution is a more important factor than the size of the monitor. You will naturally adjust to the different sizes of the monitors once you spend some time actually gaming on them. 

Recreational gamers can appreciate the effect of having a wider viewing angle of games, especially for open-world genres. If you’re a gamer of any kind nonetheless, then it’s ideal to have two monitors that don’t significantly vary in resolution. It’s completely okay to have one monitor that is 1920 x 1200 and one that’s 1920 x 1080p. You won’t notice a real difference in quality when images are flashing between both screens in an open-world game or FPS shooter.

Resolution matters less to people who plan to use one of their screens for something other than gaming. Setting up Teamspeak, web browsing, or using the other monitor to display iTunes or Youtube while gaming is also a nice convenience. Having these things on a separate screen won’t disrupt your session when clicking over to the other screen.

 

What’s the Best Monitor For Dual Setups?

My brother currently has the monitor from the video below. But before we split them up we really loved the set up of the AOC 23 inch borderless display. There’s a lot of monitors that are just like this one. The key my brother and I found was to get monitors that have a borderless display so it’s easier to merge them together to create an omega monitor set up! I did a review video on this one too, and I’m definitely planning to get another one of these for my current set up. Right now they have a lot of monitors that are equivalent to the one I linked above.

 

When Does it Make Sense to Buy Different Sized Monitors for Dual Setups?

  • For purposes other than gaming. I mentioned this one earlier, but having different sized monitors can be a very good idea. A lot of graphic designers will utilize the fancy verticle tilting touch screens for their projects in conjunction with a regular screen.
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  • If you already have a monitor you like and want to add another one. In most cases, especially for recreational gaming, it doesn’t make sense to buy two monitors if you already have a single. The best case for ditching the original monitor to buy two new ones would be if the original has such a thick border that doesn’t look good when attached to another.
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  • If you will be using the second monitor for activity unrelated to what you’re doing on the first screen. Video editing is a great reason to have multiple displays. Music mixing and matching for soundtrack creation is also another good example. You’ll often find yourself needing two look at the editor and the rendering track if you’re working on a project. A lot of Twitch streamers like to have one screen display their camera’s view of them and have the other screen display the game their screen recording.
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  • If your monitors aren’t directly side by side. You’ll notice resolution and size differences even less if there is space between the two monitors. This goes for laptop displays in conjunction with a larger screen. Examples include the one from the picture at the bottom. There not horizontally lined up next to each other, but it’s still easy to utilize both screens because of how they are aligned.

How Do I Know What Monitor to Buy?

This is a question I kept asking myself before I purchased the AOC one I mentioned earlier in the article. I answered this question in depth along with many other questions people have in terms of gaming setups.

Check out this downloadable guide to gaming equipment in another article I wrote. It’s designed to be as helpful as possible in addition to all the other gaming content I have. I figured it would be useful to consolidate all the research and personal experience I’ve had with gaming set ups. It’ll at least help you better understand what to look for as you continue to browse for products to make your set up better.

 

Related Questions

What is the best-sized monitor for dual setups? This is all personal preference. The best dual monitor set up I had was at my parents’ house. It was a 23 inch with an almost borderless display and it was awesome! From my experience and seeing other setups on Youtube, 20 – 25 inches is a great range. They won’t be too big to both fit on most desks and they won’t be small enough to feel like it’s better than one, bigger monitor

Is it hard to calibrate two different sized monitors? Not at all, there are tons of videos on Youtube that show you how to do it. Windows 10 and Mac makes the process simple in the “displays” tab for both OS’s.

Is a dual monitor set up more expensive than buying a single one? Most of the time, it will be more expensive to go this route. But as already mentioned, it’s more than okay to have one monitor as the dedicated, higher-end one and then to have a second budget monitor that compliments it. Unless you really want to, there’s nothing wrong with getting a second monitor that isn’t as high quality as the main display.

 

Conclusion

Having two different sized monitors is completely okay. I aimed this article at answering the question with respect to technical concerns. Display settings are super easy to adjust with both Windows and Mac. It might take some additional adjusting if it’s your first time set up, but once it’s good to go you won’t need to tweak it much after that.

I definitely think having a dual monitor set up shouldn’t be something to stress about doing the exact right way. After all the additional research I did in conjunction with my own experience, I’ve found that there isn’t a need to overcomplicate this setup. This was the most helpful video I found to better help you understand the setup process. Most tutorial videos are just like this and it’s fairly simple if you’re familiar with setting up a gaming PC.

If you have any other questions or comments, feel free to reach out at entertainmentden.ns@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to respond. I’m also taking article/topic suggestions if you have any as well. Thanks for reading and be sure to check back for the next article!

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