Dual Monitors Setups

Like most computer geeks, I have recently become obsessed with the multi monitor setup and have started to play the mental dream play we all do. So lets play with some imagination and see how what I want to do to my desk.

The Background

I like real estate in every way.  Physical houses, dealing with property management, home improvement and, more importantly here,  on my desk and on my screens.

For the last couple years I have been using a very simple corner desk.  Literally a right angle piece of painted wood with four legs from IKEA.  It works great because its dirt simple.  Next to it is a long skinny table that stretches down the wall.

At the moment, arranged from left to right wrapping around the corner, my set up goes: 2009 17" macbook pro, powered USB hub, 2TB and 2x 500GB external hard drives, 23.5" Asus monitor, PC tower, 2x Xbox 360's, and my 32" TV sitting on top of my receiver.

This system works great because even when I'm working at my desk and flipping between my Mac and PC, I can still play a movie or something on the TV for anyone who happens to be hanging out in the room.

The Dream

I want to move from a corner desk to a more work friendly "L shaped" desk.  The real-estate on the desk is increased around the edges near the walls, and because of the shape you can scoot your chair in closer to the monitors.  I'll admit the dream is to move to a 3 monitor setup and keep the TV.  I'd be able to open up documents and leave system widgets constantly on for monitoring, as well as easily multi task on each.  But the logistics of creating the setup might not stack up to the benefits. 

The Pros

MORE MORE MORE!  More room to work on anything, and everything, is always good in my book. The looks are almost impossible to screw up as well.  Even setups using a combination of several different size and make monitors still tend to look more impressive then a more basic setup.  But honestly the larger working environment, and the cool factor are the only major benefits to this setup.  

The Cons

Cost.  I'll just list all the things I would actually need to buy or build to get the setup working:  1 or 2 monitors, two cables to connect them, a second video card to handle the new inputs and the TV, and a desk with enough space to fit it all.  Running some quick math and assuming my good old GTX 460 can handle the brute of the work load and a second cheap card basically for the inputs will power 4 1080p screens, its looking like a 400 dollar investment if I'm careful and shop around.  

Dollar for dollar its not worth the investment for me at the moment.  However I'll leave you with a couple pics of beautiful multi monitor setups so that I keep fanning the hopes and dreams of others.