I liked it so much I bought another! (LG L1952 monitor redux)

(tags hardware, monitor)

Actually, I bought a second monitor, the same exact model as the first one. Two screens!

I did calculation for the DPI. Since this is a 19 inch monitor with only SXGA resolution (1280x1024), it turns out the screen is about 86.27 DPI. Windows assumes 96 DPI. Everything looks bigger with this monitor!

This is far from a future proof purchase. I can think of a couple of drawbacks already.

• - Aspect ratio is 5:4! Instead of 4:3! Instead of 16:9!
• - SXGA! Instead of SXGA+ (1400x1050 4:3)! Instead of UXGA (1600x1200 4:3)!
• - 108oi isn't supported by any stretch of the imagination. More like a shrinkage.
• - No support HDMI, for when I decided to dip into Blu-Ray/HD-DVD anime releases.
• - Can't play console games that require Composite or S-Video input (unlike my Dinner LCD)

But, still, two screens! This is much better than my work computer(s), where I have to use Synergy (mouse and keyboard multiplexer) to simulate working with two screens by using two separate computers. Just the other day:

• I was working with the GIMP, trying to "[Simulate] Shallow Depth of Field with The GIMP", and the toolbox thing and help and Internet tutorial was on the other screen. Excellent!
• I was typing my blog, and my images and reference links were on the browser on the other monitor! Morale improved!
• I was playing Unreal Tournament 2004 on my main screen while the side screen showed me process info and bandwidth usage. Customer satisfaction!
• I was reading Slashdot on one screen, while my iTunes was displaying track info. Productivity boost!

There are still some usage problems I haven't anticipated:

• - Pressing Alt in Unreal Tournament 2004 allows me to move the mouse to the second monitor. I am so pwned, passive tense.
• - I want to quickly change applications by pressing Alt-TAB, but the hint popup is off on the other monitor.
• - Do I want to put the browser on the left monitor or the right one this time?
• - There's no task bar on the second monitor. How am I going to pop up the stupid app?!
• - Explorer windows now pop up according to this algorithm:
  <script language="ruby">rand < 0.5 ? :left : :right</script>

I suppose my craziness was started by Coding Horror. He had a "Joining The Prestigious Three Monitor Club" post, followed by "LCD Progress". I dismissed over "Will your next computer monitor be a HDTV?" and "Is your PC capable of Hi-Def?" because I'm currently going through a Luddite phase, if you can believe it. (Wii in 2007, anyone?) I also remember something about "Remote Desktop Tips and Tricks" where he gives a how to guide on running a Remote Desktop session maximized to a particular monitor. Coding Horror is the bomb.

Suppose I bought a third monitor? One problem is there's no more desk space. Another problem would be hooking it up. My Radeon 9600 based video card (3 years old OMG LOLz) has two outputs: VGA and DVI-I. I would need to add a second video card. Well, I only need to throw away 6000+ yen on a PCI (not PCIe, not PCI-X) based card, oh thrills. I must insist on DVI-I output, please. What's this? ATI Radeon X1300 PCI 128 MB DDR2 as RX1300-LP128H? Kurouto Shikou (玄人志向) FTW.

(Dang, you'd think I just discovered the <ul> html tag just today.)