Many studies claim that having a dual monitor setup can increase productivity in the workplace by 20%-50%. That’s real impact!
Recently many businesses have started using a dual-monitor setup for their employees in order to increase productivity. By using two monitors the available screen area for running applications is effectively doubled which creates all kinds of benefits. I would like to share some of the reasons I prefer having two monitors plugged into my computer instead of one. I ‘ll also give an overview of how such a setup is achieved.

Comparing is Easier
Comparing sets of data becomes a lot easier when you have two monitors. There are many situations when an employee will need to compare two spreadsheets, documents, websites, images, or other electronic documents. By dragging each document on a separate monitor, the task becomes as easy as comparing two pieces of paper held side by side. Before I had a dual monitor setup on my computer I would resort to printing out both documents so that I could do the comparison side by side. This was easier than constantly using alt-tab or clicking to switch back and forth between documents. By utilizing the dual monitor setup for comparing instead of printing the documents, I imagine that I have saved a tree or two by not wasting paper and move through these tasks much quicker.

If you need to stay on top of your e-mail while working, you can keep your inbox open on one monitor and work on other projects on the other.

Power users will be able to work faster and more efficiently with two monitors. A portion of a project can be placed on one screen while the end result can be placed on the other screen. This is especially helpful when doing layout work, presentations and web page work. The web page can be placed on one monitor while the PHP and HTML code can be on the other monitor. This makes it really easy to make changes and test them quickly to see the results.

More Desktop Means More Done
With two monitors you are able to have two projects on the desktop at once. Many times I find myself needing info from another program, a file to download, a program to install, etc. With two monitors I can move the program I am waiting for to the other monitor and work on something else on my current monitor. That way, I can still easily see when the program finishes or if it needs my attention for anything.

How to Setup Dual Monitors
The first thing you will need is a video card that will support two monitors or two separate video cards so that one monitor can be plugged into each one. I recommend using a card that supports two monitors on its own because they typically have good drivers and features that make it easier to setup two monitors. There are a lot of video cards out there that support two monitors and they are not necessarily expensive.

Next, you will need two monitors. Using two monitors that are the same brand and model is recommended so that the colors, brightness, and contrast match on both monitors. You would be surprised at how different every monitor looks when you have them side by side. I would also recommend using two flat panel because they use less electricity and most of the time they have a small edge around the outside of the monitor which makes it easier to place them close together. Flat panel monitors are easier on the eyes too because they don't have as much flicker as CRTs.

Now, once you have both monitors hooked up to the computer there are a few different options to choose from. You can setup your monitors so they both display the same thing all the time but this is not particularly useful. The way that most people set it up is so that your desktop spans both monitors. This way you can easily drag windows from one monitor to the next as if they were connected at the edges. This also allows you to have one or more programs going on one monitor and others on the second monitor.

Conclusion
Using a dual monitor setup is very useful and can help in many ways. Businesses can make their employees more effective with a dual monitor setup and a fairly low investment. Once you have used this setup at work or somewhere else, it feels very limiting when you have to use a single monitor setup for everything. I ended up choosing a dual monitor setup for my home computer because I got so used to it at work that I felt like I couldn't get things done as quickly with one monitor. Try it out. You will be impressed with the experience.