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egifford12-Amethyst
12-Amethyst
March 1, 2013
Question

Dual Monitors

  • March 1, 2013
  • 25 replies
  • 8778 views

I'm curious as to how many of you out there are running Pro/E (Creo) on a dual monitor setup. I'm trying to separate the coolness factor from what is truly gained by having two screens. Having been a Pro/E CAD operator full time for many years I can see it as being helpful in several scenarios:



  • when assembling a component, having it open in a separate window on the 2nd screen

  • having a reference drawing open on the 2nd screen

  • reference part or assembly model open on second screen

  • PLM system open on second screen

  • other applications open while Pro/E is on its own screen

As a CAD admin I'd have to build a business case for it, we'd be looking at buying minimum of 50 monitors. I know I'd have some users that wouldn't want a second screen andsome to whom it would be a constant distraction. For those of youthat are using two screens, what are your thoughts? In what ways do you feel it improves your work process? I don't see it as something that is easy to quantify to justify the cost, especially if it starts the "two monitors" snowball rolling down the hill (all of a sudden it's $20k in monitors).


What technical issues / glitches have you run into?


I started a survey over on the PTC community page here: http://communities.ptc.com/polls/1312


Thanks


Erik


(WF4 M220, PDMLink 10 M030, Dell T3400-T3600, Win7 64, Nvidia Quadro 600 typical)



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25 replies

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G
gwalker1-Visitor
1-Visitor
March 4, 2013

We may have implemented it in a slightly novel fashion to reduce the initial cost. We were running single 20" 4:3 monitors purchased in 2006. We then purchased enough 23" widescreen monitors to upgrade half the department. There was a drawing to see who would get 2 new monitors. The old monitors were then paired and given to the ones who didn't win the drawing. Everyone wins (just some a little more than others)! Now as the old monitors have started to fail, they get a pair of 24" monitors as a replacement.


The cost of the monitors is miniscule compared to the productivity gains. Many users will claim they are 30 to 50 percent more productive with two monitors.

J
JamesKasson1-Visitor
1-Visitor
March 4, 2013
" you then have the receptionist claiming she'll be more efficient with two screens"

I actually think that everyone on the administrative side at our facility, including the receptionist (whose duties go well beyond saying hello), should have dual monitors. Perhaps not 23", but still.

Regards,
James
S
sshannon1-Visitor
1-Visitor
March 4, 2013
The CAD users in our Engineering dept. started using dual screens about 6 years ago. Over time folks from other departments observed and inquired. Now it's pretty much the norm throughout the whole company. Most are very happy and all, I'm sure, are more productive for all the reasons previously shared. Even our receptionist, who's duties include purchasing, sales, executive, engineering and logistics support. Snarky remark from whoever said below quote obviously does not value nor utilize their receptionists skills and talents to the utmost.
Regards,

SMS

Steve Shannon
Tooling Engineer
trans-matic
300 East 48th St.
Holland, MI 49423
phone (616) 820-2427
fax (616) 820-2488
www.transmatic.com
P
ptc-19327451-Visitor
1-Visitor
March 4, 2013
Or having Compaq PC's with VMI cards at the incredible (!) resolution of
640 x 480 and requiring a dedicated Mitsubishi 21" monitor with specific
sync frequency. (This was before NEC multisync)



Our office is actually cooler now that we got rid of all of the 'tube'
monitors a few years ago... In the summer I swear the old A/C could not
keep up with the heat from the monitors in the office.



Christopher F. Gosnell



FPD Company

124 Hidden Valley Road

McMurray, PA 15317
B
BrentDrysdale12-Amethyst
12-Amethyst
March 4, 2013
Hi folks,
We don't even have 2c anymore so here is my 10c worth.
I have looked through all of the replies and the the reasoning is all good.
We have been on two monitors for several years now*.
I just want to expand on one aspect and discuss our two monitor setup
though.

Cost.
What does this option really cost? We use Dell equipment and the original
spec 24" widesceen 1920x1200 monitors (now Ultrasharp U2410) were
originally about USD700 and are still normally USD550 (today at USD450) BUT
the newer slightly lower spec U2412M (still 1920x1200) is just as good for
MCAD work and is USD370. Of course these prices vary all the time and I
have seen the later for less.
Somebody else mentioned ROI but I look at it the other way. How about
keeping your employees feeling appreciated? For only a few hundred dollars
each you can have the second screen and as a percentage of salary this is
inconsequential even in one year and obviously the benefit goes beyond that.

*Our setup.
We have almost all our workstations as Mobiles; M6600 for the most recent
ones and M6300 for the older ones. These have a 17" screen and these are
our second monitors. Not as nice as two larger monitors but pretty much
all the benefits otherwise.

Oh yes one more thing. I have found wider screens have been a real
advantage for MCAD work and the 1200 vertical pixels are good too (better
than 1080) though we seem to be loosing this advantage with the Ribbon
Interface with Creo. Funny how the old school side menus work so well with
widescreen 🙂 Maybe I should rotate it to portrait for Creo 🙂 🙂


Regards,

*Brent Drysdale*
*Senior Design Engineer*
Tait Communications
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