TLDR: two smaller, cheaper monitors with dock vs single nice, big monitor w/ USB-C hub without dock (or perhaps with a dock, if it's worth it)
I recently got a new job and soon I may be authorized to work from home some days (it's mostly in-office, but might get a few days here and there to work remote). Unfortunately, the employer only provides the laptop (a Dell Precision 5570) and a charging cable, nothing else. Being a software engineer, I'd like to have a monitor or two to supplement. However, I'd like to also have it be useful not only for work, but for my personal laptop (Sager NP7879PQ/Clevo NH77HPQ) as well. The trick is picking a setup that satisfies both needs.
For work, the needs are fairly simple: an extra monitor or two (I've had a one ultrawide monitor setup and two 24" monitor setup in the past, I don't really have a strong preference either way), and it would be nice to have something that would provide power so that I don't have to have the charging cable connected, but that's a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. It may be worth noting that the Dell is a very USB-C heavy laptop.
The personal use is where it gets trickier, since I like to play games. Although I'm personally using my desktop more at the moment, it's only a matter of time (probably 1-3 years) until the laptop becomes the primary, when I replace my laptop with a more powerful one, so ideally I'd like to find a setup that can keep through that transition as well. Also, it would be nice to not have a dedicated power cable, but I understand that it may not be feasible-- or possible-- with the older laptop (that I'm somewhat ashamed to say that I'm not sure even has a USB-C port).
At first I was inclined to go with the smaller, cheaper dual monitors and use the laptop as the main display, particularly because my laptop's 3060 wouldn't really be able to game long-term in resolutions higher than 1080p anyway, so I figured there wasn't really a point in having a nice monitor, just do two cheap monitors as secondaries. However, I am second-guessing myself, and considering that maybe a better monitor wouldn't be so bad after all, especially after learning about some nicer monitors having a whole suite of ports and possibly even supplying power that makes having a dock unnecessary (although it may not be able to provide enough power for the laptops, especially the personal one and especially that laptop I'd likely buy in the next 1-3 years).
So, what recommendations do you have? I'm not really familiar with some of the technology such as Thunderbolt (in the office I use a Thunderbolt Dell dock) and monitors with USB-C hubs, or really with docks in general, so hopefully you can give some pointers as to pros and cons. Is one better for the longer term? More likely to be able to support a newer, more powerful laptop down the road? Thanks for bearing with me and I appreciate any advice and/or knowledge you impart.
I recently got a new job and soon I may be authorized to work from home some days (it's mostly in-office, but might get a few days here and there to work remote). Unfortunately, the employer only provides the laptop (a Dell Precision 5570) and a charging cable, nothing else. Being a software engineer, I'd like to have a monitor or two to supplement. However, I'd like to also have it be useful not only for work, but for my personal laptop (Sager NP7879PQ/Clevo NH77HPQ) as well. The trick is picking a setup that satisfies both needs.
For work, the needs are fairly simple: an extra monitor or two (I've had a one ultrawide monitor setup and two 24" monitor setup in the past, I don't really have a strong preference either way), and it would be nice to have something that would provide power so that I don't have to have the charging cable connected, but that's a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. It may be worth noting that the Dell is a very USB-C heavy laptop.
The personal use is where it gets trickier, since I like to play games. Although I'm personally using my desktop more at the moment, it's only a matter of time (probably 1-3 years) until the laptop becomes the primary, when I replace my laptop with a more powerful one, so ideally I'd like to find a setup that can keep through that transition as well. Also, it would be nice to not have a dedicated power cable, but I understand that it may not be feasible-- or possible-- with the older laptop (that I'm somewhat ashamed to say that I'm not sure even has a USB-C port).
At first I was inclined to go with the smaller, cheaper dual monitors and use the laptop as the main display, particularly because my laptop's 3060 wouldn't really be able to game long-term in resolutions higher than 1080p anyway, so I figured there wasn't really a point in having a nice monitor, just do two cheap monitors as secondaries. However, I am second-guessing myself, and considering that maybe a better monitor wouldn't be so bad after all, especially after learning about some nicer monitors having a whole suite of ports and possibly even supplying power that makes having a dock unnecessary (although it may not be able to provide enough power for the laptops, especially the personal one and especially that laptop I'd likely buy in the next 1-3 years).
So, what recommendations do you have? I'm not really familiar with some of the technology such as Thunderbolt (in the office I use a Thunderbolt Dell dock) and monitors with USB-C hubs, or really with docks in general, so hopefully you can give some pointers as to pros and cons. Is one better for the longer term? More likely to be able to support a newer, more powerful laptop down the road? Thanks for bearing with me and I appreciate any advice and/or knowledge you impart.
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