What resolution should a secondary monitor be?

[IzzanScool]

So I'm planning to upgrade to dual monitors soon, the one I'm going to add being the secondary monitor. Since I already have a 1080p 21.5 inch monitor, and not so intensive dual monitor needs, what resolution should it be? Is a 19 inch 1336x768 a bad choice? Or should I save up and buy a 1600x900 one? (dual 1080p is probably not gonna happen) I have a gtx 1050 ti, i5 7500 and 8gb of ram.
Thanks in advance.

 

[luckymatt42]

If the resolutions don't match, you'll have all sorts of funky issues. For example, if you extend your desktop onto the second monitor, then BOTH monitors will be forced to run at the lower resolution.

 

[PuperHacker]

I'd say that dual 1080p should happen because buying a 720p monitor in 2018 is kinda out of the question, mostly because of the low resolution and driver issues you will encounter. Get another same screen or a 1080p ultrawide one

 

[derekullo]

If the resolutions don't match, you'll have all sorts of funky issues. For example, if you extend your desktop onto the second monitor, then BOTH monitors will be forced to run at the lower resolution.

That isn't quite true.

I've had a setup where the monitors were extended and were different resolutions.
2560x1600 and 1920x1080

It was still quite funky though.

If I put my mouse at the bottom of the lower resolution monitor and went left it would come out about 3/4 down the other monitor due to the resolution difference.

Getting 2 monitors with the same resolution would obviously be the most clean solution.

It was my impression that 1080p screens were relatively cheap.

ViewSonic - 19.5" LED HD Monitor - Black $85 1920x1080
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/viewsonic-19-5-led-hd-monitor-black/4278100.p?skuId=4278100

Or is there another reason you dont want a 1080p monitor x2 setup ?


For comparison their 1366 x 768 model

ViewSonic - 18.5" LED Monitor - Black $70
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/viewsonic-18-5-led-monitor-black/3217022.p?skuId=3217022

$15 difference

 

[IzzanScool]

Thanks for the quick answers, didn't know different resolutions would result in that.

 

[derekullo]

This might be outside of your budget for the moment, but it is something to think about long term.

I use a 40" TV as my second monitor for watching movies.

 

[IzzanScool]

If the resolutions don't match, you'll have all sorts of funky issues. For example, if you extend your desktop onto the second monitor, then BOTH monitors will be forced to run at the lower resolution.

That isn't quite true.

I've had a setup where the monitors were extended and were different resolutions.
2560x1600 and 1920x1080

It was still quite funky though.

If I put my mouse at the bottom of the lower resolution monitor and went left it would come out about 3/4 down the other monitor due to the resolution difference.

Getting 2 monitors with the same resolution would obviously be the most clean solution.

It was my impression that 1080p screens were relatively cheap.

ViewSonic - 19.5" LED HD Monitor - Black $85 1920x1080
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/viewsonic-19-5-led-hd-monitor-black/4278100.p?skuId=4278100

Or is there another reason you dont want a 1080p monitor x2 setup ?


For comparison their 1366 x 768 model

ViewSonic - 18.5" LED Monitor - Black $70
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/viewsonic-18-5-led-monitor-black/3217022.p?skuId=3217022

$15 difference

Mostly because of the space it would take up since 1080p monitors are relatively bigger than the 1336 or the 1600 ones.
What would happen if i ran dual 1080p but in different sizes?

 

[derekullo]

There is no difference with the size.

The image is simply blown up larger.

The mouse will function the same as if they were the same size due to the resolution being the same.

Of course if they were side by side and you moved the mouse from one screen to the other it won't come out in the exact same spot on the other screen due to the size difference, but it would be correct in terms of the resolution.

As mentioned above the 1920x1080p screen is only 1 inch bigger than 18.5 inch 1366x768 screen.

Both are smaller than your current 21.5 inch 1080p monitor.

 

[derekullo]

Personally I would never go with anything below 1920x1080p with today's technology.

 

[IzzanScool]

There is no difference with the size.

The image is simply blown up larger

As mentioned above the 1920x1080p screen is only 1 inch bigger than 18.5 inch 1366x768 screen.

Both are smaller than your current 21.5 inch 1080p monitor.

So just to clarify,
All I have to do to make the cursor align is to maybe physically align the monitors itself to the bottom? (in turn also aligning the taskbars?)

 

[derekullo]

There is no difference with the size.

The image is simply blown up larger

As mentioned above the 1920x1080p screen is only 1 inch bigger than 18.5 inch 1366x768 screen.

Both are smaller than your current 21.5 inch 1080p monitor.

So just to clarify,
All I have to do to make the cursor align is to maybe physically align the monitors itself to the bottom? (in turn also aligning the taskbars?)

The cursors will only align if the monitors are the same size.

Even if the taskbars are aligned the mouse will come out at a different area due to physics.

For example lets say you used your 21.5 inch 1080p screen and you bought the 19 inch 1080p that I linked earlier and put them side by side with the taskbars aligned.

With this setup due to the 21.5 inch monitor being slightly physically larger it will go about an inch higher than the 19 inch.

No surprise here.

The resolution is the literal number of pixel lines on the screen.
1920 vertical lines x 1080p horizontal lines

Lets say you counted each line and you started at line 200 on the 21.5 inch screen and moved your mouse straight left to the 19 inch.
(You may need a magnifying glass lol)

On the 19 inch screen the mouse would indeed come out at the 200th horizontal line on its screen, but due to the monitor and pixels being smaller on the 19 inch screen the mouse won't come out at the exact same spot due to the monitor size difference.

Let me know if that was clear enough.

 

[IzzanScool]

There is no difference with the size.

The image is simply blown up larger

As mentioned above the 1920x1080p screen is only 1 inch bigger than 18.5 inch 1366x768 screen.

Both are smaller than your current 21.5 inch 1080p monitor.

So just to clarify,
All I have to do to make the cursor align is to maybe physically align the monitors itself to the bottom? (in turn also aligning the taskbars?)

The cursors will only align if the monitors are the same size.

Even if the taskbars are aligned the mouse will come out at a different area due to physics.

For example lets say you used your 21.5 inch 1080p screen and you bought the 19 inch 1080p that I linked earlier and put them side by side with the taskbars aligned.

With this setup due to the 21.5 inch monitor being slightly physically larger it will go about an inch higher than the 19 inch.

No surprise here.

The resolution is the literal number of pixel lines on the screen.
1920 vertical lines x 1080p horizontal lines

Lets say you counted each line and you started at line 200 on the 21.5 inch screen and moved your mouse straight left to the 19 inch.
(You may need a magnifying glass lol)

On the 19 inch screen the mouse would indeed come out at the 200th horizontal line on its screen, but due to the monitor and pixels being smaller on the 19 inch screen the mouse won't come out at the exact same spot due to the monitor size difference.

Let me know if that was clear enough.

Thanks for the answer, I think I'm starting to get it now.
So after all this, do you think I should get a 19 inch-ish 1080p or 1600p?
And would you mind linking a cheap but good 1600p monitor?

 

[derekullo]

There are no good cheap 1600p monitors.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100160979%20600012686&IsNodeId=1&Description=monitor

I use 2 - Dell UP3017 UltraSharp 30" at work, but they cost about $1100 each.

Much more affordable is the 2560 x 1440 range.

But having said that because of the higher resolution the smallest size they make for 2560 x1440 is a 23.8 inch screen.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100160979%20600012694%20600987767&IsNodeId=1&Description=monitor

The most popular appears to be the Acer G7 Series G247HYU for $219.

If you have the space for a 2560x1440 sized monitor I do recommend getting one and using the current 1080p is your second monitor.