One of the most important benefits of using multiple monitors and mounts is increased productivity and efficiency. That starts with a high quality multi display computer system and an ergonomic monitor mount.

How do I Choose the Right Monitor?

First, you need to decide how MANY monitors you plan to mount. This will tell you how many monitors you need to buy as well as which mount you will need. Then, you have to choose a mount or stand that they will be mounted to if you don’t already have one.

How to Choose the Right Mount or Stand?

There are a number of factors in choosing the right mount or stand. We have all those answers on this page: Hold down CTRL on your keyboard to open a new tab in your browser so you don’t lose this page, then click here:  Choosing the Right Monitor Mount then read on.

How to choose the Right Monitors for your Stand or Mount

Once you have a multi display computer and a monitor mount, you have to make sure you choose the right monitors. When shopping for monitors try to meet as much of the criteria mentioned below as possible. You may not find monitors meeting all this criteria, but get as close as you can.

Features to Consider When buying monitors

Your choices will be narrowed even further once you take video connections, resolution and other variables into account. But, don’t over think it. These are just the things you need to look for when shopping for monitors to be installed on a mount. Oh, and look for terms like “eye Care” or Blue Light filter” etc . this reduces eye strain. Ok, let’s get started.

First, Make Sure They are Mountable

The very first thing to verify when you are shopping for monitors is to confirm that they are actually mountable on a monitor stand. The reference to look for in the specs is VESA compliance, or “wall mountable” in the description. The standard is 75mm or 100mm depending on the size of the monitors.

If you are going into a local retail store, walk down the monitor isle. Turn the display unit around and look at the back. There should be 4 holes in the dead center about 4″ apart. Sometimes the holes are covered by the base that comes with the monitor, but you will be able to tell. That base will come off when you mount them on the monitor stand.

Square on all 4 Sides

In other words, you don’t want monitors that have a rounded bottom if you are using a monitor mount or stand with two or more rows. Think about it. If you have 2 rows of monitors, and the bottoms are rounded, there would be a gap between the bottom of the top row and the top of the bottom row. Spaces are distracting. You want all of your monitors to be as close together as possible with no gaps. Pick a monitor that is square on all sides if possible.

Buttons on Front if Possible

Try to find a monitor that has the buttons on the FRONT if possible. This is not always easy to find so don’t worry about it, but look for this when shopping.  Most monitor buttons are on the bottom, side or on the back, so you may have to live with that depending on the models available at the time. Again your monitor choices will get narrowed very quickly once you start adding all of these variables. This will all make more sense once you start mounting them on the monitor stand.

LED VS LCD

You want an LCD with “LED backlit technology”. Why you may ask? The LED technology monitor will produce 30% less HEAT radiating from your screens. If you have 4 or more monitors, that heat really adds up. It will make a huge difference in the ambient temperature in your office. In addition, LED displays are newer technology with brighter and sharper images.​ But rest easy. Most monitors as of this writing are all LED now, so read on grasshopper.

Monitor Size

​This is a personal choice really, just make sure you have enough room on your desk. For example if you plan to have 3 x 24″ monitors wide, make sure you have enough space for 3 x 24″ monitors side by side. That would be exactly the horizontal width of those 3 monitors, roughly 67″ in this example. It does not matter if they hang over your desk width as long as you are using one of our monitor MOUNTS mentioned above.

Thin Bezel (border)

The bezel is the plastic frame around the edge of the display. The smaller the better. Remember when you mount 2 monitors side by side, the space between your displays will be doubled based on the bezel size. For example let’s say your monitors have a 1 inch bezel. When you put two monitors side by side, that is now 2 inches of space between your display area.

Monitor Connection Types

This is very important. The type of connections that your monitors have available, must be in sync with the type of connections on your video cards in your computer! All NTI QuadStation computer systems provide support for DisplayPort and DVI, so if you buy monitors from us you are all set. DisplayPort supports up to 8K resolutions, DVI supports up to 1920 x 1200 max.

DisplayPort is Best – The best type of video connection by far are DisplayPort connections. If the monitors you are looking at meet all (or most) of the parameters above, and they have DisplayPort, you have a winner. Aside from being mountable, this is the most important parameter.

Second choice would be DVI. Also a digital port, DVI has been the most popular connection for many years. However DisplayPort has now taken the lead. In other words, monitor manufacturers are finally starting to see the benefits and providing DisplayPort connectivity on their monitors.

Third choice would be HDMI. Unless you are specifically connecting televisions, forget about HDMI. It is not meant for a multi display environment really. It can be done, but you will require special adapters. If you must use HDMI it is fine with the adapters, but if possible choose direct connections between computer and the monitors like DisplayPort.

As a last resort, VGA Forget about it unless you have no other choice. This is an older analog connection (not digital) and has been dropping away for years now. If you have older monitors that only have VGA,  just buy new monitors you will be glad you did. New computers have all digital connections now.

Even want even more detail on video connections see this page sometime, otherwise read on you are almost done.

Can I Mix and Match Monitors?

​In the world of digital video cards and monitors, it is best that you use the same exact make and model monitors. However, that is not always feasible. Let’s say you have 2 good Samsung monitors and you just bought 2 Viewsonic monitors. That is fine. Just remember to group monitors in even PAIRS .

Video Cables and Adapters

You need a video cable to connect from your computer’s video card, out to your monitors. Video cables are usually included with new monitors but they are always too short, about 3ft! If you are buying a new computer from us you have nothing to worry about. We will give you long, high quality cables with any system you buy from us.

New monitors will most likely come with either DisplayPort, HDMI or DVI cables.

If both your monitors and your computer has DisplayPort , that is as good as it gets. You will need DisplayPort to Display cables, no adapters needed. If your monitors have only DVI, you will need a DisplayPort to DVI adapter or cable to convert from DisplayPort to DVI.

If you must use HDMI out to a TV you will need an Active DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.

In Summary:

• If you are using a monitor stand, make sure your monitors are mountable!
• Remember you may not be able to find a monitor that meets ALL of the parameters mentioned above but get as many as you can.
• If you need a new multi display computer, monitors and/or a mount, we can provide all of that for you.
• You will find that when shopping, this criteria limits the monitor selection very quickly, actually making it easier to choose.
• Stick with quality brands like Asus, Samsung, Viewsonic. They will last a lot longer.
• Look for Eye Care or Blue Light Filter for monitors that are easy on the eyes.

If you have any questions about anything on this page, we are happy to talk to you.

Multiple Monitor Computer Systems

Click here for more details on Multi Monitor Computers