Best work from home setup (especially monitors)

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Scott3

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#323793 15-Jan-2026 19:36

Currently setting myself up a work from home setup essentially from scratch.

Engineering role. A lot of very large site plan layouts. Large spreadsheets, juggling a lot of various inputs documents at once.

Monitor configuration:

Generally thinking dual 27" 4k monitors (landscape, laptop closed) is the way to go, but keen to know what other people like?

Dual 32" landscape (getting a bit wide?)

Triple 27" (Portrait, landscape, landscape).

Mismatched monitors?

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For context now working from home full time.

Previously had a 27" 1440p at home, and would that as main, and my laptops 16" 3840x2400 screen as secondary to the right. Really liked 1440p at 27", but windows scaling now seems to work well, so stepping up to 4k seems logical.

In the office I would run my laptop at the bottom (using it's keyboard), and duel FHD 27" (don't recommend FHD at 27") in landscape above it.

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Have a MX master keyboard & mouse, nice webcam already.

Laptop can support quad 4k monitors at 60 Hz (incl inbuilt). 2x Thunderbolt 4, plus a single HDMI on the side.

My dock came out of the ewaste at a prior employer, so is unlikely to push this many pixles. will need to upgrade or just run thunderbolt monitors.

Buying a new desk and chair, likely a standing desk ideally on wheels, perhaps 1200x750mm (would just enable me to wheel it between rooms in our house, if I want to be in the lounge (has a view), or master bedroom (to free up a guest room).

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Thoughts on monitors?

Low end vs mid range vs high end? 300 nits enough? should I go USB C? Should I try for 120Hz (don't know if my laptop is capable of driving that - but the Following dock advertised 2x 144hz 4k displays, so I think it can: ThinkPad Thunderbolt 4 Smart Dock Gen2 750)

Any thoughts on monitors:

Dell S2725QS can do 120 Hz and 350 Nits.

LG 27US500-W is good value

Lenovo N27p matches my laptop brand and has USB C for under AUD300.

Flagship Dell 27" 4k monitor costs nearly AUD 1k each, but looks sweet.

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#3453417 15-Jan-2026 19:49

I would get one large monitor, 32 inch and above. Having used two/three monitors and with monitors having different resolution was driving me nuts. I have two macs at the moment and find that USB-C gave me a more reliable solution compared to switching between HDMI and Display Port. It is a personal preference though so what might work for me would not for others. My plan is to actually get a 42inch OLED TV to replace my existing setup when it dies

Scott3

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#3453423 15-Jan-2026 19:57

t0ny:

I would get one large monitor, 32 inch and above. Having used two/three monitors and with monitors having different resolution was driving me nuts. I have two macs at the moment and find that USB-C gave me a more reliable solution compared to switching between HDMI and Display Port. It is a personal preference though so what might work for me would not for others. My plan is to actually get a 42inch OLED TV to replace my existing setup when it dies

Would get a matching set for the multiples. With my prior setups everytime I moved something on or off the laptop screen my powerfull computer would pause and thing for a second as it changed the scale factor (and having a window carrying over two screens looked crazy). Also like having teams on one screen and share the content on the other (although sharing a 4k screen is not really ideal)

Kind of like running multiple monitors (snapping things to edges etc), even if 4k is enough to have 4 windows at a time. 5k & 8k monitors seem cost prohibitive.

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#3453427 15-Jan-2026 20:05

I have a 27" 1440p from hybrid remote/office and thinking of getting another now that I am fully remote. If I was to start again I think I'd just go for a large ultra wide single.

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#3453430 15-Jan-2026 20:27

The bigger the better — the main monitor (32 inch 4K) for my main work software, with a 27 inch 1440p on the left (sometimes set to portrait layout) mainly for reference docs, and 2 24 inch monitors on the right, one above each other, for things like mail, spotify, and other random things.

One big monitor means you never really need to worry about needing to have a window spanning multiple windows, and at least in Windows, scaling works pretty well these days if you need to shift things around.

For me, having (for example) 2 medium sized (say 27 inch) monitors would have me wishing I'd spent the money on a single huge, good resolution monitor with a few smaller ones for non-core work.

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Scott3

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#3453441 15-Jan-2026 20:58

I could go duel 32" 4k. Something like the dell S3225QS.

Potentially have my laptop monitor open to give a third screen for non core stuff.

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On scaling, agree it now works fairly well. Pain point is the delay when moving windows to a monitor of different scale factor. Potentially Gurezaemon's mismatched configuration allows for matching scale factors (i.e. 125% on everything).

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#3453447 15-Jan-2026 21:21

Scott3:

On scaling, agree it now works fairly well. Pain point is the delay when moving windows to a monitor of different scale factor. Potentially Gurezaemon's mismatched configuration allows for matching scale factors (i.e. 125% on everything).

Nope - 150% on the big one, and 100% on the other three. There is zero delay when moving between monitors, but to be honest, the odd half a second delay when moving things wouldn't particularly bother me, so YMMV.

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mrdrifter

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#3453458 15-Jan-2026 22:38

Scott3:

I could go duel 32" 4k. Something like the dell S3225QS.

Potentially have my laptop monitor open to give a third screen for non core stuff.

I have the previous version to this Dell in 32" 4K and also a 32" 1440p with a faster refresh for gaming. The both connect to my surface dock for work and my desktop for home. I am super happy with both the Dells, excellent colour and picture quality.

I was running the 1440 + a 27" 4k until the 27 died. While the 2x 32 take up quite a bit of space, they are both on arms and I can adjust to suit. I like having separate monitors as I'm often running multiple apps with fusion 360, solid works or orca etc... on one and browsers etc... on the other, I've spent plenty of time on the 34 ultrawides at work and I might consider one if I could get the biggest odyssey for a decent price.

pdh

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#3453504 15-Jan-2026 23:09

I run twin 30" Dells from a workstation PC and have thought of adding another in portrait...
But I don't do much mapping stuff any more - which is where a tall window would shine.

I like my 5180 x 1600 resolution - with zero scaling - because I'm running an old version of windows.
I find the extra 10% of vertical screen (1600 vs 1440) great in CAD, spreadsheets, code & everything really.

In A4 documents, it gives me 4 very readable pages side-by-side.

I considered 4K carefully - and just decided that I wanted screen width, but didn't need that much height.
If I went to a single 4K - it would be a 48" screen - to get the same dpi that I've got now.

My wife runs twin 30" Philips from a work notebook (or, occasionally her private notebook).

She really enjoys a single USB-C plugin - that both charges the notebook & daisy-chains both screens.
With a wireless (Logitech dongle) KB & trackball - that's about as simple a dock/undock as you can get.

insane

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#3453510 16-Jan-2026 06:21

I have dual 32" Samsung 4K monitors side by side on adjustable arms. My laptop sits directly under one of the monitors.

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I use a Dell USB-C/Thunderbolt Dock, has dual Display Port outputs, and my desktop plugs directly into the monitors via HDMI. I also have a USB KVM switch that plugs into the dock and my PC so that I can flick my KB, Mouse and Headset between my laptop and desktop with a push of a button. Works great, just wish my Samsung monitors would auto switch inputs. I have to toggle between Display port and HDMI.

GV27

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#3453511 16-Jan-2026 06:32

I have 24s on a Dell dock and yea, I wouldn't go smaller than 27" if I was setting up a new home office.

I'm looking at dual 27s for my garage but if I can't find a matching one I'll run a 34" Ultrawide with the 27" I already have. This one is on a gaming PC but I do also use the USB-C connection to plug in my work laptop if the other office is out of action or my daughter is sleeping.

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#3453515 16-Jan-2026 07:31

I have a 27 with a 24 in portrait beside it.
If I was to do a new setup I would go with one large monitor, either 32 or 34.

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acetone

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#3453518 16-Jan-2026 07:36

insane:

I have dual 32" Samsung 4K monitors side by side on adjustable arms. My laptop sits directly under one of the monitors.

[. ] [. ]

[. ]

I use a Dell USB-C/Thunderbolt Dock, has dual Display Port outputs, and my desktop plugs directly into the monitors via HDMI. I also have a USB KVM switch that plugs into the dock and my PC so that I can flick my KB, Mouse and Headset between my laptop and desktop with a push of a button. Works great, just wish my Samsung monitors would auto switch inputs. I have to toggle between Display port and HDMI.

I also use a usb switch so that I can change between my desktop and my laptop dock and it is great. I wish I got one of them sooner than I did.
I use a UGREEN UG-30768 2 In 4 Out USB 3.0 switch

antoniosk

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#3453523 16-Jan-2026 08:20

Scott3:

Currently setting myself up a work from home setup essentially from scratch.

From my experience, this is your primary workplace and you have a rare chance to set it up to best suit you, and not have to suffer through hand-me-down dodgy tech that is just OK. Its really tempting to lowball and go cheap - just really consider that hard as its the best way to screw your health. Warehouse chairs, cheap monitors and so on - absolutely will come back to bite.

I have found 27" 4k is hard work for your eyes to work comfortably without putting strain on your eyes. I use 2560x1440 on Mac, with 150% scaling on Windows or I end up with headaches.

Of course you'll consider screen placement relative to windows for where you'll be working as glare can be tough. Also consider heat from the monitors - a Samsung S8 I have has amazing quality but pumps out the heat even on low settings.

I would also suggest getting a good external mic and speaker setup, as headsets are really tiresome when constantly in use.

________

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#3453524 16-Jan-2026 08:31

I'm running 3 27" 1440p LG 200hz monitors, previously had a 27" 1440p Dell with a pair of 1080p 24"s beside it, which was fine but I found I was always running out of space.

I need to get a dock so my laptop can run 3 screens at once, just run 2 screens when on my laptop for now, but it isn't used as often as my desktop.

If the dock you're using can run at 144hz, and they're not too much dearer, I would encourage going for the higher framerate screens. I'd not expected to notice the difference as much as I have going from 60hz to 200hz, it's crisp when moving windows around, makes the entire PC feel more responsive.

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#3453526 16-Jan-2026 08:38

I WFH full time and have run a 34 inch ultrawide for the last couple of years. It works very well for me and I like not having to deal with multiple monitors. If I want to have youtube playing when I am running fullscreen I'll have the laptop open underneath.

Probably the best home office purchases have been a Jabra 510 for calls and a good mechnical keyboard (keychron) and a mouse I like (MX Master 2S). I'd also focus on the chair more than the desk. The higher end Ikea chairs are good, I don't think they make the one I have anymore but it's great. My wife has the same for her desk.

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