Home Office, Part 2
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I posted the other day that I ordered 2x 27″ 4K monitors, new mounts/stands, a (new to me) Steelcase Leap V2 desk chair, and a standing desk. Most of the items came in, but the standing desk was lost by UPS, and Amazon wouldn’t replace it for the same price (it was an “open box warehouse deal”). I ended up deciding not to go with the standing desk, since that will save near a thousand dollars, and I’ve already spent enough money with the recent investment in cryptocurrency.
The new monitor array – dual 4K 27″s right in front of me, and a 40″ 4K above, is a little overwhelming, even for someone who has been using a 40″ flanked by 21″ 1080P monitors for the past couple years. One of my complaints about using the 40″ as a primary was that it was too large to use as a primary work area: moving from one corner of the screen to another, when working on the same task (imagine, for instance, working with a single maximized window) is a problem. The 27″ is a much better size as for this, but requires display scaling for comfort which wasn’t required on the 40″. Fortunately, with the stands that bring the monitors to me, I’m comfortably using them at only 110%.
The stands are by far the most impressive component of my new setup. I’m able to move my monitors around to how I want to sit, and primarily find myself leaning back into my chair, for once, which has never been the case with my prior configurations. I use DisplayFusion to split my left and top 4K monitors into four areas, and use my left monitor exclusively for email (two email clients), HipChat, and Spotify; the top monitor currently keeps an eye on the security cameras and has a browser open to GDAX for following the coin markets. I also sent my XMPP and Skype buddy lists up there, which still leaves space free for another couple windows to remain visible all the time. The last monitor, the lower right, is not split and is what I bring close to myself using the stands. I use it for actual “work”, while the others serve the purpose of monitoring various things as described above, and a place to throw the odd video or piece of documentation from time to time.
The new chair is also fantastic so far. It came in near perfect condition, and certainly doesn’t look as if it is four years old. I doubt it has been used much, or if it has, it has worn extremely well. There are a few ripples in the back of the seat, as is the nature of leather, but aside from that everything looks brand new. The adjustability is tremendous, comfort is great, and an odd thing that stuck out to me was the ease and smoothness in witch it rotates, rolls, and generally moves in comparison to my old chair. The jury is still out on whether it will alleviate my back pain, as my back actually hurts more since using it. I currently attribute that to having better posture in this chair, which I’m not used to.
Overall, I’m a little disappointed in not having a standing desk, but not enough to shell out $1,000 for one (especially with my recent investment into cryptocurrency). But the monitors and monitor stands are great, the chair seems like a big step up, and I’m so far very impressed with the setup I was able to put together with the items Amazon/UPS actually delivered.
