Living the Ultra-Wide Life

Several weeks ago, I made the jump into the world of ultra-wide monitors. I held off on writing about my experience until I had lived with it for a bit. The bottom line is that I have adjusted and can't imagine going back. Here's what happened.

For many years, I happily lived with 2 monitors.

These are 27" Lenovo ThinkVision monitors purchased a year or so apart. I ran Windows 10 with an extended desktop so it was very easy to drag items between monitors. But, I had been reading about people's experiences with curved and ultra-wide monitors so I decided to give it a go.

Legion Y44w

I am a big Lenovo fan and user so I started looking there. Lenovo makes a 44" curved monitor in 2 flavors. There is a ThinkVision branded model and a gaming model sold under the Legion nameplate. The monitors are essentially the same, at least in terms of physical specifications. The ThinkVision model is a bit more corporate-looking, while the Legion model has a bit more style. One thing that might make a difference is that the ThinkVision model has software monitor controls whereas the Legion relies on buttons and menus.

When I was shopping and comparing, the ThinkVision model was out-of-stock. And now, as I write this, it looks like the ThinkVision ultra-wide has yet to be released. And I can't find it now in the Lenovo store. So I'm not sure what to think. But I suppose it doesn't matter. I didn't want to wait, and the Legion version was a bit less expensive so that is what I ordered.

And it is BIG.

Assembly

Putting the monitor together was very easy. The base was a snap to assemble.

The base design is what adds a little gaming flair. The monitor is obviously very large.

The Legion module also includes a Harmon/Kardon speaker that you can fit around the base.

This is not a high-end speaker by any means, but for video conferencing and YouTube, it meets my needs.

The monitor has plenty of ports for my use and the shipment included enough cables for any configuration.

The front of the monitor also has a drop down with an audio jack and 2 standard USB ports. I use of the them to power a wireless charging pad.

The assembled unit definitely fills my desk.

Desktop Driving

My daily driver is a ThinkStation P340 Tiny with an NVidia Quadro Pro1000 card. I'm driving the monitor using a DisplayPort connection. I'm running at 3840x1200 without any scaling and have no problems viewing the screen. The ultra-wide scope has some appeal.

And the slight curve, which is hard to tell from the photos, does pull you in.

I was a bit concerned about giving up some vertical space. The two 27" monitors probably offered a bit more total screen real estate but at the cost of bezels and space between them. I quickly came to appreciate the wide-screen when composing.

Likewise, when I am editing in Camtasia Studio, it is very nice to see more of the timeline.

Adjustments

Moving to this monitor setup was not without adjustments. It took me a while to adapt to narrower screen. I also found it harder sometimes to figure out where my cursor was. But this might just be me getting old. I tweaked mouse settings to increase the cursor size and color.

I also decided to re-purpose one of the 27" monitors. I've seen people use a vertical display for coding and since I write a lot of PowerShell, thought I'd give that a try.

I can still drag between desktops, although getting the mouse between monitors is sometimes a pain. If the cursor is in the vertical monitor, I find I have to drag the cursor "up" and transition in the top-right corner of the vertical monitor. I can't simply drag straight across as I could with 2 monitors in the same orientation.

Current Assessment

There is an adjustment period when transitioning to an ultra-wide setup. You need to give your eyes time to adjust and you might need to adjust your workflow. The Lenovo monitors support multiple inputs and picture-in-picture, which I haven't tried yet, nor do I have a compelling use case. I also think I've gotten used to the (assumed) loss of vertical space. The monitor fits my field of vision comfortably. I think if the monitor were any taller I would experience some fatigue from constantly adjusting my focus. This is probably the biggest unexpected experience.

The speaker includes an audio jack so that has been useful when editing my Pluralsight courses. I've stuck my Logitech webcam on top of the monitor and I think it works out a bit better compare to the previous setup where it was on a tripod between the monitors. I always felt the camera never properly captured my eyeline in that configuration. I think it is a bit better now.

Overall, I'm happy I went down this route. The Legion monitor has been terrific and was reasonably priced. I'm sure I would have been equally happy with the ThinkVision model as well. I'm happy to address and questions you might have in the comments.

Disclaimer

I belong to the Lenovo Insiders group which helps advocate and promote the use of Lenovo products. Although, my opinions are always brutally honest and my own. Regardless, I purchased the monitor, and the ThinkStation P340 Tiny, with my own money, and Lenovo had no part in the writing of this article.