Thursday, January 20, 2011

Affordable dual monitor stand


I just finished installing the last part of my birthday present (at least according to Ivette), a dual monitor stand for my company-issued 23" screen and the 24" screen I scored last week (the first part of the birthday present). The photo is shot too wide, which distorts the position of the right monitor, in reality it is aligned perfectly with the left one.

Some annotations:
  • A: I put a round metal plate above the clamp to spread some of the load on the top surface of the desk (F). This was not needed underneath since there is a metal frame available to handle the load. The desk can take the aggregated load with no issue whatsoever, but I felt nervous about clamping 50 or so pounds of load over less than 16 square inches of plastic. 
  • B: Verizon-issued FIOS router. 
  • C: Comcrap PVR, about to get ditched unless Comcrap starts showing me some love. I am not kidding, you assholes are one phone call away from losing my TV account to Verizon FIOS TV. 
  • D: Dell work laptop on e-stand/e-port replicator combo. This combination is priceless, I really love it.
  • E: I can't figure out how the hell to remove the bottom post from that monitor, and no, it's not in the manual. 
  • F: The ~$80 wonder desk. It is actually a 6 feet long banquet table, a metal frame and legs with a composite tabletop. It is AWESOME, and it cost just $80 on sale at Office Depot
I could place the monitors closer, but it would mean pulling them towards the desk and I don't want that. The desk sits flush against the wall, which robs me of some of the horizontal travel for the stand. If I could allow 3 or so inches of clearance I would be able to push the two monitors together without them protruding over the desk at all.

As for desk space, I think I now have at least twice as much surface area available, since neither monitor has a footprint.

Now I have to convince myself that there is absolutely no way in hell I can get away with hanging my 46" HDTV (used 99% of the time for Xbox 360) above these two monitors.

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