The benefit of a 3840x1600 screen over two monitors with lower resolution is that 3840/2 = 1920 and 3840/3 = 1280. Those are horizontal resolutions for 1080p and 720p respectively. The fact that these are standard resolutions means basically every app works as designed regardless of whether you have 2 or 3 windows side by side. This isn't true for ultrawides with resolutions like 3440x1440 that don't divide cleanly into other standard resolutions.

The default software that comes with the Dell mentioned above handles everything. If I want to simulate two 1080p monitors, I just do the standards Windows drag to the side of the screen. If I want to simulate three 720p monitors I can press shift while dragging and that tells the Dell software to take over. It is more versatile than having individual monitors.

This is, of course, an issue of personal preference and I do not work for a monitor manufacturer so I'm not trying to talk anybody into buying anything hahaha.

    Also I prefer my main monitor exactly in the middle 
    in front of me and an actual 2nd monitor

I don't understand how dual 16:9 screens help with this! But I agree with you that I hate having a "split" in the middle. I need my main monitor centered.

My monitor arrangement is:

- Dell 38" ultrawide (centered in front of me). Work happens here, obviously. MacOS virtual desktops, while not the most feature-heavy, cover my needs well enough here. Of course I respect that some people lean into virtual desktops/workspaces harder and need more.

- Compact ("portable") 15" 1080p monitor, centered in front of me under the ultrawide. This is essentially dedicated to Slack and my notetaking app. This leaves the Dell at a decent ergonomic height at my eye level.

- Laptop off to the side, for nonessential stuff - typically music app, sometimes Twitter or news feeds

I have a Dell 38" 3840 x 1600 Ultrawide and it is bliss. I don't think of it as two screens, I think of it as three. I can comfortably have three applications displayed side by side with no seam down the middle. For me, it isn't about the crispest font I can get. It is good resolution and tons of real estate.

I'm in my 40s and my eyes aren't great. But I have zero issues with legibility on the non-high-DPI Dell 38".

Depending on font choice (typically I use Input Mono Compressed) I can fit six or seven 80x100 text windows side-by-side on the Dell with excellent legibility.

That is up to 800 total lines of code and/or terminal output on my screen at once.

That really is my idea of coder's paradise. You, of course, are entitled to your own idea. No two coders like the same thing. Ever.

I definitely have zero regrets about the Dell. Some of the best money I've ever spent. Depending on font choice (typically I use Input Mono Compressed) I can fit six or seven 80x100 text windows side-by-side on the Dell with excellent legibility.

I can't imagine anybody justifying the cost of that 32" Apple display for coding either. I can't even imagine many high-end creative professionals justifying that.

I mean, on one hand... if a person figures they'll get 5+ years out of that Apple monitor and they work 5 days per week... that's less than $4/workday for a $5,000 monitor. From that perspective it's somewhat reasonable. But most people would probably get more benefit from picking a $1000 monitor and spending that $4000 elsewhere.

I personally agree that the downvote button should be reserved for low quality comments rather than disagreement and that the diverse and high-quality comments are what makes this site and community awesome. Unfortunately neither the FAQ nor the Guidelines state anything about how to use the vote buttons. So how should HN users know when to use them? Is there even consent anymore (or ever has been?) that downvotes should not be used for disagreement? How did I form the opinion that downvotes should be reserved for low quality rather than disagreement? Somehow along the lines of contributing enough to this site to reach enough karma to downvote.

Maybe the guidelines should add a section on how to vote. On the other hand, how can this really be enforced?

It's a sad thing. I also stopped posting opinions that might trigger disagreement from a large majority.

However, the guidlines clearly state:

> Please don't post comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills. [1]

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html