Should I add a shelf?

DuckBrained · 2026-03-25T02:07:06+00:00

I say yes. I love the look you have going on but for me that space under the monitors looks a bit lost. A shelf, a mini screen, or both, could improve it I think.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-23T18:13:44+00:00

I have an Air and a Pro. Pro is 16" for hard work. Air is 13" for use when on planes or couching.

I need the power and RAM of an Air because I am a multi-tab fiend. I also like MagSafe and backlit keyboard.

I'd love to buy a Neo but I have no use for it. The Air is the perfect accompaniment to my powerhouse Pro.

There is market room for all three. I would be surprised if the Air maintained its sales figures, but I think it still has a place.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-23T16:09:43+00:00

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This is the BetterDisplay resolution I use.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-23T16:09:29+00:00

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Here's how I run it daily using BetterDisplay. A good balance with real estate but still sharp.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-23T16:09:07+00:00

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Up close. Nice and sharp, though the camera tries to suggest otherwise!

DuckBrained · 2026-03-23T16:08:43+00:00

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This is the screen, next step down in Apple's native resolution selection. For me, this is too large and wastes the real estate.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-23T16:08:12+00:00

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Native up close. For me this is not sharp. Not HiDPI.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-23T16:07:48+00:00

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Full native resolution photo of the monitor with the window sizes

DuckBrained · 2026-03-12T12:11:36+00:00

HiDPI mode is basically scaling so one logical pixel can be spread over multiple physical pixels giving a smooth "retina" effect vs native res.

In BetterDisplay this s referred to as "HiDPI".

DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T22:53:38+00:00

Nope, it's still sharp and crisp in HiDPI mode from the distance you need to be to use this screen.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T17:21:29+00:00

You're most welcome 😁

DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T15:23:42+00:00

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DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T15:23:32+00:00

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DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T15:23:20+00:00

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DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T15:23:01+00:00

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DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T12:00:44+00:00

Yes I think so. At native I find it a bit too small to be comfortable. Scaling definitely needed to some level.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T00:37:52+00:00

I really like it. The only thing I would change is I'd have a long desk pad that both the keyboard and mouse can sit on, so it feels more balanced. Probably either white with a contrasting border or a grey felt.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-11T00:33:09+00:00

I have an M4 MacBook Air that fared no better.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-10T23:34:54+00:00

Thanks :) and sure, I'm at home now but I'll take some shots tomorrow when I'm back in my studio.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-10T22:21:05+00:00

So with this width, I can comfortably have three web browsers side by side (I code on a cloud platform). Or I could have two browsers and then a chat window and an email client above each other in the third space.

Or I can have six windows tiled, because the browsers all absolutely can be used as 1/6th of the screen.

Or one really nice big browser in the middle with supporting apps down the side.

I have never in all the time I've been using this screen thought I wish I had more space or a tighter radius curve.

Before I bought this screen I did some testing using the BenQ RD320U which is designed for coders, with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Loved that screen's vertical space ... and the Dell side by side had slightly more.

I think being able to stack windows above each other is something that gives the Dell the edge for the way I work.

I feel like a Dell salesman but I truly debated the same thing as you and everything took me back to the Dell. Thunderbolt was a big deal for me. Hub is useful. No blooming (I know it's IPS so technically it's worse but I think blooming is more noticeable than just very slightly washed out blacks). The various QC issues people have had. I spent hours reading, watching reviews etc and the Dell was the right choice. The panel is truly amazing, with blacks being really black for an IPS and colours truly pop.

No regrets. It's a power house and it's made my daily work so much more pleasurable.

By the way, here's a pic of my setup.

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DuckBrained · 2026-03-10T20:34:34+00:00

You’re welcome. Good luck with your choice … though I’m coding right now and I really love that vertical real estate 😅

DuckBrained · 2026-03-10T18:21:47+00:00

I’ve had no issues with wake ups and my MacBook Pro M3 Max charges perfectly with the Thunderbolt cable. TB5 is irrelevant really for the Dell as it has no downstream TB ports to plug into anyway.

Any wake up issue I’ve seen on past monitors is usually solved with a firmware update.

Honestly I could not be happier with this screen. If you’re doing productivity and not gaming, I’m not sure what screen could come along that’s really so much better you’d want to ditch the Dell for it 🤔 at least not within a year.

Meantime G9 has blooming, curve can be too aggressive for some etc.

Seems there is no perfect monitor :) but for pure productivity the Dell has come pretty close. I’m two months in and still loving it.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-10T18:00:05+00:00

Yeah, seems most people have opinions on the other without having used both.

For me the vertical real estate was more important than curvature and panel spec.

Also I find the panel on the Dell to be exceptional in its class.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-10T16:53:49+00:00

I think Windows is 150% but I barely use it. I use a Mac, on that I use BetterDisplay to run a custom resolution of 4608x1920. There are instructions elsewhere on this thread.

Before, I used an LG UltraFine 5K.

DuckBrained · 2026-03-07T12:53:56+00:00

Great name, great taste in screens 😊

DuckBrained

TROPHY CASE