- Joined
- Oct 14, 2007
Thobel said he wanted to find a thread on this and all the info was dispersed throughout other threads; as such I'll just post here so it's easy to find. 
The stand in question is a Tyke Supply Triple Monitor Stand, Free Standing Curved Arm, available at Amazon for $89.89 plus shipping.
First off, the construction is superb...it is one heckuva stand. It's rated for three 27" monitors and I'd believe it will hold every one of them easily.
It comes with a ~1/2" bolt you can put up through your desk into the base, but it's so strong as-is, the bolt isn't really necessary. I don't use it anyway.
When I got it, I only had two monitors, both 21.5". After playing with the dual monitors, the stand WILL tip if you put one all the way out at the end and one in the middle. That stands to reason though, so just keep the weight balanced. As long as you do that, it will stand strong.
After that, I was on the lookout for another monitor and found a great open box deal on a 23" model. Previously, I had run two 21.5" and one 23" in the middle by putting them on books just for Eyefinity testing and the difference, while there, isn't really too bad when running in Eyefinity. So I jumped and got this one while it was cheap. Here is the Eyefinity setup gaming in Metro 2033 with 5760 x 1080 resolution.
Of course, if you look around for other tri-monitor stands, you'll find that there are a bunch....for double, triple or even quintuple the price of this stand. There is a reason for that. Not having that much money, I made the compromise and got the cheaper stand. If you do go this route though, there are a couple things you should know.
The curve is not very sharp. As such, if you just put the monitors next to each other facing out, they won't be facing you, unless they're plenty far away. Instead, they'll be facing to your left and right. If your monitors are good and have great lateral viewing angles, that's not a problem. If they're cheap like my two 21.5" models, that's an issue.
Which brings us to why this one is cheap...there is no front-to-back adjustment. They can be angled every which way - up, down, left and right; they can turn too, so you can run them in Portrait mode if you choose (a note on that in a bit)....but they cannot move forward and backward. That's where the other stands are superior. With the ability to move the center monitor back and/or move the side monitors out, you can adjust those viewing angles more easily.
The compromise with this stand, after using it, actually turns out to be a decent one. In order to get the outside monitors at the proper angle, you simple angle them toward yourself. That will put their inside bevels behind the center monitor. If you then move the side monitors toward the center of the stand, you can effectively hide their bezels behind the center monitor's bezels. You'd think the depth difference would be an issue, but it really isn't when playing games (and as the photo above can attest).
The other compromise is that you can't run monitors in portrait very well. The same no-front-to-back problem presents itself, and the center monitor is too far out. The same compromise in positioning would have to be made. I don't do portrait though. so it's no big deal to me.
So there you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly of a cheap triple monitor stand. Feel free to ask questions if you have them!
The stand in question is a Tyke Supply Triple Monitor Stand, Free Standing Curved Arm, available at Amazon for $89.89 plus shipping.
First off, the construction is superb...it is one heckuva stand. It's rated for three 27" monitors and I'd believe it will hold every one of them easily.
It comes with a ~1/2" bolt you can put up through your desk into the base, but it's so strong as-is, the bolt isn't really necessary. I don't use it anyway.
When I got it, I only had two monitors, both 21.5". After playing with the dual monitors, the stand WILL tip if you put one all the way out at the end and one in the middle. That stands to reason though, so just keep the weight balanced. As long as you do that, it will stand strong.
After that, I was on the lookout for another monitor and found a great open box deal on a 23" model. Previously, I had run two 21.5" and one 23" in the middle by putting them on books just for Eyefinity testing and the difference, while there, isn't really too bad when running in Eyefinity. So I jumped and got this one while it was cheap. Here is the Eyefinity setup gaming in Metro 2033 with 5760 x 1080 resolution.
Of course, if you look around for other tri-monitor stands, you'll find that there are a bunch....for double, triple or even quintuple the price of this stand. There is a reason for that. Not having that much money, I made the compromise and got the cheaper stand. If you do go this route though, there are a couple things you should know.
The curve is not very sharp. As such, if you just put the monitors next to each other facing out, they won't be facing you, unless they're plenty far away. Instead, they'll be facing to your left and right. If your monitors are good and have great lateral viewing angles, that's not a problem. If they're cheap like my two 21.5" models, that's an issue.
Which brings us to why this one is cheap...there is no front-to-back adjustment. They can be angled every which way - up, down, left and right; they can turn too, so you can run them in Portrait mode if you choose (a note on that in a bit)....but they cannot move forward and backward. That's where the other stands are superior. With the ability to move the center monitor back and/or move the side monitors out, you can adjust those viewing angles more easily.
The compromise with this stand, after using it, actually turns out to be a decent one. In order to get the outside monitors at the proper angle, you simple angle them toward yourself. That will put their inside bevels behind the center monitor. If you then move the side monitors toward the center of the stand, you can effectively hide their bezels behind the center monitor's bezels. You'd think the depth difference would be an issue, but it really isn't when playing games (and as the photo above can attest).
The other compromise is that you can't run monitors in portrait very well. The same no-front-to-back problem presents itself, and the center monitor is too far out. The same compromise in positioning would have to be made. I don't do portrait though. so it's no big deal to me.
So there you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly of a cheap triple monitor stand. Feel free to ask questions if you have them!
