Why do traders need more than 1 monitor??

I know many of you trade with more than one monitor and I'm wondering what the reason is..

I don't trade full time and I only trade maybe 3 markets.. so I just flip back and forth between my charts and programs that I need.

 

Convenience, and the ability to monitor multiple indexes or stocks, at the same time. I trade with 3 monitors and here's a brief list of items I have on each:

1st Monitor: Charts of the stock I'm looking to enter

2nd Monitor: Charts for Nasdaq, Dow Jones, SOX

3rd Monitor: IB's Trader Workstation, and streaming news.

For now, this setup works well for me. In the future, I might add a 4th so I can watch multiple stocks for entry.

-FastTrader

 

I really don't need them for the trading, but more for after the market closes.

 

I think this is a very good question, at least one that I have asked myself as I stare at 3 monitors every day. The reason I ask is because when I go out of town and still trade, I take only a laptop.

The reason I like multi-monitors is because I like to look at several time frames at the same time, without having to "flip" back and forth as you said. My pea brain does better with all of it at once than in bits. Even on the laptop I reduce 4 charts to fit the screen and have them set for the time frames I like.

Btw, I just bought the MAG 18" LCD from BestBuy today for 399 after rebate. I've had good luck with MAG crt's but my eyes are getting hard-boiled so I thought I would splurge a little. So the new MAG will take the center position and now I have an extra 19". LOL, would you like to double your viewing pleasure?

 

inandlong, that's my reason as well. I monitor 3 time frames and having multiple monitors really helps.

-FastTrader

 

I agree with the others who posted before me. If you are scaling time frames it helps to have another monitor fixed on a longer term chart for quick reference. Aside from two monitors dedicated mainly to either the execution platform and the different scaled charts, the third monitor I use, and I presume others use, for web browsing, mIRC chat, and other mindless activities during the day...Before I went to multi-monitors a few years back, I found that it was very difficult to monitor charts, chat and browse the web and also manage open orders. It gave new meaning to the term "multi-tasking"...

 

Plus, the triple 19" LCDs look very cool

-FastTrader

 

How's the mag 18 lcd, you like it?

 

"0" monitors is my goal

 

Because streaming 10 charts and downloading porn at the same time is a real strain on a single computer.