Even for somebody like me who likes working from dwelling, the pandemic has made issues a problem – particularly in my small 1,000 square-foot two-bedroom residence. You see, when my spouse and I welcomed our first baby final yr, devoted working areas grew to become scarce. So I addressed the state of affairs one of the simplest ways I understand how: with tech. In this case an ASUS ROG Strix XG17AHP transportable monitor.

Before my son arrived, we really had a reasonably good setup going. I used our second bed room as an workplace and really occasional visitor room. And when all of the workplace buildings closed in early 2019 resulting from Covid-19, we managed to seek out room for one more desk in our bed room. It wasn’t preferrred as a result of, despite the fact that I’m a gadget nerd, we attempt to hold the bed room freed from pointless screens and distractions. But we every had our personal devoted working area with twin displays, and sufficient room between our desks that we might soar on video calls with out disturbing each other. It was awkward however acceptable.

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But then our little bundle of pleasure threw a drool-covered wrench into these plans. Now simply to be clear, I don’t begrudge him one bit. Parents usually must make sacrifices for teenagers, and as a rule, we’re blissful to take action. But I feel it’s truthful to say that an workplace/nursery simply isn’t a great combo. So after my son outgrew his bassinet and stopped sleeping in our room, I needed to transfer my gear out (properly most of it anyway) so he might have an actual bed room of his personal.

What made this a bit tougher is that my predominant pc at house is a desktop. I’ve at all times been a giant PC individual, and I like the pace and suppleness you get with a custom-built rig. (Side word: With make money working from home changing into a extra everlasting factor, I really feel like there are lots of people that might profit from switching to a desktop. Assuming you’ve the area for it, after all). The draw back of that is that I’m fairly restricted in the place I might put my PC. Big shock I do know, however a desktop kind of necessitates having a desk. Thankfully, my spouse graciously provided to let me use the one in our bed room (which I actually can’t recognize sufficient), whereas she moved her workspace out to our eating desk in the lounge.

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At this level, you’re in all probability envisioning a bunch of points. Since we eat dinner there, organising twin displays isn’t actually an choice. This meant my spouse was fully reliant on her 13-inch MacBook Pro, which doesn’t supply a variety of display area and messes along with her posture. Looking down at a laptop computer display for eight (or extra) hours a day is a surefire recipe for persistent neck and again ache.

That’s the place the ASUS’ ROG Strix XG17AHP transportable monitor is available in. At first look, it looks like overkill for normal productiveness, and it’s. It has a 240Hz refresh charge and assist for AMD FreeSync, that are nice for gaming however don’t do a lot whenever you’re spreadsheets. There’s even a built-in 7,800 mAh battery so you should utilize it fully untethered for 4 to 5 hours. And with a value of $600, the ROG Strix XG17AHP is 2 to 3 instances dearer than a variety of rivals, notably the normal business-oriented ones.

But actually, I really feel like that cash has been properly spent. My private philosophy is that for one thing you’re going to make use of quite a bit, it’s higher to spend just a little additional than pinch pennies and find yourself with an unsatisfactory system. Unlike most of its rivals, the ROG Strix XG17AHP comes with a stand, and I’m not speaking a few easy kickstand. It’s a full-on removable tripod, which suggests you may place the display so it sits above your laptop computer’s show, as a substitute of off to the aspect. No must crane your neck. Important apps stay up high on the transportable monitor, whereas much less essential stuff like Slack stay down beneath.

The ROG Strix XG17AHP additionally measures 17.3-inches throughout, which makes it one of many largest transportable displays you should buy. Most enterprise-focused alternate options high out at 14 or 15 inches, and whereas we in all probability would have gone even bigger if we might, there aren’t actually any 19-inch or bigger transportable displays that supply the identical degree of specs and options. Sure, the monitor’s brightness of 300 nits may very well be higher, however its matte coating makes it simple to take a look at all day – even in sunny rooms with plenty of reflections.

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Meanwhile, due to assist for video and energy supply over USB-C, organising the monitor solely requires a single cable. This makes it tremendous simple to interrupt down and pack away when mates or household come over. And in the course of the week once we’re too lazy to try this, the entire package is slim sufficient we are able to simply push it to the aspect and nonetheless have loads of room for meals.

I additionally wish to give ASUS props for together with a bunch of helpful equipment. The monitor comes with a carrying bag and a foldable display protector that doubles as a kickstand, together with a USB-C cable, a USB-C to USB-A adapter, an influence brick, and even an HDMI to micro HDMI cable – in case your PC doesn’t assist video over USB. My solely gripe is that the locking mechanism for its peak adjustment isn’t tremendous safe. So if I press laborious, even when it’s locked, the monitor nonetheless strikes up and down.

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But this one demerit doesn’t actually detract from all its positives. That’s as a result of whereas the ROG Strix XG17AHP isn’t nearly as good as an everyday monitor, it’s far more than merely enough. It’s versatile and it matches in my life (and on my desk) in a approach {that a} common desktop show can’t. It even has a variety of potential as a useful companion for my Switch whereas touring. Though as a result of pandemic, I haven’t had an opportunity to check that out but. And whereas my spouse and I are fascinated about getting a much bigger place, with the housing market the best way it’s, shifting isn’t in our instant future. So till we improve to a bigger dwelling, ASUS’ transportable gaming monitor is filling an necessary function in the case of making a cramped make money working from home state of affairs much more tolerable.