I was troubled by the variety of manufacturers, but after careful consideration and selection, I have been able to use the system for two years without any problems!
Points to choose
First, when buying a monitor arm, the following points should be considered depending on the intended use.
Fixing method
The Sanwa Supply page has more details. I went with the most common clamp type.
This is the most common and most varied type. It is installed by inserting it between the top board and the bottom board of the desk to which it is attached. No holes need to be made in the top panel, so anyone can easily install it.
How to choose a monitor arm|Sanwa Direct
capacity
My main display weighs 4.7 kg, so I need a monitor arm that can withstand that weight.
VESA Standard
This is the standard for the four holes on the back of the monitor that hold the arm in place. Most of them are either 100 mm2 or 75 mm2. However, for larger monitors, such as 200 x 200 mm, as shown in the following image, you will need to buy a separate expansion plate.
Range of motion
The required space and other factors must be determined based on the shape and length of the arm and the range of motion of the joint.
Ergotron and other gas-pressure types allow the monitor to be moved up and down as well as left and right. However, there are only products that allow only one monitor to be mounted. Since I have never had the opportunity to move a monitor up and down, I think a regular arm is sufficient.
LX Dual Desk Mount Arm Side-by-Side
Cautions for buying minor products
Be careful when buying minor products. That is to avoid buying products from unknown manufacturers. For example, if you search for "monitor arm" on Amazon, you will see many unknown manufacturers because you don't have many opportunities to buy these large industrial products.
However, if you make a mistake in shopping in an area that you don't often buy, "I'll try not to buy this manufacturer's products," there are few opportunities for that caution to be useful.
The reason I am telling you this story is that monitor arms fit this description. The following products have similar features and ratings, but are priced differently.
| Manufacturer | Price* | evaluation* |
|---|---|---|
| 1homefurnit | 3,119 yen | 4.1 |
| Sanwa Direct | 5,980 yen | 4.2 |
*Prices and ratings on Amazon as of April 12, 2023.
Sanwa Direct
1homefurnit
The latter is also strange in Japanese. It is hard to believe that a very honest maker is editing the images. So, the tool we use in such cases is a service called Sakura Checker.
This service, which has been featured on NHK and other media, analyzes whether the ratings of products handled by Amazon are correct, based on manufacturers, reviews, and other factors.
Now let's enter these two URLs.
Sanwa Direct
The review distribution is a bit poor, but totally normal.
1homefurnit
It is not completely reliable.
Check out the fake/cherry review of 1homefurnit monitor arm lcd monitor stand dual display.
As expected, a search for the manufacturer's name is suspect because the company's website doesn't even come up, and there are many 1s in the ratings to begin with. ACCURTEK(Jump to Sakura Checker) and HUANUO is also the same.
Depending on the product, even products from these unreliable manufacturers may be useful. However, in the case of monitor arms, we do not recommend them because of the high risk of injury, monitor failure, and inconvenience in the event that they are defective.
As the story goes, gas cylinder monitor arms are even more dangerous because there was an accident in which a gas cylinder exploded in an office chair as well.
Reinforcing plates that prevent the desk from being dented are a good idea from a low-cost manufacturer.
Product Comparison Chart
We will now compare monitor arms for two screens among products from popular manufacturers that had no problems with the cherry checker.
| Manufacturer | Sanko | Sanwa Direct |
|---|---|---|
| model number | MARMGUS11L | 100-LA030 |
| cable guide | ○ | ○ |
| Monitor Rotation | ○ | ○ |
| Arm Expansion | ○ | × |
| Load capacity per sheet | 10 kg | 10 kg |
| Pole Length | 700 mm | 387 mm |
| Price* | 8,600 yen | 5,980 yen |
| Manufacturer | Green House |
ELECOM |
|---|---|---|
| model number | GH-AMDA2H | DPA-DL01BK |
| cable guide | ○ | ○ |
| Monitor Rotation | ○ | ○ |
| Arm Expansion | × | × |
| Load capacity per sheet | 8 kg | 8 kg |
| Pole Length | 443 mm | 440 mm |
| Price* | 4,498 yen | 4,800 yen |
*Prices on Amazon as of April 12, 2023.
In general, a 27" monitor weighs about 8 kg and a 31.4" weighs about 10 kg. In conclusion, we recommend the following order
1: No more arms and no more than 27" monitors.
green house
2: No more arms, but the monitor is 31.5".
Sanwa Direct
3: There are plans to increase the arm
Sanko
I hope the above is helpful.
