Err, I think OP just meant the computers were not the best, you might not get 2 monitors, or something like that. Not that you don't get a computer at all.

You get a 34” curved monitor or 2 * 27” ones these days. Not uncommon to see engineers with 3 monitors either.

I keep going back and forth on multiple monitors. I'm using one big one right now, which felt better than my previous setup of two displays at first, but now I'm thinking I might want another smaller one off to the side to monitor running terminal output ... ugh.

I will say that two monitors has the significant drawback that there isn't a single central display, so you're always either tilted to the left or to the right relative to your desk. That's not good ergonomics.

If you get good hardware it's a perk. If you get a hard disk and 8 gigs of ram you won't be as productive.

That's not how I think about it. The fundamental tools required to do your job aren't a perk, they are a necessity. If an employer skimps on the tools in a way that makes their employees less productive, then that is simply penny-wise/pound-foolish thinking from them. I'll use what I'm given at work; I'm certainly not going to spend my own money to buy a better work computer.

It's also true that I'm likely to leave a job that is so cheap they can't provide good computers to their employees, as if they're so short-sighted in that area they're likely bad in other areas as well.

Thinking about it again I agree with you.

I would rather give a developer a $2K signing bonus and tell them to go buy whatever laptop they want... and they own it. That way, if/when their employment ends, we don't have to go through the awkward process of taking the equipment back.