Multiple panels may be better for the way you work than one large panel. In general I don't think any programmer should have less than two monitors, ever. Ideally three (for the "center"), and if you're crazy, four.

I can work fine with a single 20" 1600x1200. It's not my dream setup but it's also not hindering me for my work (backend systems).

I'm used to multiple desktops (gnome 3, gnome before that), and multiple panels turn out to be useless to me. I just can't spread my attention across two monitors, whereas I switch desktops without thinking about it.

Task switching, replacing one set of content with another (literally) isn't generally free: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/09/the-multi-tasking-m...

I've been thinking of going the 19/30/19 route, but I've had a hard time finding an affordable mount that converts that scheme into something I can mount on a single monitor arm.

I'm signed up for a metalworking class in the near future, so maybe I can solve that problem myself :)

What font face and size do you use? I found that Consolas at 12 requires 2560 to get three 100 columns side-by-side.

I use DejaVu Sans Mono-10 on the 30" and -9 on the 24".