I think a lot of this depends on how you arrange your windows.
I've used a bunch of monitors in the past, but found that my neck started to hurt after looking to the side too much. And having the bezels right in the middle of your view makes the most valuable real estate effectively unusable (unless you have 3!). 4 32's would be way too much for me, no doubt.
Having a single widescreen monitor has been better for me. Most of the time I'm not maximizing its use, but when I want to combine a bunch of views at once, it's quite valuable. Like when I'm running a performance test while keeping tabs on a bunch of monitoring.
I think you're right that virtual workspaces are great, especially if you dedicate them for discrete purposes.
I have my primary display in the center, directly in front of me. Whatever needs my primary focus for my current task goes there... Outlook for email, vscode for code, Terminal for admin, web browser when web browsering, etc.
To my left is for monitoring things, previewing things, and reference. Browser for checking changes to code, logs for monitoring changes to system, documentation for thing I'm working on, etc.
The result avoids the bezel in my direct field of view, avoids strain and RSIs from awkward posture, and, incidentally, kinda degrades gracefully when I'm at home with only one display or traveling with only my laptop's display.
But the second display to my left allows my peripheral vision to monitor things for changes without diverting my focus, and helps me keep documentation or source material for comparison handy without having to switch away from the thing I'm working on.
I've used a bunch of monitors in the past, but found that my neck started to hurt after looking to the side too much. And having the bezels right in the middle of your view makes the most valuable real estate effectively unusable (unless you have 3!). 4 32's would be way too much for me, no doubt.
Having a single widescreen monitor has been better for me. Most of the time I'm not maximizing its use, but when I want to combine a bunch of views at once, it's quite valuable. Like when I'm running a performance test while keeping tabs on a bunch of monitoring.
I think you're right that virtual workspaces are great, especially if you dedicate them for discrete purposes.