Types of Depth/Fish Finders on boat

[CRosh324]

I'm not looking for specific brands over any others.  Just curious on what everyone likes on trolling motor versus console and why?  For example, a down or side imaging on trolling motor or console?  Or sonar (basic depth finder) on trolling motor or console?  Which placement on boat would be the best?  I'm looking at adding an inexpensive depth finder to the trolling motor and console of my boat.  I don't fish offshore much and don't mark too many things.  Just looking for speed reading, gps to find my way back, depth, and possibly fish/baitfish markings.  I'm not wanting to spend a lot of money and I have several gift cards that I received from Christmas that I was going to use towards them.  Thoughts?

[Nutoy]

Short version:
Plain sonar on the front. Maybe a mapping unit linked to the console unit if you want to mark waypoints from the front.
Down scan and Side Scan do not work well when sitting still or at trolling speeds.

For the console unit, get the best, and biggest you can afford. DI, SI and mapping/gps.
It's a lot easier to follow mapping trails with a larger unit.
Link it to the front if you want to be able to mark waypoints on both units at the same time.

[Wizard]

Being a deep water angler, fishing in the south was a new experience in using my finder. It's not that highland lakes don't have shallows but because of the amount of and difference in vegetation. My graphs blacked out almost immediately upon startup. LCD graphs were new but didn't have the power nor the software to be of use. I turned the graphs off and used the Lowrance 1040s that came on the boat at the front and console. Two scaled and more powerful than the 1240, I believe they were for deep salt water and had been installed by mistake. I used the flashers primarily to locate and stay on the edges of submerged vegetation. Instead of fishing below 30 ft. on my deep water lakes, I seldom fished below 8 ft. in the deep south. Your brain is always more important than electronics.

Wizard

[FD]

2D sonar on the TM and then spend the rest of your budget at the console on a SI/DI unit with the biggest screen you can afford.  Size does matter when it come to screens and aging eyes.

CPF Lures Pro Staff
CPFLures.com

[CRosh324]

Thanks all for the advice.  Makes sense about the DI/SI on troll motor.  I typically do not fish that much offshore, but do like the idea of having gps to find way back to boat launch or marking certain areas.  I will do some research now with this information.