I have always had luck with these brands Samsung SyncMaster. You could google it.

Please see link on resolution.

Here is a link that might be useful: Native_resolution

For what its worth, I dont like my wide screen that is on my Vista. It is ok, for regular surfing, but I hate it for playing card games etc. I find myself back at the 19 inch one on my XP or old Windows 98, for most things. I think I would like the lcd monitor ok, if it were more square, rather than wide screen. However, resoloution is resoloution, and it will be pretty much the same on all the monitors, if you are having a hard time seeing things. I had the very same problem, for a couple years or more, until July, and August, when I had cataract surgery. I do now have to wear glasses for the computer screen, but I have had to change the resoloution on all my monitors. Previously, they were all set to 800x600 for me to view them. When I first sat down at the puter after the eye surgery, the print was so big, I actually had to back the chair away from the computer. It just jumped out at me. I now have all the monitors at the proper resoloution that is recommended by the manufactures of the monitors. Good Luck on your new computer.

Unfortunately, it may not be possible to buy a LCD monitor with the 4:3 aspect, as all seem to be widescreen. I bought one just about the time the switch was being made, and I love it. I do like it better than the widescreen on my laptop, but with lots of fiddling around, I have been able to make both work satisfactorily for my weak eyes.

If I were buying a monitor right now, I would go with a 19" wide screen model. I think it could be made to work satisfactorily with some patient "tinkering". I doubt you could even find a CRT to buy now.

I am going for a wide screen 24" LCD, I can place two A4 size pages side by side. Watch wide screen movies without the black borders. Dell offer quite a few models for your selection. BTW, make sure your graphic card can support the resolution of the LCD you are getting.

Ummmm,,,, Somebody, Office max, Office depot, staples, best buy,,, has a 20" HD LCD monitor $80 on black friday(day after thanksgiving)

Think you will find most LCD monitors have a native resolution that you wont change... but you can change windows font's to larger. (i use tahoma fonts for web pages,, its slighly larger and clearer for my poor eyes)

Wow ! Thanks for all the quick input !

Some responses:

1. zep: thanks for the link !

2. cat_ky: Thank you for your comments. I guess WS monitors aren't for everyone.. maybe not for me either.

3. grandms: I appreciate your input. FWIW, I did find sites that have some -- even many -- 'normal' monitors (4:3). E.g. at the link below. At least, I assume that all those which look like 4:3 and are not specifically noted as being 'widescreen' are of that ratio. And I noticed, for example, at the site below that all such monitors are listed as being 1280x1024. I wonder if that means things on the screen are (to use a technical phrase) 'teensy-weensy.'

4. coralred: I'll be sure to have my computer guy double-check things so the graphics card is sufficient for whatever monitor I might get. Thanks !

5. mikie: Thank you for the hint about changing the windows fonts (where the monitor resolution is somewhat 'fixed'). I'll have to test things if/when I get the monitor to be sure my settings aren't annoying to the other user here.

I'll keep checking things out (and maybe see if I can find that deal mikie mentioned....:-) ).

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: PC Connection Monitors

As Columbo would say.... "And one more thing...."

A question, actually. The other user of this computer likes to play Pogo games and they usually work/look best at the 800x600 resolution. Do any of you with WS monitors play Pogo, and, if so, do the games appear much smaller as a result (in contrast to seeing them at 800x600 on a CRT monitor) ? From what several of you have said (and as found in links you provided) I really couldn't switch resolutions if I opted for an LCD type monitor, whether WS or not -- or at least not without adversely affecting the appearance of things on screen.

Thanks again !

Scott

I have an Acer AL1916 LCD regular size monitor which I absolutely LOVE. I highly recommend the ACER monitors and I got mine on buy.com for very cheap, plus it arrived in 2 days with free shipping. I would go with a bigger size but most all of them now days are the widescreen format and I really prefer the regular. Mine is 1280x1024 but no worries I have it set up exactly as I had my old monitor, I just went in and chnaged the DPI setting to a larger size and that took care of it for me. On my browser firefox I changed my font size to a nice size for me and I am legally blind with out my glasses. Nothing is tiny tiny.
I would definitely get a nice big LCD and you will wonder how on earth you did with out it. I can not even imagine staring at a 15 inch monitor on my desktop.
I do play those games and never had any problems but mine is not widescreen.
there are some awesome deals right now on LCD monitors.

Thanks, ravencajun, for your input !

It appears from various comments here that my initial preference (a non-widescreen monitor) has been somewhat confirmed. And I appreciate knowing that the 1280x1024 resolution is 'do-able' for someone with vision issues.

One last quick question: since I am getting a new computer (Windows 7) which should contain a good, very recent graphics card, is there any other specification that I need to worry about before buying a monitor ? If anyone looked at the PC Connections site I linked to above, when looking at monitors they have a number of things about them to refine the search: display technology, connector type, compliant standards, connector, etc. Are any of those things -- or others -- an issue for a 'normal' user like myself ?

How about this one ?? :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Acer LCD

Rats ! I just noticed it's not available !! Grrrrr.....

you will want to see if it has a digital connection option because your new pc likely does support that and that connection would be preferable, some have both which is usually the best option there fore you can use it on either the analog or digital connections. Mine is an older monitor and did not come with the DVI
the thing to look at for that is the Input Signal and in the one you just posted you will see it lists only Analog.
Also for the prices I would sure go with at the very least a 19" rather than the 17"

this one for example to show you the difference in what it will say it says for the input signal Dual and DVI
Acer V223W

Ah. Okay, thanks, ravencajun !

My 4:3 LCD monitor (17" and large enough for my desk) is 1280 X 1024 native resolution. I have not changed that, but, like Mikie, I use font styles which appear somewhat larger than others. Mine is older and does NOT have a digital input, so when I get a new computer with Windows 7, I will make sure to have that.

I would love to keep using a screen with that ratio rather than the 16:9.

Would it be correct to say that any (LCD) monitor I find for sale that has a 1280x1024 resolution is going to be 4:3 (which is also the ratio I would prefer) ? That way I can just look for the resolution specified and wouldn't have to worry about trying to find a specific mention of the screen ratio.

Incidentally, I happened upon the page linked below which has on the top a crudely drawn graphic but a helpful 'calculator' designed to "compare two screen diagonals that give equal screen height." This was just what I was looking for at one point: trying to find a monitor with more screen space but without losing any height (or even gaining some height).

In the example shown, a 19" viewable monitor with a 4:3 ratio would have to be 23.3" in the 16:9 ratio to have no loss of height.

Here is a link that might be useful: Diagonals Comparison

Yes, I'm sorry... It's me again.

I just found the following monitor at Amazon (but it's through buy.com, though I didn't find it there myself). It seems good, but very cheap. Why ?

And why is the screen resolution listed as 1280x1024, D ? And then a little below that it says: Native Resolution, 19 ??

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon Deal ??

I like the monitor in your link at Amazon Deal. It is what I wish mine was. In answer to your pogo question, I dont play pogo, but I do play Mahjongg type games. There is one in particular I play regularly. On the wide screen, it spreads the tiles out too wide, and then they are also narrower up and down. On other monitors, they are the size they should be. Playing some games on the wide screen, gives me a major headache, and I am not prone to ever having headaches. I have heard that Acer makes a very good LCD, and that one sounds like a pretty good buy.

Hmmmm... It may not be that much of a deal since the buy.com site shows the same item with a much lower list price. But at least I see that I don't need to rush too much here, since there do seem to be some good 'regular' monitors (non-widescreen) out there relatively inexpensive.

Now if I can just be sure to get one w/o any dead pixels !! :-D

Thanks again for all the helpful comments !!

Here is a link that might be useful: Buy.com Acer

* Product Description: Acer B193 Bbdmh, LCD display, TFT, 19"
* Device Type: LCD display / TFT active matrix
* Color: Black
* Built-in Devices: Stereo speakers
* Diagonal Size: 19"
* Max Resolution: 1280 x 1024 / 75 Hz
* Display Positions Adjustments: Height, swivel, tilt
* Color Support: 24-bit (16.7 million colors)

* Response Time: 5 ms
* Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2
* Image Contrast Ratio: 10000:1 (dynamic)
* Digital Video Standard: Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
* Audio Output: Speaker(s), stereo, integrated
* Signal Input: DVI, VGA
* Compliant Standards: TCO '03, MPR II, TCO '99
* Environmental Standards: EPA Energy Star
* Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years warranty

those are the specs for that monitor, I agree Acer makes a very good LCD. that one does have both inputs and has nice specs. That one does have the built in speakers, mine does not but I use stand alone speakers anyway.

In the 19" monitors yes you can still find the non widescreen models but I have not seen any in the larger size monitors which are non widescreen.

If you have not set up and used a buy.com account before there are some codes available that will save you some money on that purchase for first time buyer. I use buy.com quite often.
first time Buy.com customers only
don't worry about expiration dates they are always available just google buy.com promo codes and you can find them.

Best Buy : Acer 20" HD LCD Monitor (Model # X203H)
Reg 159.99 / 79.99

Here is a link that might be useful: http://tgiblackfriday.com/category/Monitors

also night note, towards the bottom of above link is
Office Max : AOC 22" Class Widescreen Monitor at a shocking price

AOpen/Acer

Thanks, ravencajun and mikie, for your buying suggestions !

ravencajun: in addition to the monitor I listed above, buy.com also has this one (below) which is a little cheaper with the main differences I see being the one below has: 60Hz refresh rate (instead of 75Hz), 2000:1 contrast (instead of 10000:1), and no DVI port. Is this a better buy, or is it worth the extra $15 to get the first monitor (the Acer Business B193Bbdmh LCD Monitor - ET.CB3RP.B01) ?

mikie: thanks for the tgiblackfriday link !! One thing... the monitor you mentioned -- 20" HD LCD -- doesn't say that it's widescreen in the tgiblackfriday ad, but it looks like it. Then, when I clicked the link at the site it took me to buy.com where the same monitor is listed and there it is said to be widescreen. I think, for my situation, I'd prefer a non-widescreen, but if I do go widescreen, your second deal above (the 22" AOC) would be more attractive. :-)

I have really appreciated all the expert advice and experience here ! I'd hate to just go to Best Buy or something and be merely the victim of high-pressure, holiday salespeople !

Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: Less Expensive Acer Value V193

that would be totally up to you, using the analog connections is fine, the DVI connections if you have them on your pc are a better choice, much like the HDTV over the older analog ones, but I am using mine analog since that is all my monitor had and I have no problems, the more expensive one does have better specs, just depends on what you want to spend. Both will work fine for your needs. Both have speakers built in so if you do not have stand alone speakers you can use those, however do not expect much, the little stand alone speakers are not very costly and sound so much better.

Thanks, ravencajun !

I went with the better one. :-)

And thank you all again for the input !