LCD monitor w/older vid card

[Despy]

It looks like it is finally time to upgrade my monitor. The old 17" CRT has done an admirable job, but is starting to look a little long-in-the-tooth compared to some of the spiffy new LCDs.

Preferably I would like to get a 19" LCD or a widescreen monitor. The problem is, the 'native resolution' factor scares me a little bit. My vid card is a x800 GTO (unlocked to 16 pipes and overclocked a bit). I have been running virtually all of my games in 1024x768. The card handles pretty much anything but the very latest just fine at this resolution. Unfortunately all the new larger monitors run native resolutions that drive more pixels than 1024x768 (particularly the widescreens).

Am I asking for trouble by getting a larger monitor? Should I stick with a regular 4:3 19" monitor or go with a widescreen? If widescreen, what is recommended sizewise in case I want to play a game that does not support widescreen?

Thanks!

Rest of system:
AMD A64 @ 2.3GHz
1-GB RAM
etc.

P.S. Not looking to upgrade vid card due to budget (still on AGP).

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Most of the newer LCDs scale to lower resolutions admirably. My LCD (Acer Al2051W) has a native resolution of 1680x1050, but I run many games at 1280x1024 and they don't look half bad. Going down to 1024x768 makes things look a bit pixellated, but that's just due to my monitor's size (and thus, number of pixels). My 6800 GS is similar to your X800, and although it's starting to chug in the latest games, things are still playable.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

It should be no problem at all. If the x800 can handle 1280x1024 in game then it will surely be able to handle the 1280 widescreen resolution in game. And if not scaling isn't that much of an issue.