Solved will new monitor work with older pc?

It is dependent on the graphics in the computer. More likely you have a graphics chip integrated into the motherboard. You may not be able to use a digital LCD panel if your graphics chip is not capable. Your old monitor sounds like a CRT (tube) type monitor. Is the old monitor heavy and very think, front to back? If so, that is a CRT. Post some model numbers for more comprehensive help. Post the brand and model of both the computer and the monitor.

"is this dependent on my video card or monitor driver?" It's dependent on your graphics card & graphics driver, monitor drivers are rarely needed. Please post the make/model of your graphics card or onboard graphics chip. And just an observation - you should consider adding more RAM.

thank you both for your answers. yes, current monitor is crt. my Dell pc is about 8 years old with a P3 motherboard. using windows XP Pro. my graphics card is a NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 model 64/model 64 pro. its highest current resolution appears to be 1280 X 1024. i am using it at 1024 X 768. new monitors i'm considering are HP, Acer or Viewsonic and offer 1600 X 900 resolution. this is all new to me. do i have to use the new monitor at that resolution or will it 'work' with a lower resolution setting? thanks again for your time.

Looking at the release notes for the latest driver for your graphics and Windows version it appears that driver applied to that graphics card will not support 16:9 wide screen displays. See the link below. You can buy an inexpensive replacement card that should support modern LCD monitors. Should you be interested in that option I suggest you start a new thread. Post the model of your computer in that thread. http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_... The Dell model is necessary so we can determine the type of slot available, if any to fit a different graphics card. Might be time to consider a new PC.

thank you all. solved my concerns by buying a used Dell 19" with 4:3 ratio. paid $30. just installed it and it looks great.