screen resolution question

80x600 ?

I believe that is a typo. You probably mean 800x600.

In direct answer to your question, 800x600 will work in a 19" monitor as well as in a 12" monitor if they are both set to 800x600. The difference will be in picture quality and detail.

For the same resolution, a small monitor has crisper looking pictures than a larger one. The downside is that everything gets smaller in a small monitor. When you get to be my age and with my eye condition, you'd prefer the large monitors .

Your answer is correct, IF the 12" monitor is capable of 800x600 resolution. If the 12" monitor is a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), it may well not be capable of that resolution. Most of the 12" CRT monitors I've seen are only capable of 640x480, or less if its really old.

A 12" flat panel (usually referred to as a display, rather than a monitor) probably can display that or higher resolution.

Your answer is correct, IF the 12" monitor is capable of 800x600 resolution

Exactly! That's what I meant. I guess I failed to make that clear enough.

I had a 12" CRT that worked fine at 800x600. My present monitor is a 14" CRT which I'm using at 1024x768 with no problems. I'm saving up to buy a 17" LCD monitor. The price has dropped substantially but not enough that I can just go and purchase right away.

I have no idea what they cost there in the Philippines, but here in the US, the first place I looked had two different 17" flat panels for US$179. Since you are closer to the source, they ought to be cheaper there, but...

Its almost 7 years since I used a CRT on a regular basis. My last CRT had speakers on the bottom, which raised the screen so high that viewing it through my progressive lenses was pinching nerves in the back of my neck. Ever since, I've been using only a 15" laptop (Mac), which I can place at book-reading height. My current one is 1280x854. The only way I can imagine using a separate display would be with a 20" or larger Flat Panel, but it would have to be mounted very low. I've thought about a glass-top desk with the display below the glass, but then I'd have to keep the desktop clean.

LCD monitors cost about Php 9,000 which in American dollars is about $180 so there's practically no difference. I haven't really gone shopping yet, just gazing through the windows (salivating, with a "when can I have you" look ).

I have a desktop which my kids use and an old laptop (Dell C610) for me. The desktop uses a CRT monitor. I know what you mean about the vertical viewing angle. I got my kids a real computer table just because of that.

That glass-top desk is expensive! I saw one on display for Php 12,000 (about $240). I'm thinking of having a table custom-made (not a glass-top). It should serve as my office table, computer table, and printer table. I'd like to have it sort of wrap around me so I'd just have to turn in my swivel chair.

With a CRT, generally what limits the screen resolution is the video card. If the video card can handle 800 x 600 you'll be OK.

The other limitation is screen dot pitch. That's usually expressed in small fractions of an inch and generally shouldn't be a problem.

With LCD screens you want to be able to drive the screen at its "native" resolution for the sharpest picture. Anything less will be blurry. So your video card needs to match or exceed the resolution of the LCD screen. Then set the resolution on the computer to match the LCD screen maximum.