Monitor shopping - where do I even start?

I am looking for some guidance on what exactly I should be aiming for when shopping for a new display. What dimensions and resolution would best suit my specific needs? I will likely be hunting through Craigslist or various tech forums rather than buying brand new, just so I can have a wider selection to choose from—ideally, I’d love to find something that fits under $333.

Gaming isn't really a priority for me; instead, I care more about things like reading text, browsing the web, and watching movies. I want to avoid a situation where icons, text, or software windows appear so tiny that I find myself leaning in with my nose practically touching the glass. Is a 24" screen my only logical option here? And regarding aspect ratios, should I go with 16:9 or 16:10? That is the part truly vexing me; since I lack experience with how different resolutions manifest on various screen sizes, I am unsure which combination of inches and resolution would actually serve me well.

My goal is to retire this old 17" Hyundai B70A monitor. Ideally, I would love the ability to have two programs open side-by-side as if I were using dual monitors, but would that require stepping up to a 29" display? I suspect such a large screen might be overkill for my current setup, but then again, what can my hardware actually handle effectively?

CPU: Intel Core i7-13700K 2.53 GHz
MBO: Corsair Vengeance RAM
RAM: 4x1 gb Kingmax ddr2 800 MHz
HDD: Seagate 500GB, 7200rpm
SSD: Kingston hyperx fury 120gb
VGA: ATI Radeon HD4850 512MB DDR3
PSU: Naxn 500w

What specific parameters should I use to narrow down my search?

If you're mostly using this for work, my advice is to hang onto your old monitor alongside the new one. Depending on your workflow, it might not be overkill. By modern standards, the Conrad setup isn't anything special, but it gets the job done for most tasks. You could grab a decent new 22" IPS or VA panel for about $333, or hunt for something used if you're craving more screen real estate. Personally, I’d rather pick up a fresh 22" and just keep the old monitor running—it makes multitasking with multiple windows way easier.

http://www.nabava.net/monitori__90/a...6816851#ponude

A 24" IPS, probably the cheapest one available.

If I were shopping for this right now, I’d definitely take a look at this: http://www.nabava.net/search.php?tp=0&q=gw2255