I do actually have a Dell 4:3 monitor with me but unfortunately the resolution as well as the physical dimensions are nothing to write home about. I can make do with "smaller" (<~24") monitors fine as long as the resolution is good enough, but as you mentioned most old monitors aren't even 1080p. (Additionally with my shortsightedness I can/end up pixel-peep on 400ppi+ displays)

I guess a decent solution in my case would be to actually get a proper job (I'm still studying) and save up for a decent display, until which I'll just do some window shopping heh ;)