A CRT monitor at 60Hz would give me a headache in under half a minute.
I just upgraded my video card from a GeForce 2 to a Radeon 9600XT. I also checked out reviews and various problem / compatibility reports, but different reviews said different things and they each seemed to have their share of problems. Because of my 'obsolete' 1.3GHz Duron, the card benchmarks in 3DMark almost 20% slower than it would in a faster system, though that should not have a significant impact in any games I am likely to try in the next couple years.
I would go for the 9600 (or even 9200) as an upgrade, and when you need to build a new system and have the money, then consider the latest/greatest video card. I didn't really look at price / performance of lower level cards because I am planning to stick with my current computer until I install something that will not run properly; I figured the 9600 XT would last the longest.
Since you are at least considering a Radeon 9800, take a look at at a few monitors. For the same price you may be able to get a Radeon 9600 and a decent monitor a size or two larger than what you have. Then again, you may want to wait until you have the money to get a fairly good monitor, then hang onto it through several computer upgrades.
