Reddit reviews EIZO FlexScan EV2730QFX 26.5" Square IPS Monitor 1920x1920 (EV2730QFX-BK)

Not much. You could use a portrait 40" tv and hide the top and bottom inside the cabinet, then use software to crop the image. Or you might get away with this, but it's still not quite big enough and it's insanely expensive. https://www.amazon.com/FlexScan-EV2730QFX-Monitor-1920x1920-EV2730QFX-BK/dp/B00R58MLSY

I'd say, if you really care about this thing and plan to really put some time into using it, getting the proper CRT makes sense. Edit: I should add, I've spent literally years searching for an answer for a large 4:3 display that's not a CRT, and they just don't really exist. It's either a weird hack like physically hiding part of the monitor in the cabinet or like projectors. There were iirc two early models of plasma TVs that were about 40" in 4:3, but honestly a CRT is way easier to find than one of those. Go for a decent home consumer set, RGB mod it, and get GroovyArcade, is what I would do.

21" is pretty much the largest 4:3 monitor they made ( ie. the Samsung SyncMaster 214T ) and 20" are more readily available - anything larger is very hard to find and very very expensive !

Closest would be a 27" 1:1 format like the $1000+ EIZO FlexScan EV2730QFX 26.5" Square IPS Monitor 1920x1920 ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00R58MLSY/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new )

IF you look around you can find the 20" 4:3s for cheap since they were used quite a bit in offices that leased them so there are a lot of them on the refurbisher sites ( I picked up a HP lp2065 missing the stand (which is not needed for a cab) for $20 shipped a while back and the Dell FPB 2007's and 2001's can usually be found around $30 - $45. ( For example Arrowdirect.com has 4 2007Fp in stock at $46 shipped - https://www.arrowdirect.com/dell-2007fpb-20-widescreen-screen-1600-x-1200-resolution-grade-b/ ) - Shows $57.95 but using their discount code (extra20) gives you 20% off making it $46.36 - they are great for a build since they are IPS panels with very good viewing angles. ( can even be used for cocktail builds )

Was just wondering since they do exist but I've never seen one in the wild. Very rare and expensive and somehow kind of funny looking....

Almost $1,300 USD a pop. :s

No prob!

One other thing I forgot to mention since it's a total "edge-case" is that I am able to run VERY unique monitor setups with it... other solutions like Gnome were hell for this and often bugged out when doing custom xrandr work - specifically panels would never position/stretch right on switching monitor configs, etc.

My daily driver is heavily modified T430, and I run a 1:1 aspect ratio on one of my monitors. XFCE does SUPER well and stays VERY low on system resource utilization (memory, CPU, etc.)!

Gah. Maybe two more things - just thought of this... I come from a heavy design background and I am SUPER picky on UIX for myself. XFCE is as-close to a "pixel-perfect" solution that I've been able to find without hella bloat. The only widget/panel that I use that's not super configurable is the battery one... which meh w/e.

Needless to say I'm a huge advocate! Feel free to PM me if you have any onboarding questions that you can't find answers to online =)

Easy to find 1:1 aspect ratio monitors.

https://www.amazon.com/FlexScan-EV2730QFX-Monitor-1920x1920-EV2730QFX-BK/dp/B00R58MLSY

I just searched: https://www.amazon.com/s/?field-keywords=square+monitor