For the more professional users like graphic artists, CAD/CAM pros, animators and others for whom size matters, the 30-inch NEC MultiSync LCD3090WQXi desktop LCD monitor may be just the ticket. The 4-megapixel (2560 x 1600 or WQXGA) display provides 102% color gamut relative to NTSC and 97.8% of the Adobe RGB color space, NEC says.

It also employs HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) through its DVI-D connector (there's second DVI-I jack), allowing users to play encrypted content - meaning that even if NEC targets the graphics professional, it hasn't forgotten the gamer with the deep pockets and wide open desktop. As the MultiSync name implies, the LCD3090WQXi syncs up with non-native resolutions and scale them to full-screen. Price is $2,200.

The LCD3090WQXi is biggest of NEC's 90-series monitors and also the newest of a small band of 30-inch monitors. Others are from Apple, Dell, Gateway, HP, and Samsung. (Don't confuse them with 30-inch LCD TVs with lower resolution and prices.) 30-inch monitors with fewer multimedia features or that have been on the market for the better part of the past year are priced in the mid- to low teens with some closing in on $1,000. Newer, higher-end 30-inch monitors provide scaling processors, multiple inputs, a broader color space, and they're priced around $2,000. These 30-inch displays face three challenges: Not every PC can drive the native 2560 x 1600 resolution; they take up a big chunk of desktop real estate (27 inches across for the NEC); and the next common monitor size down, a 24-inch, 1900 x 1200 pixel WUXGA LCD display, typically sells for under $500.