2560 x 1600 goodness

I'm considering selling my current monitor setup and purchasing a 30" 2560 x 1600 monitor. I think it would be nice to have that high resolution for my AutoCAD work along with some gaming. I realize to game with such a high resolution I'd need a high end SLI setup, but that's part of my question. Can someone please explain to me how scaling works?

Say I bought the Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP monitor (2560 x 1600) but I want to play a game at 1920 x 1200 - can I do this? Will it use the full screen and be slightly distorted or will it use only part of the screen and put a black border around it?

Mainly, i'm debating between getting a 24" monitor and having 1920 x 1200 resolution or spending double and getting the 30" monitor and having 2560 x 1600. Someone please convince me one way or the other.

Lastly, which brand/model would you recommend for the (2) different sized monitors?

Bigbeef,

You might want to wait for this 3008WFP model:

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inqu [...] isplayport

It has built in scaling. My personal experience with CAD and Dell monitors is excellent. I'm using the original 2405 to type this response, and have also worked on their newer 24" model. The minor issues with the current flavors of 30"ers is being fixed with the new one coming out. You definately don't want to use an LCD T.V. (1080 res. or others) for CAD work. I have direct experience doing this as well - you'll only end up with sore eyes and a headache trying to read text. Btw. if you do residential design, you might want to check out this link:

http://splash.softplansplsh.org/front/main.htm