Trying to decide between a 24" and a 30" monitor

I could use your help on this.

I'm trying to decide between a 24" NEC LCD2490WUXi-BK and a 30" Dell 3007WFP-HC monitor. I have seen the Dell and generally like its quality and features but haven't actually been able to lay eyes on the NEC monitor since I'm not sure which brick and mortar stores actually carry it for me to walk in and play with.

BTW, I can purchase both monitors for about the same price. The 3008WFP initially appealed to me since it added a DisplayPort interface and it has 3000:1 contrast ratio (between than the 3007). I'm not sure why I would care about the built-in video scaler though. Is there any reason for having this if your video card can already scale everything up to 2560x1600? The Gateway I saw with the built-in scaler ran very hot. I'd prefer to keep the heat away from the monitor and over by the PC. Furthermore the 3008 supposedly has worse color detail than the 3007 and some backlighting issues.

The NEC monitor appeals to me because it reportedly has excellent color detail and can be calibrated. I just wish I could actually see the thing before I buy it. It has lower resolution than the 30" monitor but may have higher quality - not sure.

I don't play a lot of computer games so monitors with a low response time aren't at the top of my list of priorities. I just want a really high quality monitor < $1k USD.

Anyone out there had to make some decisions like this? Any feedback on my dilemma will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Angus

thanks for the feedback jaguarskx