One bit of advice that nobody has given you yet that is crucial:
The pixels on the 30" ACD (and all 30" displays that I'm aware of) are tiny. They are smaller than the pixels on just about any other screen. The only LCD I've seen with smaller pixels was a 19" standard aspect LCD with a native 1600x1200 resolution.
This is important because smaller pixels doesn't necessarily help you as you get older...in fact it can make a screen unusable. Despite all indications to the contrary, resolution independence has not come to OS X with Leopard, so you won't be able to simply make the interface bigger without making the screen fuzzy and hard to look at (non-native scaling on big LCDs is terrible, and Apple's is no exception). This means that your menu will be small and that the minimum size of type will be small, as well.
There are 1920x1200 panels all the way up to 27 inches, and those (in contrast to the 30" displays) have big pixels, as you're essentially taking what fits comfortably in a 22 or 24 inch display and spreading it out.
That size of pixel is too big for some people, but not for many. You also don't need dual-link DVI for 1920x1200, which means you can connect a macbook or another computer without a replaceable graphics card. A Mac Pro will be fine with the 30" though.
Don't presume you want a 30" display...you might be better suited to a 24 or 27" one instead...and of course they are cheaper, which is a good thing. Go look closely at the 30" displays and see if you can see yourself using something where the cursor and menus are so small. Open up photoshop at the apple store on a MP with a 30" and see if you can easily adjust to the size of the toolbars...they are fairly small on a 30."
Just something else to consider!
You could get 2 24" LCDs for the same or less than a 30" and have more pixels that are bigger, to boot.
The pixels on the 30" ACD (and all 30" displays that I'm aware of) are tiny. They are smaller than the pixels on just about any other screen. The only LCD I've seen with smaller pixels was a 19" standard aspect LCD with a native 1600x1200 resolution.
This is important because smaller pixels doesn't necessarily help you as you get older...in fact it can make a screen unusable. Despite all indications to the contrary, resolution independence has not come to OS X with Leopard, so you won't be able to simply make the interface bigger without making the screen fuzzy and hard to look at (non-native scaling on big LCDs is terrible, and Apple's is no exception). This means that your menu will be small and that the minimum size of type will be small, as well.
There are 1920x1200 panels all the way up to 27 inches, and those (in contrast to the 30" displays) have big pixels, as you're essentially taking what fits comfortably in a 22 or 24 inch display and spreading it out.
That size of pixel is too big for some people, but not for many. You also don't need dual-link DVI for 1920x1200, which means you can connect a macbook or another computer without a replaceable graphics card. A Mac Pro will be fine with the 30" though.
Don't presume you want a 30" display...you might be better suited to a 24 or 27" one instead...and of course they are cheaper, which is a good thing. Go look closely at the 30" displays and see if you can see yourself using something where the cursor and menus are so small. Open up photoshop at the apple store on a MP with a 30" and see if you can easily adjust to the size of the toolbars...they are fairly small on a 30."
Just something else to consider!
You could get 2 24" LCDs for the same or less than a 30" and have more pixels that are bigger, to boot.
