If you're a gamer, you want this monitor

Alienware put on what it termed a "technology statement" in Vegas tonight with the aptly named "curved display." That's its unofficial name. It also has no price yet, and no release date more specific than "second half of 2008." What we can tell you is that after the brief minute or so we spent with this monitor, we think high-end PC gamers are going to be excited for it.

Off-angle shots aren't DLP technology's strong suit, but up close it sucks you right in.

(Credit: CNET)

The specifics are that it's a rear-projection DLP screen that can run at a resolution of 2,880x900 pixels (wider than a 30-inch LCD, but not quite as tall). Alienware also said it was running off only a single, midrange ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics card. We only sat down (crouched, really) in front of the curved display for a minute, but we were instantly impressed by the level of immersion. The panoramic screen encompasses your entire line of sight, including your peripheral vision. The effect eliminates almost all visual distractions from your gameplay.

As weird as it may sound, this is actually the most practical panoramic display we've seen. You can see from our picture that the screen will fit relatively easily on a desktop. We expect it won't be cheap, but whatever the price, we imagine Alienware will get plenty of interest from the high-end gaming community once the curved display becomes available.