Because I'd rather have a nice place to live than some insurance money and no place to live. Let's get back to the topic at hand, shall we?

*bump* Parts list:

Power Supply: [>=750 Watt supply with at least 2x pair GPU headers]
Motherboard: [something sandy bridge?]
CPU: [Some kind of SB Core i7?]
Memory: [?? can I reuse mine, or should I get new RAM?]
Monitor(s): [2x 27" at this point?]

I have a Corsair PSU and have been very happy with it; this looks like a good choice?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Edit: Researching motherboard/CPU/RAM:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/288474-30-sandy-bridge-motherboards-model

PSU looks okay to me, just knowing they (Corsair) tend to be good quality.

All new processors will require DDR3, so you're going to need new memory. The memory ratings on Sandy Bridge seem to top out at 1600 MHz, so that would net you best memory performance for a given system (bar overclocking, which is an unusual beast on SB).

Same, I have been very happy with my Corsair PSU in my desktop now. Newegg estimates 785 Watts for CPU, mobo, RAM, 4 HDDS, and two graphics cards, so 750 Watts is a bit under, but I was thinking it would even out because they want to sell me a higher-power, more expensive PSU. Whet do you think?

Overstocking is not one of my criteria, so I am not too worried.

Out of sheer curiosity, what are you going to do with your old computer, give it to your GF?

Well, I'll definitely be reusing at least the case, the hard drives, the optical drive, probably the CPU cooler, and one of the graphics cards, leaving only the PSU, motherboard, and RAM left over.

If it has an AGP slot, I can throw my GeForce 6200 into there no problem(or get an 8 series for not much more). That is, if you're looking for a new home :3

I don't think you'd want it, unless you enjoy BSODs every few hours. I also believe it doesn't have AGP; my cards are both PCIe x16 cards.

I'd honestly take BSODs over my current hardware, but I guess I'll keep lurking on newegg for deals. I don't want to sound like a mooch after all.

Not at all, not taken that way. Also, it's not completely mine to give away, in the strictest sense, long story. Best of luck lurking the NewEgg deals; they seem to have some good ones. 8GB of DDR3 for $83 today!

Disclaimer: I only read the OP and ignored everything else - I figured it was all useless and/or stupid posts, so I skipped them.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131714
$260: Asus, P67, USB3, SATA 6GB/s, 4 x16 slots

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
$330: Core i7-2600K, Sandy Bridge, unlocked multiplier, 3.4ghz quad core

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455
$250 (2x$125): G.Skill 8gb kit (2x4GB), DDR3 1866

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121437
$270: AMD 6950 2GB
+ 4 of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999030&cm_re=displayport_adapter-_-14-999-030-_-Product
$108 (4x$27): Active DisplayPort->SL DVI adapter

Gives you 6 monitor outputs from a really fast card, that also happens to be pretty darn efficient. It draws about 11w idle (driving one monitor - multi-monitor will of course increase idle load), and about ~180w under load. Figure ~4 times faster than your 9800GTX, give or take.

OS drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348
$250: Crucial RealSSD, 128GB, SATA 6GB/s

Data drives: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148681
$80: Seagate Barracuda 2TB, 64MB cache - or whatever you want, this part doesn't really matter to the build

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371043&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3891137&SID=194Antec1200W
$300: Antec 1200w, extremely good PSU, very efficient, excellent DC output (review here: http://hardocp.com/article/2010/10/24/antec_high_current_pro_1200w_power_supply_review/1 )

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225
$180: Cooler Master HAF X, USB3, good cooling, good case

Total: $2,121.86 (with 2 data drives)

There are plenty of places where this can be trimmed down, of course, but the title is "Dream Desktop", so I shot towards the upper end of the spectrum while trying to get decent value (nothing in the build is really "top of the line", but rather a couple notches below)

PSU - why do I need 1200W? What's wrong with something like the Corsair AX850?

Mobo, CPU, RAM: Excellent.

GPU: If I went with the 2x 27", 2x 22" setup, I'd only need a pair of DP->HDMI adapters to start with, which are $10 each

For GPU, Mobo, RAM, CPU, and cheaper PSU, it would be $180+$270+$330+$260 = $1040, which is a hefty chunk of change, before the $700-ish of monitors, but I can live with it, I guess.

Well, duh, anything not written by you is useless and stupid.

Exactly, just like any movie not written or directed by Robert Zemeckis is not worth watching.

Those are probably passive adapters (given the price), and (probably) won't work. I don't know if there's more timing hardware on the newer cards, but at least with the 5000 series Radeons, there are only two sets of DVI/HDMI timing hardware onboard. In the case of my 5770, I had to pick up one of the active DP->DVI converters to drive a third monitor over DVI.

Tari, ah, I'm a bit vague on what HDMI requires that DP doesn't. I had thought that HDMI required only passive adapters, whereas DVI required active adapters, but it's very likely I'm completely off-base.

Why not get the 1200w? Plenty of room to grow that way. Don't get me wrong, the AX850 is a great unit and would work fine, but that does limit your upgrade path and isn't much of an upgrade from the 650w you already have (and, for what it's worth, the 650w you have shouldn't have any trouble powering the build I spec'd - I added a new PSU as I assumed you would want to keep your current rig running and/or sell it)



Tari is correct. Anything that isn't native DP requires an *active* adapter. VGA, HDMI, DVI - doesn't matter, it must be an active adapter. If you are buying new monitors, though, you could always get one with native DP and not bother with adapters at all.



Plenty of room to cut back if you want, but you didn't title this thread a "budget build", so....



Skimming back through what I skipped, it looks like I wasn't wrong

EDIT: An i7 920 OC'd to 3.6ghz, 6gb of RAM, 1 hdd + 1 optical drive, and a 6950 draws ~380w from the wall - which would be a load of ~300w on the PSU (assuming 80% efficiency). The estimations for power draw earlier in this thread are hilariously high.

Kllrnohj, you think my current PSU would probably cut it? I'm planning to do the build in stages: first replace CPU/ mobo/ RAM, then probably monitors, then I guess GPU, then PSU? Probably something along those lines, so that will give me plenty of time to see how things work with my current PSU. I'm planning to turn my current rig into my new rig by reusing at least my case, hard drives, and optical drive for now.

Easily. Everything you are upgrading to draws less power than what you are currently using. In the case of the GPU it is *much* less at that (especially going from two cards to one)

EDIT: I would start with the GPU, actually. Easiest to upgrade, would greatly improve game performance right away (CPU upgrade would do very little for game performance with your current GPU)

Kllrnohj, fair enough; I'm willing to take your advice on that. You quoted the 6950 at 118 Watts maximum - that was fully loaded with lots of monitors, not a single monitor, right? GPU first it is, then; I'll be interested to see how it works out.