First PC Build Motherboard Basic Gaming system

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Aaron1988

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Jul 11, 2013
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I'm building my first gaming pc soon and I have a few motherboard questions. I am planning on using the ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 motherboard. I'm not overclocking at this time because I don't feel comfortable with it right now but it is something that I'm very interested in the near future! Will the ram I'm choosing have a fast enough clock speed at 1600 for gaming? The motherboard says it features ROG RAMDISK and will that work with this memory and is that hard to set up? I chose to use a SSD to load the operating system faster. Thanks for your input.

Here is my list.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1m9Rj
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1m9Rj/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1m9Rj/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.18 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($654.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($124.00 @ Amazon)
Other: Seagate 600 Series ST240HM000 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($199.99)
Total: $1977.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-29 22:50 EDT-0400)
 
Solution
Tradesman1
Overall, the system looks good, but if going 16GB, suggest a 2x8GB setup, slightly better performance with 2 sticks, (less pipes to run) and less stress on the MC (memory controller) with only 2 sticks. Would also take the freq up, even if only 1866 (price basically the same as 1600) higher freq provides higher bandwidth, I'd suggest the Snipers F3-1866C9D-16GSR @ $136 or step up to the Tridents a 1866/CL8 set at $163

And great mobo selection, just got my Hero in last Fri
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Overall, the system looks good, but if going 16GB, suggest a 2x8GB setup, slightly better performance with 2 sticks, (less pipes to run) and less stress on the MC (memory controller) with only 2 sticks. Would also take the freq up, even if only 1866 (price basically the same as 1600) higher freq provides higher bandwidth, I'd suggest the Snipers F3-1866C9D-16GSR @ $136 or step up to the Tridents a 1866/CL8 set at $163

And great mobo selection, just got my Hero in last Fri
 
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Aaron1988

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Jul 11, 2013
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So only 2 sticks will still work even though it has 4 sockets? I'm guessing because its a duel channel motherboard and would 1866 ddr3 work? Would I have to overclock the CPU to use 1866? Also that 1866 trident memory says its has 1.6 volts and the CPU I'm using says 1.5 volts. Thank for your advice!
 
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Som3one

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At first I wanted to suggest an i5 instead of an i7, however when I saw the rest of your system I noticed that you went a bit overkill everywhere which is very much intended I guess. ;)

I, too, would get a bit faster RAM.
Also, isn´t there a faster HDD in the same size for price segment?
 
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Aaron1988

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I have finally decided to overclock my Haswell to 4.2-4.4! I will try that for now. My uncle is helping me build so he knows more about overclocking than me. I chose the Cooler Master Seidon 240M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler because Ive heard that Haswell can run very hot! My updated parts list is below.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1mkpT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1mkpT/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1mkpT/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 240M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($205.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill TridentX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($163.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($654.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V850 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($124.00 @ Amazon)
Other: Seagate 600 Series ST240HM000 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ($199.99)
Total: $2103.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-30 12:52 EDT-0400)

*No Peripherals need right now.
 
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Aaron1988

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I chose that AOI because I'm using a cooler master case.

 
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Aaron1988

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Sorry to ask but is there a certain reason you don't choose cooler master? Have you had defective parts in the past? Just curious :)
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Should have no need for additional cooling on the DRAM, I've used a ton of sets of Tridents, both with the Fin on and off and there's never been an issue with heat, I live in AZ, and run 32GB on a Z77 3570K @ 4.7 24/7 and when I pull them to test other stiicks they are just slightly warm
 
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Aaron1988

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According to PC Part Picker the 1866 ddr3 I'm using says there maybe voltage issues because my CPU runs at 1.5 volts and the dram I'm choosing runs at higher voltage. How would I confugure that with my motherboard? Would 2133 dram be a better choice? Faster? Here is the message I get from PC Part Picker. I'm planning on trying to overclock to 4.5.

G.Skill TridentX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory operating voltage of 1.6V exceeds the Intel Haswell CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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The 1.5-1.55 Intel recommendation, is just that a recommendation, and like all Intel specs - far understated...Running high performance and high freq sticks requires more voltage from both the DRAM itself and the MC (memory controller)...I myself recommend basically no DRAM at 1600 over 1.5, unless running a tight CL7, at 1866 same except CL8 - the at 2133/CL9 is about where 1.65 comes in...I like to try and keep the the MC voltage within about .6 of the DRAM voltage with performance sticks....
 
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Aaron1988

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So will 1866 be okay to use for my setup? How will the voltage be set? I'm guess with the bios?
 
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Som3one

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Will it be measurable? Yes.
Will it be noticeable? No.

I mean, we are talking about only a few FPS difference here. OC your GPU and CPU even slightly and you´ll get a much more noticeable difference.


There is this guy on another forum (can´t remember either unfortunately) who does a ***load of RAM testing in all configs. High freq vs low freq, good stepping vs not so good etc. All regarding FPS and gaming.
And I don´t think there was ever a difference in FPS above 10. Could be wrong though.
However, what he found out is that for Haswell, the sweetspot is at about 1866 (or better) at a CL9 stepping, low voltage RAM preferable if supported by the motherboard.
 
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