Need some help with my first build.

The purpose of this build? 80+ Platinum.. dear God o-o!

I would recommend getting a 1 TB HDD to use as storage and maybe go with a 256 GB SSD (or keep the 512 GB). Also you don't need 16 GBs of RAM if you are just going to be using it as a gaming pc. You can always upgrade RAM later on. Everything else is pretty much good to go.

Looking good.

Get faster RAM for overclocking like 2133MHz.

Can't go with wrong with a 512 GB SSD. I went and got a HDD before I got a SSD, but either works out. You won't need more than 8 GB at this time. Especially if you are just starting to learn programming. Plus you can always get another 8 GB later. I would recommend getting just 2x4GB sticks for now.

this cpu supports up to 1600MHz, and yes no great improvment higher than that, but if you wanna overclock, you should by some with at least 1866MHz, because the chance is higher that these chips would be more stable

You read it on the internet ? Let me guess, the poster provided absolutely no support or documentation for the claim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOzAgpxg5wE

If you look at factual published documentation, you will find that over the years Asus and MSI have had comparavblew RAM rates. Here's the last 4 that are published in english

http://www.behardware.com/articles/862-2/components-returns-rates-6.html
- MSI 2.11% (as against 1.5%)
- ASUS 2.66% (as against 2.2%)

http://www.behardware.com/articles/831-2/components-returns-rates.html
- ASUS 1.9% (against 2.5%)
- MSI 2.3% (against 2.4%)

http://www.hardware.fr/articles/920-2/cartes-meres.html
- ASUS 2,31% (contre 1,86%)
- MSI 2,60% (contre 1,83%)

ASUS = 2.66%+ 2.2% + 1.9% + 2.5% + 2.31% + 1.86 = 13.43/5 = 2.24
MSI = 2.11% +1.5% + 2.3% + 2.4% + 2.60 + 1.83 = 2.12

As to the reviewsd .... the Z87 GD65 took the industry and knocked it on its heals. The Z97 is essentially the same board with the newer Intel chipset.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_z87_gd65_gaming/12.htm

MSI has been using components that meet or exceed MIL-STD-810G for some time as part of its Military Class build philosophy. Parts such as Super Ferrite Chokes that run at up to 35 degree Celsius lower temperatures, have a 30% higher current handling capacity, and a 20% improvement in power efficiency; Tantalum filled Hi-C Caps that are are up to 93% efficient; and "Dark Capacitors" that feature Lower ESR and a ten-year lifespan all tied into a PCB with improved temperature and humidity protections as part of the "Military Essentials" package......In the end MSI's Z87-GD65 is a board that comes with an expansive feature set that includes all your basics and the extras that set them apart such as the V-Check points, upper end audio, Dual BIOS ROMs, KIller Network package, Military Class IV package, and a three-year warranty. Couple that with good looks that carry the dragon theme through the board, and you have a winning combination at $189.

Click to expand...

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/msi_z87_gd65_gaming_review/15

Now and again a motherboard appears that is so obviously brilliant, and so affordable, that we wonder if anything will be able to top it. For a while that crown was held by the ASUS Sabertooth, both in X58 and then P67 variants. Then MSI stole the crown with the Z77 MPower. Looking at the Z87 GD65 Gaming we think it's going to take something extraordinary to top it, such is the perfect storm of price, performance, features and looks.

The switch to Military Class 4 has given us an extremely ready overclocker too. You're always thermally limited when overclocking and the i7-4770K is one of the most demanding around. Considering the amount of cooling we're using we think that although the GD65 is capable of bringing 5GHz from our i7-4770K you'd need a proper water loop to make the most of it.

Performance is outstanding. The stock results were a particular highlight. We know a lot of people still just like to put their CPU in and go, without overclocking it first. Despite how easy it is these days we know that the fear factor still exists. So you'll be glad to know that the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming really rocks hard even at stock settings. Naturally the overclocking is blistering too, with some OC3D records broken.

MSI have laid the gauntlet down to all the other manufacturers. Gorgeous to look at, blistering performance and all at a very affordable price, the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming is not only the new benchmark for Z87 motherboards, but probably for all motherboards.

Click to expand...

More reading here..... read all the way thru

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2139639/asus-maximus-vii-ranger-hero.html

As for your overclock worries, under load testing the MSI card hits about 68C ... 30C below the 98C temperature limit.
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/specifications
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_970_gaming_review,8.html

MSI 970
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_970_gaming_review,26.html
Core Clock 1325 MHz
Boost Clock: ~1501 MHz
Memory Clock: 8002 MHz

ASUS 970
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_geforce_gtx_970_strix_review,26.html
Core Clock 1264MHz
Boost Clock: ~1443MHz
Memory Clock: 8002 MHz

The CPU and MoBo support RAM well over 1600.....you can put DDR3-3000 in both the MSI and Asus boards. If you wanna get a speed edge might wanna look at 2133 or 2400. On this side of the pond 2133 and 1600 are usually same price, slight premium on your side for 2133

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f32133c9d16gxh

But the 2400 CAS 10 is cheaper than 2133 and same price as your 1600s and therefore a no brainer
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f32400c10d16gtx

There's a myth about no performance difference between 1600 and say 2400. This comes from the early days of DDr3 when the performance difference was deemed too small for the cost differences and back then it was true especially as presented was difference in system performance versus difference in RAM cost. Bad logic.

You want to compare difference in system performance versus difference in system cost

You have a Total: £1300 build... would a 2% increase in performance be worth it for say those 2133's ? That's 2 % performance increase for a 1% cost increase. More typically we see diminishing returns....the 980 has a 12% performance increase over the 970, yet your system would cost 13% more....so it's easier to male an argument for faster RAM from an ROI perspective than it would from a GFX perspective.

1. While most games are GFX limited, some are CPU limited, others are RAM limited (i.e STALKER series). Of course what bottlenecks the system depends on what ya using. If you have an i3 and a GTX 750, I wouldn't sweat RAM.

2. As your other components improve, the possibility of RAM impacting performance becomes greater.

3. When you CF or SLI (as you have planned), the impacts of fatser RAM become more evident.

4. While the impact on average fps is most often minimal, the impact on minimum fps can be quite significant .... those periodic slowdowns / laggy parts are oft cause by system RAM not keeping up. Good article and graph (CF system) here

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell/10



The 240 point on the graph (188 fps) is the performance index for 2400 CAS 10 (2400/10 = 240), the 178 point on the graph (168 fps) is the performance index for 1600 CAS 9 (1600/9). That's a 12% improvement in Dirt3 for a £1.16 or less than 1/10th of 1% increase in price. The performance differences will vary from game to game, however, with a fast CPU such as yours, overclocked, twin 970s in SLI, you will see more than most.