I have a few questions on something that's been bugging me.

I'm finishing up a build, and have pretty much decided on using a GA-X48-DS4 Gigabyte board - mainly because I'm going to get a HD4850, and I may Xfire 2 of them in the future (if it seems worth it).

Anyway - I've got the case, the power supply, a CPU heatsink on the way, and I'm planning on running an E8500 as well.

This will be my primary computer - the extra power is for gaming.

My question is this:

I have seen many build tags on Newegg users as well as here wherein people are using certain memory sticks with Gigabyte boards - and I have also seen where people use memory for a Gigabyte, they have problems, and someone usually mentions they should check the approved vendors list for the board they are buying.

Here's the problem - for every Gigabyte board I've looked at, the approved/tested memory seems like a waste. For instance, on this particular board (the X48), the memory standard listed in the specs is DDR2-1200. There are 4 slots. Well, the only stick listed as approved is a 512MB Kingston KHX9600D2/512. Does this mean if I want to run DD2-1200 memory, I'm limited to 2 GB max?

As a matter of fact, looking at the entire list, the largest chip is a 2GB - but that would equal an 8GB max - pretty far short of the listed 16GB max of the board.

Also, many of the brands I see mentioned in tech forums and on Newegg as being tops (Corsair, OCZ, etc.) are on the list - but not in very high capacities and they are any of the 2GB approved.

I understand that I will never need the 16GB (at least, not during the lifetime of this board), and I would likely be happy with 4GB for a long time. I also understand that "high-end" memory isn't always better than the cheap types.

What I want to know is, can I get some Corsair or OCZ or some cheap G.Skill memory and slap it in this board without worrying too much about the approved vendor list? If not - why? I see many people doing it, so is there something I should be looking at that will help me determine if I can use a certain type of memory?

For specifics - I've got my eye on 4 sticks of this: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail - mainly because it's cheap, and it's listed on one of the NewEgg users systems as a brand that works with this board.

How can I make sure without damaging my board or screwing something up? What should I be looking at with memory?

Sorry for the long post - this has puzzled me for a while. I'm about to be an ex-Dell owner, so maybe that can shed some light as to why I get so twitchy when it comes to the "right" memory.

Thanks!

Ah - my mistake. I must have gotten the 16 from another board.

I've looked at so many in the past week or so that they're starting to run together.

Thanks for your input, tho.

I'll probably go with the G.Skill because it's so cheap.