PC Build Configuration Help

[makeyourself]

I'm planning to build a system with an Asus P8Z77-V (standard version) motherboard. I also plan to use an aftermarket CPU cooler. To be honest, I don't know which one, I'm not at all experienced in overclocking but its something I'm interested in doing on my new build. I was planning on setting up the PC first, then fitting the CPU cooler afterwards.

I am trying to decide on which RAM to buy. I know that I want 2x4GB DDR3 1600Mhz but I don't know whether I need to worry too much about it being low profile / height because of it blocking one of the CPU cooler's fans. The motherboard has 4 dual channel DIMM slots. I have read the mobo's manual and to exploit the dual channel capability I will need to use the 2nd closest slot and the furthest slot from the CPU. But basically the DIMM slot next to the CPU will be unoccupied.

So I would just like to know if with the motherboard / RAM configuration above, I am likely to block a large aftermarket CPU cooler if I use the RAM with the big heat spreaders (i.e. just for example, something like this)?

 

[makeyourself]

I do not live in the US. Yes I use Ebay but only trust it for certain things. I do not generally intend to play any games on it, it will be a Linux PC (no Windows) for general usage with occasional compiling, VMs and other resource intensive tasks.

I personally do not think 8GB of RAM is an excessive figure when using VMs. Also most free RAM is converted to disk-buffers on Linux which makes the system run faster.

Why do you advise against the P8Z77-V? Overclocking is not the most important thing to me and I won't be going crazy with it, its just a feature I would like to have available. Yes I'm on a modest budget of £600 (although I already have a monitor, and other minor stuff like DVD writer, etc).

Regarding my actual original question, I'm still looking for a definitive answer. What is the best way to ensure equipment will fit before ordering it or is this not possible and is it a case of what you say, ordering first and returning if it doesn't fit?

 

[makeyourself]

Additionally, if you say that the G.Skills will be fine with any CPU cooler then how come they sell 1/2 height and low profile RAM because it would seem pointless?

 

[quas]

asus motherboard is okay. gigabyte is okay too.
8gb of ram is okay. i like low profile corsair vengeance.
for cooler, use noctua with 14cm fans if you're overclocking aggressively.
if not, and you prefer to save money, just get cooler master hyper evo.

 

[makeyourself]

Ok cheers and with regards to making sure stuff like the RAM and cooler are going to fit, how do people usually handle it?

 

[quas]

just get a low profile RAM (my personal preference is Corsair Vengeance, you can use any good quality low profile RAM). As long as it's low profile, it will fit any cooler.

 

[quas]

This is a terrible post.... Cooler Master Evo is a terrible cooler for the price and performance, I would strongly recommend against it. You can get way better coolers for the price. A $19 Hyper 212+ with $5 of the best ceramique thermal paste around like PK-3 would outperform an Evo. Pair a $4 yate loon on it and it's the same price but way better performance.

Your post doesn't even make sense. You like low profile corsair vengeance... okay? Use noctua 14cm? Huh? You should buy a cooler based on the price and performance....

I use stock cooler on my current PC.

I've had good experiences with Noctua in the past, on another PC. Overpriced and overkill, but fans are durable and silent (if not, they produce more tolerable noise frequency) and what I like most is the mounting system which is very secure.

A lot of things I use tend to overpriced and overkill like Seasonic PSU, but it gives me peace of mind. I understand how that might be offensive to some people who are obsessed with bare-bones computing using generic PSU or generic motherboard (that probably doesn't use full solid capacitors). Those are fine, lots of older PCs are like that and are still working fine today. But these days most motherboard comes with solid capacitors and most RAMs come with heatsink, so I guess the bare-bones computing folks are a dying breed.

But I'm curious, since you value price-performance very much, why don't you recommend using stock cooler? I thought stock cooler is fine for some overclocking. Say up to 3.8-4Ghz.

just get a low profile RAM (my personal preference is Corsair Vengeance, you can use any good quality low profile RAM). As long as it's low profile, it will fit any cooler.

That's terrible advice. Limiting yourself to just low profile RAM will force you to buy overpriced, slower RAM.

Any regular RAM with a non-obtrusive heatsink, will fit any cooler. Like, say, these Kingston:

http://assets.hardwarezone.com/2009/img/data/articles/2004/1230/front-1.jpg

There is a mistake here, but I blame Corsair. Corsair calls regular-sized RAMs Low Profile.

Corsair's "Low-Profile" means regular sized. Non low-profile means it comes with big tall heatsinks. Because Corsair's "Low Profile" is actually regular sized, they come in standard speed and are not slower than typical RAMs. So, yes, they are exactly the same speed and size as the Kingston HyperX you showed.

 

[makeyourself]

Ok cheers and with regards to making sure stuff like the RAM and cooler are going to fit, how do people usually handle it?

YOU GOOGLE IT.

'NH-d14 Corsair Vengeance"

"Silver Arrow Mushkin 996902"

"TRUE 120 Crucial ballistix tactical tracer 1866 red/blue"

And you'll get a dozen pictures showing compatibility.

You can also go to the heatsink's web page, find the dimensions. They will usually even have a picture showing you the distance from motherboard to the bottom fin or bottom of the front fan, to show exactly how much space RAM would have. It'll also tell you how far it sticks out, ie would it block all 4 ram slots or just the first, kind of thing.

This is such a simple matter, and it's very rarely an issue. You are way overthinking this

Whilst you have provided some good helpful information in this thread, you seem to write everything with an attitude of 'you should already know the answer to this' . I had Googled my original question repeatedly in different forms before posting. As I was planning to get the RAM first, I couldn't use the type of search terms above. At the end of the day, it is neither a crime nor I suspect anything other than completely normal to become slightly confused at some points about the importance of or how to go about certain things when going through a protracted, relatively complex process like building a PC for the first time. Everybody has to start somewhere, that sort of thing...