Buying Corsair RAM for a new system and I'm kinda lost here.

Usually 8gb 1600 (2x4gb) kits are different in latencies.

Don't go by the color, the color is there for looks. It has nothing to do with the performance or model.

They have 3 main series of RAM - XMS, Vengeance, and Dominator. The only real differences are the heat spreaders and the latency. The lower the latency, the faster they perform. If this is for a gaming machine, keep in mind that the difference between the fastest and slowest latency might result in 1 FPS difference. Also, the voltage can be either 1.65 or 1.5. However, if you were going to pick one, I would get the rated speed and Cas rating for LESS voltage than more. Should represent higher quality RAM. Minimal value getting faster than Cas8. I suppose it would matter what you are using the PC for.

I'm building mostly with gaming in mind. I'm not done shopping yet but overall it's going to look something like that :

Core i5 3570k
AsRock Z77 Extreme 4
GeForce 660Ti (or perhaps 670 depending on how much money is left)
8GB Ram
650W HX Corsair PSU
Some 120 GB SSD that I have yet to choose.


I was mostly looking at these 2 kits here.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...

and

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...

Since they are almost the same price, I guess I would be better off with the second kit, which are CAS 8. The timings are different, but then again I have no idea what timings are. Gonna assume it's nothing I should bother with.

Thanks for the warning about the power supply. I'd say that PSUs and memory are the two areas where I'm totally clueless when it comes to building computers, I think I might go with the 700W. I don't intend to get a second card in there for the next few months, but it's definitely something I'm looking forward to once I need to upgrade.

Also, thanks a lot for linking this ssd. Storage/performance/money wise it's really what I was looking for !

Get moduals with low profiles. The ones with large heat speaders often get in the way of good coolers. The extensive test on Toms state rather clearly that Ram timmings, overclocking ect. doesn't make a noticable difference in computing. Low profile at 1600 is all you really need. Look at the last big memory piece they did. It's real informative.

Uh, I didn't really think of that, I guess that's worth taking into account. I didn't intend to install an aftermarket cooler immediately as I won't be overclocking before a while. The stock performance of the CPU is likely gonna be enough for a while, but as time goes by I'm definitely gonna buy a cooler and OC the i5.

Good info, thanks.

There is a low profile Vengeance 8GB 1600MHz kit.

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Best answer selected by Arthan.