Asus p8z68 vpro with i5 2500k new build help would be appreciated

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Hello to every one,
I just picked up asus p8 z68 vpro mother board and i5 2500k today
Was just wondering which ram i should choose
budget under $200.00 (canadian)
so far through my own research I have heard that 1600mhz is the sweet spot for sandy bridge ram is higher mhz worth it im not sure this is my first build
i was confused by the asus qvl so i could not find any sticks that were on it most sticks were 2 gb sticks on the qvl and i was looking for 4 gb sticks?
I intend on gaming mostly this build is for SWTOR but i will play other games
will i need more than 8gb of ram?
preferred stores ncix.com newegg.ca or newegg.com i do live close to us boarder and have a post box there but prefer to buy from canadian site easier and also i can pick up from ncix

will most likely over clock because this interests me, will be air cooled however not water

build parts purchased already:
case nzxt phantom (black) picking up soon i ordered it and paid just waiting for ncix to email to pick it up
mouse g700
key board g510
i5 2500k
asus p8 z68 v pro

parts considering
cpu cooler: prolimatech megahalems rev b
psu: corsair ax 850w ( would i need 1200w?) reasons gold rating and fully modular
gpu: 2X ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU Top OC 900MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ DDR5 2xDVI HDMI PCI-E DX11 Video Card in sli

unknowns
fan controller posibly needed?
120mm fans for push pull on cpu cooler
extra case fans ( i heard only nzxt fans fit? if im wrong i would prefer to replace fans with ones with higher airflow)
1X 140mm front
2 X 200mm ( one is included but i may replace it depending on feed back)
3 X 120mm (included but once again may replace)
1 X 230mm/200mm side i heard if you have tall cpu cooler will not fit 200x200x30 but can fit 200x200x20 just read that today
and my biggest dilemma of the moment Ram $200.00
hard drives
ssd budget $150.00 sizes and speed( z68 uses ssd in conjunction with hard drive i believe correct me if i am wrong)
monitors buget $400.00

if i am missing any information so as to get the best help from every one please let me know i will respond asap because i wish to finish my build this week

 

[geofelt]

For most users, 8gb(2 x 4gb) is the sweet spot for ram.
If you are a very heavy multitasker, or run 64 bit enabled apps, then perhaps more is good.
The current Intel nehalem and sandy bridge cpu's have an excellent integrated ram controller. It is able to keep the cpu fed with data from any speed ram.
The difference in real application performance or FPS between the fastest and slowest ram is on the order of 1-3%.

Synthetic benchmark differences will be impressive, but are largely irrelevant in the real world.

Fancy heat spreaders are mostly marketing too.

Only if you are seeking record level overclocks should you consider faster ram or better latencies.
Read this Anandtech article on memory scaling:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/1
---------------bottom line------------

DDR3 1600 is the sweet spot.

You want documented ram compatibility. If you should ever have a problem, you want supported ram.
Otherwise, you risk a finger pointing battle between the ram and motherboard support sites, claiming "not my problem".
One place to check is your motherboards web site.
Look for the ram QVL list. It lists all of the ram kits that have been tested with that particular motherboard.
Sometimes the QVL list is not updated after the motherboard is released.
For more current info, go to a ram vendor's web site and access their ram selection configurator.
Enter your motherboard, and you will get a list of compatible ram kits.
While today's motherboards are more tolerant of different ram, it makes sense to buy ram that is known to work and is supported.

I use the prolimatech megahalems. It is very good and easy to install. I use an undervolted push fan, and it is quiet and sufficient with a 2600K @4.0. That said, I am not certain that the extra cost is worth it compared to the Xigmatek gaia or cm hyper212 at half the price.

I would at least start with the case stock fans. It is easy to add or replace them later, and your parts are not particularly hot. If you replace whit higher airflow fans, you will also increase the noise level. Same with a fan controller. Personally, I like the steady drone of fans to a changing noise. If things get a bit toasty under load, so be it. The parts are built to tolerate heat.

850w is appropriate for sli GTX560ti. Gold is good in a small case to reduce heat, but not normally worth it.

I would use a ssd for everything if it will hold everything. The Z68 cache capability is best used with a special 20gb ssd that is optimized for the purpose. If you use a ssd for the os and some games, I would not bother with the Z68 ssd capability to cache the overflow hard drive.

 

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even after reading the qvl for the 3rd time tonight there is slim pickings for compatable 4gb 1.5v 1600 mhz sticks

 

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http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PRO/#MSL

 

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most of the recommended sticks are also 1.65v i thought sb ram was only supposed to be 1.5v?

 

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i appreciate that article thank you it was very interesting

 

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going to the ram vendor sites helped alot thanks geofelt
here are some compatible kits

16 gb kits from ram vendors qvl
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=62313&vpn=CML16GX3M4A1600C9B&manufacture=Corsair

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=66892&vpn=F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL&manufacture=G%2ESkill
(these sticks are red which does not match color scheme which i could live with also not low profile)

8gb kits lower cas also on ram vendors qvl

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58099&vpn=F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM&manufacture=G%2ESkill

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=57077&vpn=CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8&manufacture=Corsair

any thoughts on this ram, as to which is the best

 

[geofelt]

I think I would go with the 16gb Corsair kit. Low heat spreaders are good. They are really not needed with 1.5v ram, and the low profile will not be a problem with any cpu cooler you might want to use.

It is also the lower cost. In general, more ram helps performance more than faster ram or lower latencies.

 

[bwf1975]

i also have asus p8z68 board and am using these with voltages dropped to 1.55v, and tested overnight to check for errors.
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=55445&vpn=CMX8GX3M2A1600C9&manufacture=Corsair

 

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http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=31&post=334294&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0
the finished product