New gaming system components

[HungFrog]

Hi,

I’m building a new gaming system and am mapping out the components I’ll need. So far I have the following component list:

Core i7-3770K CPU

Asus Sabertooth Z77 (I like that it has 8 Sata ports, but am not a huge fan of that Thermal Armor)

3G 7970 Sapphire

16 GB G.Skill 2133MHz RAM (It’s the only brand and configuration confirmed to run at 2133MHz with 16 GB. I would prefer 2400MHz but it seem this can only be done with a maximum of 8GB of Corsair RAM according to http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1155/SABERTOOTH_Z77/SABERTOOTH-Z77-Memory-QVL.pdf)

Any hints/tips appreciated. Am I headed the right direction?

Regards,

HF

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

Just get 8gb ram also why not go with 1600mhz
Also, Do you need 8 sata ports?
I would get this it comes with 8gb ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130644

 

[HungFrog]

Just get 8gb ram also why not go with 1600mhz
Also, Do you need 8 sata ports?
I would get this it comes with 8gb ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130644

Hi, thanks for your reply.

That board you suggested looks like excellent value, but I can't purchase from newegg as I live in Australia.

I do need the 8 SATA. I currently have 4 x 640 GB Samsung drives in Raid 10 config. My OS is running on a 10000rpm Velociraptor, plus I have a 2 TB Toshiba drive (and may get a second), and then there's the optical drive. So currently that's 7 but I'll need to add another soon unless I alter the raid configuration.

I use 6 Gb of RAM on my current build and I'm a hardcore multi tasker who likes to play warcraft while I still have multiple browsers with dozens of tabs open, plus a lot of other software running in the background. I think the minimum RAM I will want is 12 GB but since RAM is cheap I figure that I should go with 16Gb and probably not need to upgrade my system for the next three years.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

My netbook has 2gb ram and an atom cpu, I can run 6tabs. It is slower. But I think that 8 is enough, most games don't even use 2gb. tabs use almost no ram at all. Like you can have about 20 tabs open an still be less than 1gb ram. Now if you feel that you still need 16gb ram, go with it, but I would do some research first. Also I would go with an i5 3570k, as long as you aren't doing hardcore rendering.

 

[HungFrog]

I posted a reply about the ram earlier, but it didn't work. In short, I'm already using more than 6Gb, so 8Gb will not be enough for long. I use Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver and a lot of other stuff.

With regards to the RAM, I’ve found a quad channel kit that is listed on the Asus Qualified Vendor List at http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1155/SABERTOOTH_Z77/SABERTOOTH-Z77-Memory-QVL.pdf but looking at a sales information page for it at http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_538_1301&products_id=18840 it says that it was designed for the X79 platform. I don’t think it matters, but I wanted to check because I’m building on the Z77 platform, most likely on a Z77 Sabertooth. I’m pretty sure this is a silly question, because it is DDR3 ram with 240 pins, but it would be a real pain if I get it shipped and it doesn’t work. Will this RAM work at 2133MHz with this motherboard and the Core i73770K?

My understanding of Extended Memory Profiles is that it means with specific makes of RAM you can run your RAM at a much higher MHz rating than is rated on the board. Is this by definition “overclocking”? Because I also read that if you overclock your RAM you cannot also overclock the CPU because doing so will wipe the EMP data and restore the motherboard defaults for RAM. I’m guessing that in this event the RAM would no longer be recognized and the system would fail to boot, right?

 

[bryonhowley]

I can't say what you are doing to use so much ram but I have Firefox open with 24 tabs I am editing files in Photoshop CS6 on one monitor and editing a mesh for Skyrim on my 3rd monitor with Firefox open on my center monitor playing a blu ray rip with mpc-hc on my 50" Panasonic Plasma and only using 3.15gig of ram out of 8gig. 16gig of ram is just overkill and not needed but it is your money so if you will be happy with it get it.

 

[jason0010]

I think you can try a new one.LED lights