Some general questions (Thermal Paste, Compatibility)

[kamilstoch]

1. Is good thermal paste THAT important? Or will standard paste that comes with the Hyper 212 Evo do the trick?
2. Will the XFX 650W GOLD power a GTX 770 and an AMD FX-8320?
3. Will 2133mhz ram work with a M5a97 r2.0 board and the FX-8320?

Thanks everyone

 

[maddogfargo]

1) The paste that comes with it is decent. But if you want to find better, this is one of my fav round-ups:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermal-Compound-Roundup-February-2012/1490/5
I've used the Xigmatek PTI G3606 before. It is inexpensive, easy to work with and performs very well.
I also think Tom's did a thermal paste round up recently, and maybe even Frosty Tech. Worth checking those too.

2) That's a very good PSU and it should be enough. I personally prefer to over-spec a bit. If it comes in a 700 or 750w version and doesn't cost much more I'd suggest that. Keeps load in the efficiency sweet spot and runs cooler/quieter under load. But even at 650w you'll be fine.

3) Yes...according to the manufacturer's specs here: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97/#specifications That is a 970 series chipset board though, with 4.2 power phase. I'd recommend a 990FX chipset with an 8+2 power phase for the FX 8 core CPUs.

 

[kamilstoch]

Yeah, thing is I've already bought the PSU and it's at my house So don't really know why I'm asking lol. Do you think that special thermal paste has an effect on temps? By how much? Would I be fine with standard?