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Started by Tweed | | 4 answers
Choosing a Memory card help? And PC building Help
Hey so I'm building a gaming PC and I'm having trouble figuring out a good memory. I've researched that there isn't much of a difference between 1600 and 1866 mHz. of RAM. Im choosing between Corsair Vengeance or G. Skill Ripjaw. But I need to decide between 1600 or 1866. Advice?
Here are my parts so far:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K8Kxxr
And if there are any other parts I could save money or change, could you help and let me know?
On PcPart picker, it also says in the compatibility notes "Some Intel Z87 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Haswell Refresh CPUs." What does this mean? Do I need to fix anything in my build?
Thank you in advance :D 
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a b K Overclocking
a b 4 Gaming
a b } Memory
August 17, 2014 10:59:00 PM

Here is a non-overclocking build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PERFORMANCE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($81.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $790.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-18 01:58 EDT-0400

You could get a B series for this build but the XFX is far superior for only a little more money.
a b K Overclocking
a b 4 Gaming
a b } Memory
August 17, 2014 10:51:00 PM

If your goal is gaming this build will be far better.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.67 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($81.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $850.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-18 01:45 EDT-0400

It has a CPU cooler for overclocking (if you will not be overclocking let us know so we can change the build). The PSU is much better. The CX series has cheap capacitors so it's not very good, the EVGA B series is a solid budget PSU, but it's not made for overclocking. The WD Black is a nice HDD but not necessary in a budget build and I added a much better GPU. Going to the 300R is not a bad idea if you don't mind spending a few extra $$. Both are excellent value cases.
a b K Overclocking
a c 206 4 Gaming
a c 92 } Memory
August 17, 2014 10:40:06 PM

the r300 only a few inches bigger but it be an easer build for you. (more room to work with in the case.). with a gaming pc make sure the power supply is larger then you need. (12v rail) cpu plus the max gpu voltage then add 100w. also with power supply make sure like the 600b is haswell tested. haswell has a low power sleep state. a lot of the older unit cant go that low. and if you turn on that sleep state yur pc would shut off. I would get the newer z97 replacment of the same mb if it the same cost. if not that mb has asus usb flash back port on it. with just back up power and a usb stick yu can update the bios. for your ram the gskill aries 1866 is 81.00. right now micro center has some 1600 ram that in the 70.00 price point.

Best solution chosen by Tweed

a b K Overclocking
a c 206 4 Gaming
a c 92 } Memory
August 17, 2014 10:33:50 PM

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DbXdGX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DbXdGX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.67 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Vapor-X Video Card ($199.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($46.13 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $797.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-18 01:33 EDT-0400

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