Total Novice Needs Help Building Super Computer

[deadpixel]

I am a TOTAL novice. I spoke to a techie who told me that the starting point pf building a PC is the processor so I went and got myself an intel core i7 3820 Quadcore chipset with LGA 2011. I believe this is an amazing Chip. Now i need a motherboard. On Monday I will buy the Asus Rampage IV Extreme. I have read that this one is the best out there at the moment and it has the same socket as the the chipset so i think this is a good combo. Please feel free to tell me otherwise. Next is the RAM. I have no clude what ram to buy or how many sticks I will need. This is where your advice comes in.
As you can tell, I am trying to buid a high spec/performance PC so what RAM is best. I have read RAM comes in 8,16 and 32GB sticks.

• I suspect that 32GB is probably the best? what brand?

It seems that Corsair Dominator 32 GB is the one everyone is talking about. Gskill Rip Jaws also seems to be a premium RAM

• Would I need four 32GB sticks?
• Will either Corsair Dominator 32GB and Gskills Z series fit into my mother board assuming i get the Rampage IV extreme?
• Is it possible to get too much RAM?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[xeromist]

*note* advertising not allowed on this forum so your signature was removed. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

As to the memory, yes Dominators would be a good choice. And yes it is in fact possible to get too much memory. You only need as much as you can fill at any one time. Any more than that and it will be completely wasted. What are you planning to do with the machine? For a gaming rig 8 is fine and 12 or 16 would be overkill, let alone 32. If you need space for RAM disk or virtualization then you could use a lot of memory but most people don't use them.

[chrsplmr]

This dont seem right .. If you are actually asking this. Please read a bit more.
Review other members signatures and consider the differences.
Then if you dont mind tell us what you want your rig to do .. use it for.
You will find no shortage of suggentions as to what will suit you best.

But 4 sticks of 32? Please investigate the basics first .. we will be here
all the way ... to help...

-- Welcome -- i do not wish to offend and I am sorry but this ... attemptedSPAM 1st degree ?
hope not OP.c.

[deadpixel]

@chrsplmr not spam. Genuine question. as I said, total novice and never built a rig before and new to forum so didnt know about links in sig. sorry wont do again.

@xeromist & chrsplmr
What do I want the rig for. The most hardcore activity I will occasionally do is probably Video editing. I’m not even a gamer but I don’t want to be restricted incase I choose buy a game. About 7 years ago gamers had dual core processers while the rest of the world got by on a single core. Gamers over clocked and used more ram than non-gamers. Now the general public use computers that, a few years ago, would have been considered gaming machines! But of course, these days, gamers are still ahead of the game. 4 years ago I could install the Adobe creative suite on a single core machine but now I cant because some applications require two core processors. What I want my rig for is the next ten years or more. I am future proofing. I want a lightning fast machine with no limitations that will be future proof for many years to come. I also want to build my first PC coz I reckon ill enjoy the project :-) with all the above in mind, am I on the right track with my i7 3820 and Rampage IV Extreme or should I get a different motherboard?

Can I ask as stupid question - you said that 8GB would be enough for gaming. What kind of computer activity would warrent a 12GB, 16GB or 32GB RAM chip if 8GB is enough for gaming?

Does 1x 32GB RAM chip have the same benefit as 4x8GB RAM chips?

No, I'm not planning on having a virtual RAM drive. I do plan on having a solid state drive where I can install the OS so that my PC can turn on and off at lightning speed.

[Arne Saknussemm]

total novice and never built a rig before

Everyone has been there!

Your processor and board match great. RAM can be difficult on the X79 if you choose badly to start.

Before you even start take a look at this thread. You need the right operating system to use over 16GB http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread...untry=&status=

If you want to set up a RAM disk etc. 64 GB is the maximum the board can run. If you're not into doing this kind of thing though, you wont even use 16GB most of the time (which is the typical size of the kits for this board). However if you want to fill the RAM slots ( just because you can ) 32 GB kits can be had.
The board runs what is known as quad channel RAM that is 4 sticks of RAM working together. It has 8 slots 2x quad channel . In theory you could get a kit of 8 sticks that give you 64 GB (8x 8 GB) this is hard to find and expensive. So you can run 2 quad channel kits together ( 2 kits of 32 GB still expensive). This is not plain sailing however and needs some level of knowledge to set up. In practice you should decide on the max RAM you want and get a single kit. You can find 32 GB sets of 8 x 4GB sticks (filling your slots) or 4x 8GB sticks filling one set of slots. (this way you could READ A LOT and buy an identical kit from same manufacturer in the future and run 64GB but as I said it is not guaranteed to be hassle free). More normal would be to buy a 16GB kit of RAM 4x 4GB. The one in my sig runs great but of course there are many others.

[Zka17]

"Can I ask as stupid question - you said that 8GB would be enough for gaming. What kind of computer activity would warrent a 12GB, 16GB or 32GB RAM chip if 8GB is enough for gaming?" - don't worry it's not stupid, it's rather interesting to see a lot of gamers going over 8GBs...

As I know (and may be wrong), today's games uses mostly the CPU and VGA, so 8GBs is fine for mainly gaming. Even if you're "not planning on having a virtual RAM drive", but you want to do video editing and, specially, run some of the Adobe Creative Suite's softwares - then you do need more then 8GBs! Those Adobe things are really memory-hungry applications... So if you have the cash for it (and you have to have it if you want a super computer!), I think, you should go with 16GB or 32GB. With more RAM your future games will likely run and you still can work on that pc...

I know, people said this before (just may worth to repeat): you need a memory kit. It will save you a lot of headaches... A memory kit contains several sticks/modules (4 of 4GB, or 4 of 4GB, maybe 4 of 8GB, 8 of 4GB - I think, you got the point). Each stick/module has the chips on it you've mentioned - but that's something you don't have to worry about, just focus on kits of X sticks/modules (X = 4 or 8).

You were also asking before if certain memory brands would fit in your system. Although, you perhaps wanted to know if those memories are compatible with the motherboard, the physical size of the sticks/modules also has some importance later on, when you want to cool the CPU. Certain air coolers are very big and overhangs the memory slots - you may want to think one more step ahead and decide what type of cooling you want...

[WhitePaw]

ahh some bad ass ram..

http://shopping.blocket.se/Corsair_D...f=Mzc2NjcxMzQ0

CMT16GX3M4X2133C9

This should work fine with the X79, and is good for some heavy OC.. 1,5v...

And the price tag is over-clocked as well.. haha

bur who caRes..........

Nice performance,, oh lala..............

mm, the x79 is kinda picky with the ram-sticks.........

Very often in here, people having issues with the system, due to a bad choice of ram..

aha 3820.. Hmm.. i thought u had the K or X...........sOOry

Look at other ram.. ignore me please....

[deadpixel]

The more answers I get from you PC building geniuses, the more questions I have :-S
Yes I have acquired the cash to spare! So far I have the cooler-master Silencio case. I have the intel core i7 3820 Quadcore chipset with LGA 2011. Within the last few minutes I have made an order for the Asus Rampage IV Extreme because Arne Saknussemm said my “processor and board match great”. Arne, to answer you question about OS, I plan to get windows 7 ultimate x64GB. Now the RAM is the next thing on my agenda. Sorry guys still confused :-( . Lots of amazing advice from Zka17. So I now understand that I need more than 8GB RAM chips and that I need a RAM kit! I now understand that I need to buy either one kit of 4 sticks or two kits or four sticks. Self professed neurotic grottslampan has me even more confused. So far I understand that I should go for Corsair brand. Here is what I need in no uncertain terms:

• How many Corsair Ram chips do you want me to buy?
• What caliber?

I dont know much, as i am a novice so dont want to end up in a really sticky stituation. Qute from Arne "So you can run 2 quad channel kits together ( 2 kits of 32 GB still expensive). This is not plain sailing however and needs some level of knowledge to set up" - I dont have knowledge. :-( Just tell me what I need to run the full creative suite smoothly for the next ten years without a hitch.
Thanks again, and sorry for being a novice.

Yours, Deadpixel

[Zka17]

As for start, you could check the compatible memory kits from the Asus Rampage IV Extreme's webpage...

Here is a 64GB (8X8GB) GSkill kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231513
a 32GB (8x4GB) GSkill: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231504
or two of these 16GB (4x4GB) Corsairs: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233230

These are just my first results after few clicks on the net... I think, the last one (Corsair) is the mostly suggested one.

As I said before, you have to think a little bit more ahead! What cooling you want to install? If you want water blocks on the memories, I would choose Corsair Dominators...

[Arne Saknussemm]

Just tell me what I need to run the full creative suite smoothly for the next ten years without a hitch

It's funny, Bill Gates was asking me this just the other day.....

"Bill" I said "in 2006 Creative suite 1.0 wanted 1GB RAM. In 2012 it wants 8GB...you're a smart lad work it out for yourself!"

He left muttering something about straight line or logarithmic.....

This is good for 32 http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=439
This for 16 http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=430

These kits are not tall like the corsairs and may save you problems with whatever heat sink.....