2133Mhz RAM in ASUS Maximus V Gene

[TSSPat]

I'm starting my first HTPC build this week and have a quick question that hopefully one of you can answer for me .

For starters here is my build:

Case: Silverstone Grandia GD06 HTPC Case
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
PSU:
MB: Asus MAXIMUS V GENE Z77
RAM: G.SKILL 16GB DDR3 2133 (4 x 4GB)
SSD: Corsair Force 3 Series 180GB
HD: 3 x Western Digital Red 3TB
BD: LG CH12LS28


I am looking at G.SKILL 16GB DDR3 2133 (4 x 4GB) to use as my RAM on the ASUS Maximus V Z77.
Will this just be plug and play or if not what exactly do I need to do in order for the RAM to use the full 2133Mhz?



MoBo:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/Maximus_V_GENE/

RAM:
http://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Ripjaws-240-Pin-Desktop-F3-17000CL11Q-16GBZL/dp/B00694IKUI/ref=sr_1_53?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1356674229&sr=1-53


Oh and, Is this even a good choice a RAM to get price and performance wise for $120.00?

 

[TSSPat]

Oh and, Is this even a good choice a RAM to get price and performance wise for $120.00?

 

[Guest]

anything above 1600 RAM (edit: in an intel rig) only makes a difference in benchmarking, hardly any in gaming and absolutely nothing for an HTPC.

no offence but those are rather over the top choices for a cpu and motherboard; why not a nice little i3 and H77 motherboard?

 

[TSSPat]

I should have pointed out that this Rig is meant for gaming as well as media storage.
I thought I'd give the Intel HD4000 graphics a try before buying a discrete GPU therefore the fast the RAM speed the better the onboard graphic. Im not looking to max the game settings out as I know it would be impossible on this build.

 

[TSSPat]

Again though, If this is overkill, or a complete waste of money and a better and less expensive way to build is is possible PLEASE let me know haha!

 

[jaquith]

I should have pointed out that this Rig is meant for gaming as well as media storage.

I concur with @looniam's comments, and for either 'gaming' or especially as an HTPC you won't notice any difference in performance; 8GB (2x4GB) is all you need for either applications. Worst is >DDR3-1866 which only adds instability from an increased error rate.

Ideally, either match your CPU's 'rated memory frequency' or one step above, and increase the densities or amount of RAM if used for post rendering (e.g. Video editing, 3D Rendering, Databases, etc).

Changes:
1. If for Rendering then change to an i7 or better LGA 2011 6-core i7. It's all about cores and hyper-threading which the i5's lack.
2. If for gaming then add a Discrete GPU or GPU(s) e.g. GTX 670/HD 7970 or whatever your current and future games might require. Forget your iGPU for anything HD (1920x1080).

/edit - while I appreciate the (K) CPU's they have no business in an HTPC. The reason is simple --- noise --- and OC'ing an HTPC makes no common sense. I have a house filled with HTPC's and ideally I prefer as passive a systems as possible; passive CPU HSF, no fan or 50%+ load (fan) PSU, lower RPM HDD, etc. There's nothing worst than a movie (media) competing for 'sound' levels. So for a CPU I'd consider either an AMD APU A10-5700 (better iGPU) or Intel i5-3450S/3470S for use in an HTPC.

 

[TSSPat]

Best answer selected by TSSPat.