2500k Motherboard and RAM Upgrade

[entropynz]

I am considering upgrading my system to a Core i5 2500k. I havn't been keeping up with CPU upgrades for about 3 years now and was wondering if these components are appropriate (or at least will work together).

I have chosen these components:
CPU: Core i5 2500k
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=14247

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4-B3 ATX LGA1155
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=15272

RAM:
http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Corsair-4GB-2x-XMS3-2GB-DDR3-1600MHz-DIMM-DOMINATOR-with-DHX--Connector/18267153/

or

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Kingston-HyperX-4GB-1600MHz-DDR3-Non-ECC-CL9-DIMM-Kit-of-2/18324972/

I'm not too sure on the RAM side of things.
Try not to flame me too much 😀

 

[danraies]

That is the processor you should pick if you can afford it.

The motherboard you picked is good for gaming and overclocking. It's a commonly recommended board with a pretty good reputation. Two other options in that price range are the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 and the ASRock Extreme4 Gen3. The Gigabyte you picked is a good choice, though.

The Dominator RAM that you linked is fine RAM but it's overpriced. The Kingston units that you linked are a good choice, though. You're looking for 1600mhz, 1.5V, and CAS Latency 9 - that's about the sweet spot for price vs. performance on Sandy Bridge. Most anything with those specs from Corsair, G.Skill, Mushkin, or Kingston will all be the same.

 

[entropynz]

Thanks for the quick reply! I wasn't too sure on the Kingston RAM because I was a bit wary of the low price. Not that i'm one to say that just because it is cheaper it isn't as good though!

So the Dominator RAM is probably not the best choice at 3 times the price of the Kingston RAM. If you were wondering why I am only after 4GB its because i'm still stuck on the ancient OS known as XP 😀 Since there is no "Upgrade" as such to windows 7 i'm not in the mood to try and get everything reinstalled the way I want 😀

Still the motherboard should be ok for future RAM upgrades when I finally bit the bullet and install a fresh windows 7.

 

[danraies]

4GB is plenty of RAM for most applications anyway, so don't worry too much about that.

Also, just to make sure you're clear on how it works - it's not that XP can only use 4GB or RAM and win7 can use more. It's that 32-bit operating systems (x86) can only use 4GB of RAM and 64-bit operating systems (x64) can use more. So in the future if you go to windows 7 and want to use more than 4GB or RAM make sure you get windows 7 64-bit.

 

[entropynz]

Thanks for th help danraies 😀

I'm ordering those components as we speak!

 

[entropynz]

Best answer selected by entropynz.