About Motherboards and Faster RAM

[CorgiParade]

I'm going to be running a system with integrated graphics for a while. I'm also going to be using a locked CPU because I have no intention of overclocking. I've heard things about DDR4 with higher frequencies helping integrated graphics to perform significantly better. This gets me kind of interested, but I have a few questions about the whole thing.

The first question: Would I need a Z170 board to take advantage of the help the faster RAM gives my processor/iGPU, or am I fine with an H170/lesser board?

The second question: Do I need to overclock my CPU to get my RAM to run at it's advertised speed, or is there another way I can do that?

The third question: Can somebody help me find a motherboard to use? I don't need a ton of features... I just need a motherboard that works, is able to handle 16GB of RAM (all of the new ones), with decent audio and fast Ethernet.

 

[svan71]

The XMP profile in bios will set ram speed, your onboard video will work at its highest speed without overclocking.

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-LGA1151-Intel-Motherboard-GA-H170M-D3H/dp/B012N6LM1Y/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1455861664&sr=1-10&keywords=z170

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3000MHz-PC4-24000-Memory/dp/B0134EW7G8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455861153&sr=8-1&keywords=ddr4+3000+16gb

 

[Snebbik]

The Z170 chip set is really only needed if you plan on overclocking your CPU, or if you need to have 20 PCIe lanes. You should take a look at this comparison chart to see the differences between the chip sets to decide which one would best fit your needs. Alternatively you could also give us more information about what the total build will be to give suggestions.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z170-H170-H110-B170-Q150-Q170---What-is-the-Difference-635/

As for the RAM you will set that via XMP profile in the bios, and when you look at motherboards they will say what ram they support and the speeds. 2133mhz is the default speed while anything above that would require you to set the XMP profile to use.

As for finding a motherboard that will come down to how much do you want to spend on the motherboard, and what form factor do you want it to be?

 

[CorgiParade]

The Z170 chip set is really only needed if you plan on overclocking your CPU, or if you need to have 20 PCIe lanes. You should take a look at this comparison chart to see the differences between the chip sets to decide which one would best fit your needs. Alternatively you could also give us more information about what the total build will be to give suggestions.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Z170-H170-H110-B170-Q150-Q170---What-is-the-Difference-635/

As for the RAM you will set that via XMP profile in the bios, and when you look at motherboards they will say what ram they support and the speeds. 2133mhz is the default speed while anything above that would require you to set the XMP profile to use.

As for finding a motherboard that will come down to how much do you want to spend on the motherboard, and what form factor do you want it to be?

Micro ATX or ATX is fine. Anything from $50 to $125.