Well, gotta say, that looks like a fun motherboard for over-clockers. Unusual choice for a person new to computers tho! But gotta start somewhere!
Your motherboard and RAM seem well suited to each others. Key things to do to get it going.
You need some basic software to see if what you're doing is coming out right. A good program is CPUz from www.cpuid.com. It will show you clear info on your system - the motherboard and RAM mostly.
First off, you need to go into your BIOS and give it a good starting point - usually there's a choice called Optimal Defaults or something close to it. Choose that - it'll reset everything in BIOS to a known good starting point. Reboot and enter BIOS again.
Look for a setting to turn on XMP. This is a feature that lets your MB read the RAM and set it up correctly. If it works, then you're through. Go into CPUz and verify that it shows your memory is running at 1600 with CL / latency numbers that read in the 8's ... 8-8-8-24 .
For RAM, higher speed (MHz) is better, like 1600 vs 1333. And Latency is better when lower, 8 is better than 9.
The XMS is an extension of the SPD - the profile information located on your RAM modules. The SPD is listed in CPUz and shows the timings/latency of various speed settings. XMS is a way to read high-performance settings and set the BIOS to use them.
If turning on XMS doesn't bring the RAM to 1666/8, then you need to manually set the BIOS to a RAM voltage of 1.65V. Reboot and see how it looks then. If it shows as 1600 but lower timing numbers, then back to the BIOS to change those. With experience you'll learn your way around.
Good luck and enjoy your system. Hope this answers your questions.
Oh, your motherboard is a Rampage II Extreme. One way to get better help in the forums is to include links to your items, like:
http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=W7i5W4Pw4fH22Mih
http://www.corsair.com/_datasheets/TR3X6G1600C8D.pdf
Most of us will know enough about things like the cooler w/o info on it, more important that you have one! Same with the cpu, vista and that nice hard drive!