the i7-4790k supports 1600 RAM BUT MY MOBO THE ASUS "X97 A" SUPPORTS HIGHER SPEEDS!!

[hasson94]

WHAT SHOULD I CHOOSE?A KIT OF 1866 SPEED OR STICK TO 1600? AND CAN I BUY SEVERAL 4GB STICK INSTEAD OF A KIT?
NOTE THAT MY BUILD CONSISTS OF X97-A AND THE I7-4790K

 

[JobCreator]

The motherboard will support higher speeds through overclocking. Check the motherboard specs and anywhere it give a RAM speed with "(O.C.)" after it means it's not a native speed for the motherboard and you would have to overclock your CPU in order to attain that RAM speed.

 

[Derza10]

You can get faster ram. I would look for ram that is cas 9 or lower AND 1866 or higher, Something like this would be good:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $46.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-04 15:55 EDT-0400

Or if you want 16gb of ram:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $89.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-04 15:56 EDT-0400

 

[hasson94]

AHA THANKS BUT I DIDNT GET IT?WILL THE 1866 WORK FINE?
AND IS BUYING A KIT PERFORM BETTER THAN BUYING SEVERAL IDENTICAL STICKS OF RAM?

 

[mrmike_49]

buy kits, they are matched for performance. Buying random sticks may not work together

 

[Derza10]

You should really buy a kit and put them in the 1 and 3 slot OR 2 and 4 slot for dual channel.