First time Builder (Gaming Rig)

[ArioR]

Originally Posted by 3.0charlie

Overclocking? If yes, then you must have an aftermarket cooler. The stock Intel will get you nowhere.
Not? Then why buy an unlocked CPU?
Ram-wise, you will see an improvement using 2 ram sticks (Dual Channel), over a single stick.

All valid points, which have been considered - I chose these to leave a bit of room for improvement as a "down the road" sort of upgrade, OC when I get some more dough to drop into it, max 8GB per slot, so go with one stick of 8 for now, add in as necessary.

[great_big_abyss]

Much better to go with 2 sticks of 4GB RAM and get dual channel functionality right from the get go. It's the same price as 1 stick of 8GB, but you'll get boatloads more performance right off the hop. If you want to add more RAM, you can always get another 2x4GB in the future and populate the 3rd and 4th RAM slots. That will give you a total of 16GB of RAM. I mean really, how much RAM do you think you'll need?

And, if you're not going to listen to the advice of people like 3.0 Charlie in this matter, why did you even bother coming here?

BTW, the best CPU cooler is often the cheapest. Case in Point, the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is between $25-$30, and that buys you all sorts of 'free' overclocking headroom.

[ArioR]

Alrighty, I'll adjust to suit. I went out and bought a 212+ as well actually, bday present for a new-builder pal of mine.

[edhahaha]

Try to grab a 7870 tahiti le, or if price is a concern , go with a lower end 7850 ~$150 ish ,and a ssd is amust. .not just faster boot time , but you won't regret going for a ssd