Motherboard/CPU + RAM support and overclocking?

[Sammii]

Hi! :)

I'm referring to the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5. I've numbered the different sections of my questions :D

Okay so...
1. On the motherboard specs it says "Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules".
On the memory support list there are 1600MHz and 2000MHz modules listed.

I emailed Gigabyte support and they replied with:
"About the issue you mentioned, due to the spec of MB, if you used a 1600MHz or 2000MHz memory module, it will be downgraded to 1333MHz."

Now, I guess my question is...
I've heard about this RAM overclocking to get RAM to run at a speed higher than what the motherboard has defaulted to.

Is this what I would have to do in this scenario to make it run at 1600/2000?
Or is it not possible and the RAM will just run at 1333? In this case, I might as well save money and buy slower RAM...


2. Also, on the i7 950...under the CPU specifications: Intel® Core
Memory Types DDR3-800/1066

Does that mean that RAM will only run at 1066 at the fastest? Or is that just the recommended types. Again, is there a way of overcoming this (assuming the cpu will bottleneck the RAM)?


3. On another note...Is it possible to use 3 dual channel kits or 3/6 single channel kits instead of one triple channel kit for triple channel RAM? I'm not sure if there's something special about triple channel kits or if they're just 3 identical RAM sticks.


4. Last question, does it all even matter? I'm not planning to overclock my computer so will I even notice the difference between 1066 and 2000 MHz RAM during normal use/gaming/photoshopping?


Sorry for the rather newbish questions. I've never had to deal with all this before and trying to Google this information proves to be very complex :P

[Starage]

1 You should be able to set 1333. It is all in the bios. The multiplier for the ram is unlocked on 1366 systems. I have 1333 ram and 3 different boards, all of them will run 1333 no problem.
2 Don't worry about the 800/1066 specs, a board like yours that is not an issue.
3 Long as the ram is of i7 then 3 dual kits will work, but it will cost less to get a triple kit than 3 dual kits. There is 6gb and 12gb triple channel kits at a good price at 1333 speed. Better off to run 3 sticks vs 6.
4 No, get the lowest cost ram with cas 7 or 8. Every day users will never notice a difference from 1066 - 2000. 1866 or higher will require more than stock cooling. Getting to 2000 is not any easy thing to do.