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Welcome to forum Tunnelrat789

tunnerlrat789,

Welcome to the AVADirect Forums! Impressive build indeed!

I did notice that you went with a non-K Intel CPU. I would assume overclocking is not one of your priorities. At the same time, I'm noticing a Z77 chip board which does allow overclocking. It would be pity to have the components that support overclocking but not get a overclockable CPU. My suggestion would be to go with the K variant CPU if your budget allows for it.

I agree with Joe, while not necessary, it's a good idea to stick with 1.5v RAM rated at 1600MHz. The reason for this is that Intel officially supports their CPUs when using memory that runs at 1.5v and 1600mhz. If you go beyond this range (which you can), they will not provide support for the CPU.

For our customers who like serious overclocking, this is not an issue. They will usually preffer faster memory and higher voltages. However if you're trying to stay as close as possible to the specs, it's best to stick with what the manufacturers recommend. The performance will not be reduced.

Finally, I'm not sure if you're aware of this but there are quite a few boards our there that come with WLAN chips already installed that come with antennas for signal boosts. This may be a cleaner way to add wireless functionality to your system without adding extra cards to your slot. Less cards generally means better airflow, and also your video card gets more room to breath.

Most of the integrated WLAN chips will support 802.11N if that's what you're going after. Some are removable while others are hard-soldered into the board. I prefer the ones that come with antennas, because there are a few that don't and their signal strength is not that great indoors and/or outdoors.