JuTheBarbarian

I FIGURED IT OUT! Apparently my cpu bracket was screwed on just a little too tight .... So I loosened it and now I have 16gigs of RAM! WOOT!

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately however there seems to be no Single / Dual Channel RAM setting in the bios and reseting the bios did not fix things. Also I don't beleive my motherboard has a "memory OK!" button on it. Thanks again for the reply though!

Hey everyone I hope you're having a great day! So I build my first PC just a few days ago and I'm having an issue with one of the RAM sticks not being detected. I have a Mini-itx motherboard, so it only has two ram slots and I've tried troubleshooting to see if the ram or the motherboard are defective. To do this I tried both Ram sticks by themselves, I tried them in both slots by themselves and I tried switching their positions in the motherboard. What I found out was that both RAM stick work and both slots work, they simply don't both work at once. I also learned that it's not an issue with windows because in the bios my computer only detects one stick of RAM as well. I was wondering if anyone here knew how to fix this issue because after combing google for information I found nothing that has helped me. Here's my parts list : Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor Deepcool CAPTAIN 120 91.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory Crucial MX300 750GB 2.5" Solid State Drive MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card Thermaltake Core V1 Snow Edition Mini ITX Tower Case SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit I also converted an external Seagate 5tb HDD into an internal one, but the problem existed before I did that so I don't think that's an issue. Anywhoo, if anyone has any advice on this matter it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks soo much for reading, and God Bless!

I feel like Dragon Age Inquisition might be a great game to compare graphics with.

Just upgrade your GPU and add at least another 4gb of RAM (bump it up to 16gb if you can afford it) is what I'd say. I hear that is a great CPU so no problems there.

They're both good platforms for gaming, it just depends on both your uses and your choice of graphics card solutions. The best for straight gaming right now is the z97 platform, simply because the 4790k is probably a faster consumer grade processor and gaming does not really need more than 4 cores (a heavily modded Skyrim might, however you have to mod it to use more than two cores in the first place methinks. And plus I think it can still run smoothly on 2 cores). However, the PCI lanes offered by the z97 I think are only good enough to support 2 graphics cards efficiently (which is fine by me due to the deminishing returns that the come with using more than one graphics card, as well as the efficiency in video game SLI profiles that leave some games basically unable to be run in SLI [ie, the latest Tomb Raider reboot may give you the same amount of performance increase with every new card you throw at it, but I think the SLI profile for Watchdogs actually gives you no performance boost whatsoever for running the game on more than one card). The reasons for a gamer to choose the x99 platform right now are as follows. If you want to render a video while screen-casting or stream game footage at the same time as running a game, then you'll probably need the x99 platform. Also if you are really adamant on using more than 2 graphics cards, regardless of what I see as a major gamble as far as gaming performance goes, then you'll also probably want the x99 platform. So in short if your just gonna play a game and maybe watch a video or have a browser open in the background, then choose the z97 platform because it is faster and way better from a straight gaming prospective. However, if you want to have the ultimate in multitasking capabilities, as well as 3 or 4 graphics cards running in your system then the x99 platform is a better platform to go with. I personally would choose a single graphics card system on the z97 platform for gaming mostly because I wouldn't want to spend 630$ on an extra graphics card and wonder if a game is even gonna be able to use it, and plus there's just not enough support for 4k gaming and computing for me to want to invest in it just yet. However, if you want to play games at 4k you'll need at least 2 high end graphics cards to help get the game to a smooth fps (meaning 4k for a game with a poor SLI profile like watchdogs is probably not gonna happen until they fix the SLI profile, if they ever decide to fix it). I could also be wrong about some of the things I just typed out, but from all of the study I have put into computing this is simply the answer I have come up with. So, the choice is yours and I hope I helped!

I like the led effects on the amp extreme. Plus the low power usage of the GTX 900 series makes gaming M-ITX builds more viable than ever! Unless you are on a tight budget I simply see no real reason for someone to chose anything but the GTX 900 series right now from a gamer's prospective.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg) CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Cooler ($46.54 @ Amazon) Thermal Compound: Innovation Cooling Diamond "7 Carat" 1.5g Thermal Paste ($6.20 @ Amazon) Motherboard: MSI Z97M Gaming Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($104.99 @ Amazon) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($104.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($649.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.20 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.20 @ Amazon) Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($549.98 @ NCIX US) Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($549.98 @ NCIX US) Case: Aerocool DS-Cube Blue MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($122.64 @ Newegg) Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($169.99 @ Amazon) Optical Drive: Archgon CB-5021-GB Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($109.99 @ Amazon) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (32/64-bit) ($170.99 @ Adorama) Case Fan: NZXT FZ-200mm LED 103.0 CFM 200mm Fan ($15.99 @ Mwave) Case Fan: Aerocool DS 120mm Blue 81.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($11.83 @ NCIX US) Case Fan: Aerocool DS 140mm Blue 93.4 CFM 140mm Fan ($11.83 @ NCIX US) Case Fan: Aerocool DS 140mm Blue 93.4 CFM 140mm Fan ($11.83 @ NCIX US) Other: Bitfenix Alchemy White LED Strip ($21.45) Total: $3304.59 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 09:48 EDT-0400 I want this one!

If you're building a gaming rig go with z97. If you're building an editing and rendering rig, then go for the x99 for the extra cores. That's about it as far as I can see. Z97 gives better gaming performance, while x99 is better for professional applications like 3d rendering and video editing.... Either way you go, your rig should be pretty "future-proofed." Just because skylake comes out soon, doesn't mean that programs that require it's promised performance and features are anywhere near release. In fact, programmers and game creators tend to enable their programs to run on low end PCs when they create their programs and games in order to attract a bigger consumer base (not everybody has a 4,000$ super computer, but more probably have something in the 600-1,200$ range). So as long as you get something that is current gen it should last you a good long while. So my recommendation is this. If you're going to use the computer for more professional applications such as rendering and video editing, or even playing games while recording game-play or streaming to twitch tv, then I'd recommend the x99 platform with a 4930k processor. However if you're simply building a rig for nothing but gaming and not much else I'd go with the z97 platform with a 4790k processor, as it still outperforms the shiny new x99 platform in gaming performance. So those are my recommendations, and either way you go your computer should last a good long while regardless of the skylake release. And I wouldn't doubt that once skylake is released, people would be telling you to wait for the next big release in the computing world. It's just how the computer market grows. I once heard a joke that once you buy a fancy new computer, you may as well throw it in the trash because it's already out-dated. Anywhoo, I hope I helped, and Happy Building!!!

Well that Gaming 7 is better, and the Gaming 9 is even better than that. However, each one is in an increased price bracket which is why I suggested the Gaming 5. But in the end it's your choice whether or not you want to grab those extra features and such....

I'd get the MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard. It's the newer version of the motherboard and has MSI's updated versions of the features. Plus it's only like 20$ more so you may as well get that one instead of the out of date one....

Oh, woops! PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.98 @ OutletPC) CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX-R CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Newegg) Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($146.98 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($81.99 @ NCIX US) Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.20 @ Amazon) Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US) Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Micro Center) Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ Amazon) Total: $1319.10 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-29 12:37 EDT-0400 Sorry, I remembered to change the LED after I put the bb-code in so you got the version without the different cooler srry. Lol Anyways! Glad I could Helps! HAVE FUN!

Here's what I'd go with for this build. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg) CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg) Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($147.99 @ Newegg) Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg) Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.20 @ Amazon) Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ NCIX US) Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ Amazon) Total: $1283.12 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-29 10:55 EDT-0400 I didn't change much, and technically your build was fine the way it was. However, I felt that the colors of your parts were a bit mismatched (this is kinda important when you use a case with a giant window like the h440). The first thing I changed was the motherboard. I chose an MSI Z97-Gaming 5. It's a gaming oriented board that makes overclocking very easy. The board also has enhanced audio, surround sound support, and support for SLI if you decide you want to add another graphics card in the future. When choosing the MSI board with that Intel processor, it looks like you also get a 25$ discount for buying them together so that's nice. Plus it's black and red, which matches your case and graphics card. I also changed you RAM to 2 G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4gb sticks (for a total of 8gb of 1866mhz RAM). I chose 1866mhz because it seems to be a happy spot for gaming as far as ddr3 RAM goes. Plus it's red so it should match your overall color scheme. Also, you get an 18$ discount for buying it with your case so your essentially getting better RAM for less money. The last thing I changed was the cooler, but that was simply because I decided to replace the blue led version of that cooler with the red led version (although, if you don't mind going with a blue led on your cpu cooler I think it's about 10$ cheaper). So yeah, those are the things I changed. Now this build is not only color coordinated, but you have better parts for just a single penny more due to the discounts you get for buying things together. I hope this helped, and Happy Building!

Lol, when I was putting together a different build I discovered that that version does in fact have an LED. That particular model's LED is blue, but if you'd prefer a red LED, just replace the B at the end of the name with an R...

If you're gonna go with that case, an NVIDIA card would be best, simply because Radeons get really hot and really loud. That case probably won't let a 290x breath very well without the stock (or any blower type) cooler, and by what I hear those have been comepared to leaf-blowers on Radeons. You could try the Areocool Dead Silence M-ATX case. It's small, but is also large enough to house the Radeon r9 295x2, or even 2 r9 290x cards in crossfire. However, if you were gonna go with a 2 card solution I'd go with 2 GTX 980s from NVIDIA. They'll have plenty of power for 3 monitor gaming, they'll generate a lot less heat (meaning you won't be sweating while playing games in summer), and I'm pretty sure you can get 2 of them for a lot cheaper than buying a Radeon r9 295x2. Just make sure you stick with the stock coolers on the NVIDIA cards (don't worry by what I hear they're fairly quiet), so the cards can breath happily and stay cool.