I am now finally diving back into the Windows world since it just makes more sense cost and performance wise for what I do. I am a Visual Effects Professional, that has been thrown back into the freelance world a number of months ago and no longer has access to the good network of machines that my office had sadly. I am in the process of building a dedicated smoke and fire simulation Windows machine. The software setup is as such:

- Windows 8.1

- Cinema 4D R17 (have a free upgrade to R18 in Sep.)

     -- X-Particles 3

     -- Nitro Vertex

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/X99%20Extreme63.1/?cat=Memory&Model=X99%20Extreme6/3.1&Vendor=G.Skill

I am not seeing this DDR4 3200 RAM in the list and was wondering if the list is up to date. Obviously I don't want to buy the wrong stuff. The priority being the amount of RAM. I want 64GB or higher, so I am open to suggestions for better RAM options if there are any.

The other question being the M.2 Sata3. I was not seeing the Samsung 1TB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820147567) listed in the X99 manual (the print could be outdated), but also was not finding any mention of it on the AERock storage page either.

Thanks for any help or feedback.

The G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory config I had chosen apparently is not compatible according to G.Skill's RAM configurator. Only these configurations are:

Still trying to confirm the Samsung 1TB M.2 Sata3 SSD though. The 512 is listed in the mobo manual, so I would assume the 1TB would work, but compatibility in the tech world of today is ridiculously fragile. Annoying so at times. I will update if I find the answer on this one too.

Thanks for the detailed feedback parsec, I appreciate it very much. This has been a trying journey for me trying to figure this all out.

I did read something similar about the bios during my research, and general info on flashing the bios if it is older. From the "how-to" posts I've seen, I felt comfortable enough to do such things if needed.

parsec wrote: FYI, Broadwell-E processors like yours support DDR4 memory speeds of up to 2400 by Intel's specification. Any memory speed above 2400 is a memory over clock, and not guaranteed. http://ark.intel.com/products/94456/Intel-Core-i7-6950X-Processor-Extreme-Edition-25M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz" rel="nofollow - http://ark.intel.com/products/94456/Intel-Core-i7-6950X-Processor-Extreme-Edition-25M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz DDR4 3200 speed memory is not plug and play on any X99 system. Using eight DIMMs at 3200 will be a challenge at best, and in most cases impossible. It will also likely require the use of a non-standard BCLK setting of 125MHz, which also affects the CPU speed, which must be compensated for by adjusting the CPU core multipliers in the UEFI. Any DDR4 3200 memory will operate at lower speeds, the default speed will be either 2133 or 2400. The real world usefulness of DDR4 memory above 2666 is very small.

I will keep an eye on this then as I've already pulled the trigger on the RipJaw 4 2666. I did not previously catch the limit of 2400 on that proc. I do not plan on any over clocking as I wanted to keep things "stable". I may be exchanging these when they arrive.

parsec wrote: The Noctua NH-U9S CPU cooler is just adequate for your CPU, certainly not with any over clock.

Definitely not planning on over clocking.

parsec wrote: Your choice of PC case baffles me. It has many 3.5" drive bays/cages, that frankly reduce airflow through the case to a great degree. Yet you are using an M.2 SSD, is that the OS drive? The drive cages can be removed, or partially. The 5.25" optical drive bays are only useful if you use an optical drive. I can also assure you that the large 200mm fan in the front of the case won't provide good airflow to two 1080's in SLI. They are fine as exhaust fans, not fighting any obstacles, but as an intake fan through vents and filters, they don't work well. Your main concern will be getting the heat from those cards out of the PC case, without their heated air being used to "cool" your CPU.

As far as the case goes, it came down to a few things. One, it seemed to be able to house everything I was planning on getting, and allowed for some future growth. Two, I got sick and tired of looking at cases for a month. From what I read on the case, the cages were modular and could be left out. Giving more room for the longer Titan cards. I was not planning to keep all the cages in the case. I did add two 200mm top fans, and two 120mm bottom fans to my list as well. I think there is room for another hinged one to face the cards directly if I recall.

parsec wrote: As a first build, you have chosen a non-beginners platform. You seem to have some experience, but I strongly suggest you study your board's manual.

I'm am completely new to building PC's, but have contacts with a few people who have built them before, but not as professionals. They have been my starting point of information.

Thankfully I am very tech minded person, and learn things decently fast (usually). I was a Technical Director in VFX for a good 4+ years, and have worked in post for over 16 years. Most of that though has been in a Mac world. With mostly end user software knowledge of PC, versus hardware knowledge. Outside of graphics cards that is.

I truly appreciate all of the help you provided here. I'll update here as things progress. Hopefully well. :)

I did end up returning the G.Skill RipJaw 4 2666 RAM and replace it with G.Skill RipJaw 4 2400 to better match the processor spec.