For a new system based on i7 940 I've more or less planned using Corsair XMS 1600. The builder however points out that only i7 965 will be able to fully utilise this rather expensive upgrade a (+150$) and suggest i stick with 1333 RAM.I expect - at some point - to to some moderate aircooledeOC'ing. (Scythe aftermarket cooler).Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

This is one of the expensive drawbacks of the i7s. You'll need that 1600Mhz capability to allow a decent overclock on the CPU. Intel (and their industry partners) have this platform pretty well wired-for-$$$. "No more 3.6Ghz, Q6600/DDR800' free lunch," they finally protagonized. Can't say I blame em. That was really too good to last.

If you don't plan to overclock the i7 940, 1333MHz DDR3 1,65V sticks will be fine.Go for 1600MHz if you plan to overclock.

The best DDR3 gaming ram. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145224CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB DDR3 1600-Vincent

I have the OCZ Gold 1600 8-8-8-24. When clocking the 940 the memory speed will need to increase as the BCLK is raised. This is all done thru multipliers tied to the BCLK. So by default without manually setting your ram timings and speed the 1600 ram would run slower than its rated speed. To get it to the rated speed you would need to set it manually. Because of all that the ram speed with my 940 OC to 4.07 ghz the ram wants to run at 1547. You can see why the 1600 ram is needed as if you had the 1300 you would not see a 4ghz OC. Go for the 1600 you wont be sorry and its not that much more than the 1333. This is a link to what I have and its now only $114.00http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820227365

Just built an i7 920 rig for my roommate using OCZ Platinum 1600 6GB tri-channel kit with 7-7-7-24 timings @ 1.65V. $150 on Newegg a couple weeks ago. Too bad they no longer list it.

For a new system based on i7 940 I've more or less planned using Corsair XMS 1600. The builder however points out that only i7 965 will be able to fully utilise this rather expensive upgrade a (+150$) and suggest i stick with 1333 RAM.I expect - at some point - to to some moderate aircooledeOC'ing. (Scythe aftermarket cooler).Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231240

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231240

The OCZ ram is on sale now for 89.00 with rebate and has a little faster timings and would save you 50 bucks. I would go for the 2000 ram but why when 4 ghz seems to be the max clock on air for now. I guess if you were going to cool with water the 2000 ram would make more sense.

Here's the OCZ Platinum 1600 7-7-7-24 at Newegg. I paid $179 back in January.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...=OCZ3P1600LV6GKOne note, can be difficult to run at 1600Mhz stable with 7-7-7-24 timings @ 4.0gzHz OC.(My experience that is, YMMV)

I thought I was starting a new topic. Sorry.

Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

You are asking about memory and overclocking, correct?