Need a little advice (P8Z77-I Dlx and RAM)

[nullface]

It has been 4 years since I looked at hardware the last time and I have lost some track of what is going on.

Up until now my 4.5Ghz E8400 has sufficed, but winter 2012 has been tough on it, and it has to retire.

I was pretty sure I wanted a P8Z77-I Dlx + 3570K combo, but after looking at it a little closer I'm not so sure anymore. Is the P8Z77-I Dlx worth it over GA-Z77N-WIFI? I'm not going to do crazy overclocks (obviously, ITX) but want a decent 24/7 oc.


Second, RAM. I have no clue what to go for, but I have a feeling RAM don't matter as much as they use to, and any decent speed ram will do, right?



Any other advice is most welcome!

[ZeroOne]

I have the non-wireless display model (P8Z77-i Deluxe) and a 3570k, w/ 16GB ram @ 1600. I will say this... memory does matter... at least with this board. Went through 5 separate sets (if you include 1 rma) of 2x8GB @ 1600 memory (3x Corsair Dominator @ 1600, 1x Gskill Ripjaws) and had problems passing LinX at stock speeds. Another more expensive (twice the price) Corsair Dominator Platinum 1866 set finally played nice with this board. There have been 3 bios updates in the last 2 months "improving system stability." 2x4GB @ 1600 of Corsair Vengeance memory never had an issue. I suspect compatibility with the 8GB dimms.

Just a heads-up. I love the board otherwise. The features are nice and very OC friendly, but it IS somewhat sad to have to spend so much time dialing in "stock." The chip is delidded and under water, running cold, and begging to be OC'ed. I wish I'd gotten the ~$160 Dominator Platinums for this board and not looked back, doing it right the first time. Over budget now and trying to make sure these plain dominators @ 1600 are finally stable. They appear to be at the moment. Scared to make any changes in the bios though, as that seemed to trigger the issues.