Which used board and RAM to use? (Z97/DDR3)

[Master Skooter]

Hi

Feel a bit silly asking for help on three year old hardware, but it’s all I can afford and a good upgrade from my current Q6600!

In my quest to upgrade on the cheap I’ve ended up with the following boards and RAM & not sure which to use:

- Asus Maximus VII Gene
- Asus Maximus VII Ranger

I’ve read numerous reviews and the only difference (besides the size and numbers of ports etc) are the Gene powers the CPU socket useing
12 Phase DIGI+ VRM whereas the Ranger uses 8 Phase. The Gene also has a heat pipe between the northbridge heat sinks.

I don’t understand any of this but assume 12 is better than 8!?

The Ranger has onboard graphics which could be useful to troubleshoot video card issues and 6 audio outputs over the Gene’s 3 outputs.

I think the Gene may have red lighting under the heat sinks as per the Hero. It also has red accents on the board and NexFET MOSFETs??

- Corsair Vengeance, 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3, 1600MHz Dual Channel, 9-9-9-24 (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9)
- Avexir (Venom Series?) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 2133MHz? Dual Channel, speeds?(AVD3U21330904G-2CIG) - Green Light

I’d like to use whichever is better, assuming the Avexir? Could they be mixed? (4x 4GB)

These are being paired up with an 4690K and an R9 280. And either a Venom headsink with 120mm fan or a Crucial H110. Hoping to use the Crucial but trying to recall why my brother gave it away, the Venom will be my fall back.

If you read this far I thank you, if you have read this far and have advice I look forward to your views!

Cheers
Scott

 

[pastymuncher]

Neither board has onboard graphics as it is on the cpu itself now. The Gene has a HDMI port which will enable the cpu's onboard gpu to be used. The Gene is the better board. The Avexir memory is much faster than the Corsair and would be my preferred choice. You could probably use both kits but you would have to adjust the Avexir speed and timings down to match the slower Corsair's.

 

[Master Skooter]

Neither board has onboard graphics as it is on the cpu itself now. The Gene has a HDMI port which will enable the cpu's onboard gpu to be used. The Gene is the better board. The Avexir memory is much faster than the Corsair and would be my preferred choice. You could probably use both kits but you would have to adjust the Avexir speed and timings down to match the slower Corsair's.

@pastymuncher Thanks for your thoughts, I was leaning towards the Gene. Is it better as in would allow for a higher Overclock?

 

[pastymuncher]

On Haswell/Devils Canyon the cpu is the limiting factor not the motherboard. Unless doing extreme cooling such as LN2 or Phase a cheap motherboard will overclock just as well as a expensive one. My wifes £43 Gigabyte B85M-D3H overclocks my old 4670k to exactly the same clocks as my £100 more expensive Maximus Hero.