Intel Core i7-3770k, 3.50GHz, 8MB Cache
MSI Z77A-G45
MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC PE, 1079Mhz, 2GB 6.0Ghz DDR5
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M
Corsair Vengeance LP (Blue), 8GB 2x4GB, DDR3-1600MHz, CL9-9-9-24
Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green 64MB Cache 3.5in HDD
OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5in SATA3 Sandforce SF-2281 SSD
MSI Z77A-G45
MSI GeForce GTX 670 OC PE, 1079Mhz, 2GB 6.0Ghz DDR5
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M
Corsair Vengeance LP (Blue), 8GB 2x4GB, DDR3-1600MHz, CL9-9-9-24
Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green 64MB Cache 3.5in HDD
OCZ Agility 3 120GB 2.5in SATA3 Sandforce SF-2281 SSD
Hello escapists. Recently I built a new rig from scratch, and while the computer has been running great, I'm only now just discovering that my RAM is operating at 1333MHz, rather than 1600MHz.
I'm using an MSI board, and when I go into the BIOS I can enable MSIs "OC Genie II", and this will set the RAM to the expected 1600MHz. While this isn't the end of the world, it's my understanding that my RAM should be operating at 1600MHz natively without having to overclock the whole system... And I don't want to overclock my system just to get my RAM to run at its (what I'm pretty sure is) native operating frequency.
I'm not exactly an enthusiast pc builder, but I'm still relatively tech savvy, as well as being a quick learner and I'm more than capable of getting my hands dirty. So if anyone can help to direct me to a solution, I'd be grateful. (Also, I'm not sure what other details on my situation are needed, but feel free to ask, and I'll be happy to dig up what I can)
Aside from this minor issue with my RAM, I had a question regarding CPU cooling solutions. The stock cooler has been more than adequate for running at stock clock speeds, but it's been unpleasantly noisy. I'm looking to purchase something that runs silent, but still provides adequate cooling with a bit of headroom for some mild overclocking (I don't plan on trying to break anything like 5.0GHz, hahah). I'm fine with both air cooling and closed-loop liquid cooling kits (but I'm not interested in bothering with the big DIY liquid cooling setups).
Also, I should add that I'm rather picky about aesthetics. My rig has a black and blue theme going on, and I'd like to keep it that way; I don't want anything obnoxiously coloured! Black is preferable, but if it has a colour, I'd be fine with a nice blue.
Again, my main concern is something that is very quiet. Any recommendations would be appreciated! (Also, I live in Canada, and I generally shop at places like NCIX.com and Newegg.ca)
Short version:
A) RAM is running at 1333 instead of 1600. WHAT DO!?
B) Stock CPU cooler is noisy, I want something quiet (that preferably matches the aesthetics of my system)
Thanks in advance folks!
!