It was that way for me when I first looked at building computers, just the bare essentials and cheapest parts.  Thing is, I still have to choose cheaper parts when I'd like something better.... like an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900x instead of the lowly 1700.  Not that I'm complaining, the Ryzen 1700 is a better than decent CPU and it can be overclocked, maybe not to match a Threadripper, but I've read that they can come close to the Ryzen 1800x if clocked well/right.

With a bigger budget I could have done better with the RAM, like 2 x 16Gb sticks now and two more later, but at the end of the day, 4 x 8Gbs is enough for my needs and 3000Mhz is beefy enough as well.  There were more expensive motherboards as well, like the ASUS ROG Crosshair Extreme, but the Crosshair Hero VI is a very nice board and will serve me well.

Yeah, it is quad channel and the CPU supports up to 64Gb RAM.  The RAM I ordered is a 4x8Gb set of G-Skill Ripjaws4 3000Mhz.  I was going to order a 2 x 16gb set of similarly rated Corsair RAM for about $85.00 more, but I also wanted to upgrade my sound card, which already took me over budget, and the extra for the RAM would have taken me even further over. 

Maybe somewhere down the track I can upgrade to a 4 x 16gb set to 64Gb, but that's an awfully big maybe as I will probably never need it.  I was going to purchase a X299 motherboard and Intel setup around the time Jafo did his new build, but other priorities got in the way and then AMD's Ryzen series came out, which impressed me.  Not only is it a more affordable build, the Ryzen 1700 is quite an over-performer according to my tech guy at the local PC store.  He has one at a stable clock of 4.4Ghz and it beats his Intel 7700K machine in most everything.... except for a few games.

I have a few UHD panels but none are 4K, so I don't work a lot with 4K video.  I have edited some on my current No 2 machine, 32Gb DDR3 2400Mhz RAM and an AMD FX8350 CPU, with no issues, so I'm confident my new build with DDR4 3000Mhz will do the job if ever I need it to.

And Yeah, putting a new build together is exciting and tantalising..... not to mention challenging.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to new builds, and cable management has to be spot on and as neat as.  In fact, for me, cable management usually takes longer than all the other tasks put together.

"Connected to a 4K Samsung 50 inch curved screen TV/Monitor".

Jim, my advice for you is to get a bigger monitor--50" is a probably a bit small.

That MB has bad reviews on Newegg--lots of people have had RAM and USB problems.

Try an X299, it's the future; has USB-C and Thunderbolt (40Gb's/sec) and can use the new Intel processors; more lanes (up to 44) and more cores. You can get a "junior" X299 for about the same price.  

I do need the mobo you mention, but can't afford one.  The things I'm building with (above) I got thru trading.

 EDIT...no, I need the MSI X99A SLI PLUS

It is Christmas, and I would humbly accept the X99A (if you feel generous.....lol), for a CPU I will be trading a 32 inch monitor for, tomorrow afternoon.  Haha, just kidding. I will get the board when I can. I'm trading the 32 inch monitor, An HP Omen, for a Xeon cpu with 12 cores hyperthreading to a 24 core.

Skite!!!!        That's Aussie slang for braggart .

Hehe, not to worry, I would have had an Intel based machine with a Xeon or an i7 Extreme CPU on an ASUS x299 motherboard if other priorities hadn't arisen.... including moving, which ended up costing quite a bit all up.  I used to do all the moving myself, but I'm too old and buggered up with arthritis for that shit, so we paid a removalist to do it for us.  The upshot of it all, I was not getting my new Intel extreme rig.

Oh well, what I'm getting is pretty decent and I'll be happy with it.  However, it will likely be my last new build/rebuild.  At 64.5 I don't know that I want to be doing any more builds, what with all the bending over and heavy cases tearing away at my aching joints when I need to move them, etc.  As it is, the current Cosmos II build weighs a bloody ton [approx 96kg] and I need to lift it onto the bench to strip mostly everything out to prepare for the new mobo, CPU and RAM, etc.    Now while those won't make much difference to the weight, I've accumulated a number of other parts to boost expansion potential, and those will add a few more kilos to the overall weight. 

After I'm done I have to lift the heavy bugger off the bench and carry it to where I want it..... which is why I'm thinking no more.   Well there is one other build: with the mobo; CPU; RAM and GPU from the Cosmos II going into a case I've had sitting around doing nothing for a while.  Thing is, that's a relatively easy job in comparison, thank goodness, and the end result will not be anywhere as heavy.

Well it is when you have an Intel mobo.    There maybe a few Intel enthusiasts [read fanbois] who would think having a Ryzen is a downside, but I happen to like everything I've read/heard about them... hence the Ryzen 1700 I'm now awaiting.

While I've had some Intel CPUs, I've always liked AMD products, way back to the Athlons, etc.  However, if AMD was going the better compete with Intel, it needed to rethink/redesign its architecture, and the Zen architecture seems to have caught up considerably.  

Hmmm, if only the Threadripper 1900x had been in my price range.  

No, a Ryzen has no downside. AMD all the way, baby!!

I wouldn't worry so much about RAM clock speeds. I have 32GB of DDR4 Ripjaws (2x16GB...2666Ghz) and it runs perfectly fine.

Oh yeah, thinking about DDR4 RAM prices, I'm still wondering why it's cheaper to buy 4 x 8Gb sticks than it is to buy 2 x 16Gb sticks.  Just about every online store I've checked here in Oz is selling the 2 x 16Gb for anything up to 60 - 70 bucks more than the 4 x 8Gb option.... same brand, same clock speeds, same values.  Like why?  Is it because 16Gb sticks are new and 8Gb sticks are now 'old hat'?

I would have preferred the 2 x 16Gb option because I could have added another 2 sticks further down the track to upgrade to 64GB, but the additional cost overall was going to be in the vicinity of $150, and I'd already gone over budget.  Oh, and the Aussie taxman certainly knows how to get in for his chop and then some.  Bloke at my local PC store told me that we're paying up to 45% tax on some electronics and PC components.

Perhaps that's another reason why I'm stopping building computers.... I'm tired of paying big bucks to the greedy taxman for the privilege.

4x8 typically maxes out a mobo....2x16 leaves 2 more banks [typically]...so there's a premium driven by upgrade potential...

That may be so, but for mine it's still slimy and dishonest.  Sadly, there's little to no honesty or transparency in business anymore, just dirty tricks, with respect for consumers seriously on the decline.

Now the opposite is true here:  where 4 x4Gb typically maxes out a board and 2 x 8Gb typically populates only 2 slots.  No wonder consumer confidence/trust in business is on the decline.  It's a tipsy topsy world, price-wise and businesses seem to charge what they want when they want, which is why I blacklist those companies I feel are profiteering through artificial inflation, etc.

It's like the company I ordered the first set of RAM from.  It's not that it could not provide the product I ordered.  No, some twit put the wrong price on it and the product was temporarily removed from sale so it could be relisted at a higher price.  Australian consumer law states that a company must sell its products at the advertised price, whether it be correct or not.  That is not the consumer's responsibility. 

Anyway, because the company blatantly removed the item after I placed and paid for my order at the advertised price, then reposted later it at a higher price,  I made a formal complaint with Australia's consumer watchdog, which has responded positively to my complaint and it appears action will be taken because the company acted unlawfully.  So now this company is looking at the prospect of thousands in fines because it tried to save a couple of hundred bucks illegally  

Suck eggs mothers.....   Don't fech with me cos I fech back.  

Yes, that was like the hard drive market after the Thailand floods a few years back.  That I can understand.  What I don't like and can not tolerate is when prices are inflated artificially simply to profiteer.... and charging $70 - $80 extra for 2 less units of RAM but the exact same brand and values is artificial and daylight fechen robbery.  In essence, except for the actual chips, there's less material used to make up 2 x16Gb sticks... hence they should be priced to reflect that, but no, we're only buying 2 sticks [not 4 x 8Gb] so we're going to pay for it.

Like I said, consumers are losing confidence and respect in [online and bricks n' mortar] retailers over these slimy practices, yet they continue because that's how business is 'done' nowadays.  If I believe a business has artificially inflated a product to maximise profits, then I will boycott that product and business.... and I'm not the only one.

You'd think big businesses would learn from the age old principle that it is easier to get a dollar from a million people than it is to get a million dollars from just a few.... but again no, the drive to so-say maintain high profits remains, regardless of how many consumers leave those over-inflated products on the shelf out of principle and disgust. 

Sadly, people with more money than sense, absolutely no indignation or anger over slimy retail tactics, keep these businesses going through continuing to purchase products at artificially induced prices.  Things would be a whole lot better on the retail landscape if people refused to buy these products.  Yet again no!  It's too hard to stand up for something and be counted.  'They're too powerful and it's too hard", so instead too many consumers cop it sweet and lay down to get mounted..  Yup big business, particularly people like Jerry Harvey of Harvey Norman, has effectively developed strategies to 'mount' consumers over the last century or so, which goes to show just how pathetic much of the buying public is.... rolling over and just taking it.

*RANT off* .... for now.      

For the third time now I've had to reorder RAM because sellers just aren't getting it right to meet customer needs.  Twice I had a seller under two different names pull my order because they had advertised incorrectly below price, and now I have a seller who informs me that the item I ordered has to come from a supplier and there is no ETA on the part.

I trawled through the website looking for a replacement within my budget, but there was little to choose from.   About 80% of the advertised RAM in my price range was 'order in', meaning an extra week's delay before it these items were in stock.  Add to that the 1 - 5 day turnaround for payment processing and packing, etc, then shipping time,, it meant that I'd not see my RAM until the new year.

In the end I lost patience and bit the bullet with a more expensive 32GB kit... as Corsair Vengeance LPX Black Series @ 2666GHz.  It's costing about $75.00 more, but the reviews and ratings suggest it was a better choice than my next option, which was 32GB (2x16) Team @ 3000MHz.  According to Canuk Hardware and others, the Corsair kit is more durable and not too different in performance, etc.

Oh well, they say it's 3rd time lucky.