[bustamelon]

you certainly dont need it but if you have all the other parts and dont mind spending the money, why not have 16GB of RAM alongside the haswell i5 processor. In the future you could turn it into a server running VMs or something like that. That said there might be better 16GB RAM that doesnt include a game (would you play the game or not?) for a cheaper price?

But yes you certainly dont "need" more than 4GB for your described usage... "want" on the other hand :p

Don't forget using 2 sticks of RAM will use more power.

I personally use 1 x 4gb stick.

OpenELEC uses less than 500mb

I asked you guys for some links to some ram options.

I don't really want the game honestly, but if it comes with it I;m sure i can gift it or resell it for a few bucks on ebay/craigslist/swap forum.

Only reason I am getting rid of HTPC big atx case is because my recently aquired center channel is a monster and i need that area for dialouge domination


Links greatly appreciated. I wont do anything less than 8 i suppose. Im not concerned about the extra energy footprint for 1 additional slot filled.

I will likley transfer to fanless case before long anyways. Another excess cost of 100+

I liked it much better when 4gb ddr3 1.35v was 25 dollars last year around jan-feb

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboard...034586.htm
Pick from this list to be safe. Or at the very least, just make sure to stick with 1.35V, you should be fine.
If you're planning on going fanless, you *should* be concerned about power footprint.