I joined this forum specifically for this thread.
I'm running a GA-X79-UP4 with Intel i7 3930 and 8x8 (64GB) of RAM and an HD7870.
RAM I'm running:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231560(I bought 4 sets - Quad Channel works fine)
the RAM doesn't overclock well, but it hits its rated speed (1866) in XMP Profile 1 (had to burn in first). This doesn't prevent the CPU from overclocking though.
My RAM wasn't on the recommended list, but it works fine. Actually, my processor is Prime95 Torture testing right now with 4Ghz (100x40 w/ 1:1 @ 1.3v) it's been testing for about an hour and hasn't skipped a beat.
I installed Server 2012 on my rig for the same purpose: virtual machines ... I run 4 x 120GB Kingston Hyper X 3K's in RAID0 on a HighPoint 2720SGL card and this computer is amazing...
The predecessor (which I'm using to type this up while the new PC torture tests) is a Q9450 w/ 8GB RAM, stock clock, 2 x 1TB Black's and an HD4870
Here's a screenshot (keep in mind the torture test is running, that's why the temps are ~90C), and with that said - a word of advice: get a REALLY good cooling solution (look at benchmarks for air coolers and stay away from sealed liquid coolers)