12 gb of Ram OR better processor?

[codestar4]

Well, I'm building a new computer, and getting my components from newegg. I got an MSI 760GM-P35 AM3 motherboard, which has 4 dimms, for RAM... It supports up to 16gb.

I'm on a budget, so I have two options:
8GB of Ram & AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
-OR-
12GB of Ram & AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor

Which is faster? Should I go with 8gb of Ram, and the better processor, since I could upgrade the ram later?

 

[jackspeed]

ram runs in dual channel so since there is no 3 gig stick your 12 will run slower than your 8 and you don't need more than 4 for most games so I would say get 8 and the processor. maybe there are other possibilities for specs post and we can help you.

 

[cin19]

you can 8GB(2X4GB)+4GB(2x2GB).

 

[Outlander_04]

If this is a gaming computer then 2x2 gig is all you need.

If its an encoding , editing , image manipulation computer then buy an Intel

 

[codestar4]

So even if I did get the 4gb x3 it wouldn't be as fast as the 4gb x2?
I'm an engineering student, and I do a lot of CAD work, with some simple video editing on the side, so I want a fast computer.
How big of a difference is there between 4gb x1 and 4gb x2?
Would I be better better off just getting 4gb of RAM and an even better processor?

PS - I just noticed this is in prebuilt systems.. My bad.. Is it possible to move it?

 

[codestar4]

I want to use 4gb sticks, in case I want to max my RAM someday..

 

[codestar4]

And I'm not buying an Intel.. I already have an AMD motherboard, plus I prefer AMD.

 

[jackspeed]

so can you give us your budget, country of origin, and specific specs. part preferences ect. Um I would say get 2 x4GB sticks it will run better(faster?) than one stick. I'm for the BE right now but will reserve judgement untill I see the rest of the system.

EDIT: so is the mobo set?
EDIT #2: are you just upgrading or buying a new pc

 

[codestar4]

No GPU.
Hard Drive- Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Motherboard is set.
Building a computer from scratch.. I posted in wrong category :/

All I need really is RAM and a Processor.

 

[tsnor]

ram runs in dual channel so since there is no 3 gig stick your 12 will run slower than your 8 and you don't need more than 4 for most games so I would say get 8 and the processor. maybe there are other possibilities for specs post and we can help you.

Can you post a few references backing this up ? Here is one that disputes it. Analysis--Triple-Channel Memory Does Not Impact Performance. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Intel-Core-i7-Nehalem,2057-13.html

When i researched my i7-920 which had 8GB installed, I looked at removing one dimm to get 6GB, 2GB on each of the three memory channels on x58 chipset. The answer was basically that the extra value (marginal, not huge) of having the extra memory installed was higher than the extra value (marginal at best) of the higher bandwidth using the 3 channel mode of the x58 chipset. The point seemed to be that the huge cache structure in modern CPUs plus the performance of the integrated memory controllers obsoleted most of the performance gains of multi-channel memory. This was a surprise to me at the time. But I love the way windows 7 preloads games I commonly run into memory at boot time so they start really quickly when I go to use them. WOT starts noticeably faster a few minutes after I boot then at boot time, so I'm glad I kept the extra 2GB in the machine.

Net: I think your point is valid - having 12gb vs 8gb is not a good way to spend money. Go with 8GB with either CPU. But I don't believe that "12 will run slower than your 8" is a sure thing.

 

[jackspeed]

A 1.5% decrease is probably negligale I will give you that. I am using your article dual - single channel. But for some people that 1-2% increase might matter. So yes I guess that article suprised me I thought the difference was about 4-5%. My vote upgrade the cpu or the gpu.

 

[codestar4]

Alright, I'll go with 8gbs & better processor, thanks guys!