Abit postpones NF3 due to stability issue

[alent1234]

Found this link in another forum.


story

This kils my plans for nf3. Guess i need to start looking for a via based board to upgrade my P3 933.

 

[CraigRT]

I honestly think I like the K8T800 Pro boards more anyways... I've always been a VIA fan for AMD based systems... I have never had a problem with VIA chipsets, ever!
the KV8 Pro looks like a really nice mobo though, (K8T800 Pro) and with any luck, they will release a MAX version of that board later on, which will kick-ass even more

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

Interesting. I personally really like the NF3 250Gb (don't own one, but I like the features), so I wonder what the incompatibities are. I haven't heard too many negatives, and I definitely like the fact that the NF3 PCI/AGP lock is working. Does anyone know of any specific issues that ABIT might be referring to?

-D'oh!

 

[Bar81]

R

 

[alent1234]

I had a bad experience with via motherboards around 6 years ago. My office computer was a K6 with some via chipset. I would need win 98 reinstalled once a month. My home computer at the time was an intel and i would reinstall win98 every 6-12 months. For some reason the via would get screwed up much sooner. I was looking forward to nf3, but i think that nvidia may have some work to do. I've been using abit and asus boards since 1998 and don't want to switch to another brand.

 

[yelo333]

Well, I have had 3 VIA boards(2 K6, 1 PII), and the via 4-in-1 drivers aren't good - often cause crashes if not applied on a new install of win 98 - 6 months down the road, I wouldn't recommend installing them...and, the chipsets OFTEN cause IRQ conflicts, causing me to have to rearrange the pci cards - at about 4 pci cards, it starts making a TON of mistakes. I have not noticed this behavior on any other chipset manufactures components, so for right now, I'm awating an abit-made nf3 250gb board.

Hmm, link isn't good - anybody save a copy?

 

[CraigRT]

well, the older VIA chipsets are not as good.. after the KT133 they were much better, shows why they were the leading chipset maker for AMD based systems
I have had a KT133, KT133A, KT266A all without a problem, and thinking of now going with a K8T800 pro chipset!

 

[alent1234]

that's what happened to me. At first i had no idea what was causing the crashes, then I learned about the via 4-1 drivers and they seemed to help a lot, but not all the way. I don't OC and use my PC for gaming. My wife uses it for her work a lot so stability is my first concern.

My current set up with an Asus board, P3 933, generic RAM, hercules sound and win2000 pro can go for months without a reboot. I used to have a ti4600 until it died. Just bought a 5200 for $30 from a friend at work. looking to sell it and get a 9800 pro. maybe a x800 if i can slip it past the wife.

 

[mbf]

I've already posted a topic on this issue. Noone seems to be able to clarify what exactly these "stability issues" should be, and personally I second the opinion that it is pure and simple FUD, probably based on some grudge ABIT holds towards nVidia.

As for VIA-based products, I'm shuddering at the very idea. Even the fact that most boards come with some sort of VIA component, be it the IEEE 1394 controller or something else, makes my skin crawl. Still, I'm afraid it can't be helped. (Yes, I thoroughly DO dislike VIA. Everytime I've had to deal with one of their products, it has been because of some failure in it. :S)

 

[Mem]

As for VIA-based products, I'm shuddering at the very idea. Even the fact that most boards come with some sort of VIA component, be it the IEEE 1394 controller or something else, makes my skin crawl. Still, I'm afraid it can't be helped. (Yes, I thoroughly DO dislike VIA. Everytime I've had to deal with one of their products, it has been because of some failure in it. :S)

I`ve owned a KT133 & KT266A VIA board in the past and both were excellent on stability,I`ve no problems going back to VIA(using a NF2 board at the moment).


VIA have really improved big time over the years IMHO,also remember the board chipset is only a part of the stability,you`ve to take into account quality of system components,also clean install helps and even motherboard brand/model in question as well.

Btw I also have a SiS board in my backup PC as well and that too has no problems .Only chipset I`m not keen on is ALi.

 

[mbf]

Seems you've been more lucky than me!

Over the years several of my friends insisted on buying VIA-based mobos, and from brands such as ASUS, ABIT and Epox. Take a wild guess at who had to fix their problems... And yes, most of those problems could be traced back to the VIA components or at least VIA's wonderful drivers.

Anyways, I'm waiting for the right nForce3 250gb-based board; right now I'm holding out on the ASUS K8N-E Deluxe (socket 754), since that is the only one which clearly states ECC support, although I'm tempted to wait for socket 939 nForce3-based boards. AAARGH... the waiting is KILLING me!!!!

 

[Illissius]

Just in case anyone doesn't yet know, the article was corrected, whoever they got the news from didn't know what they were talking about. "Abit is dedicated to nForce3" was what they said, or something like that. Too lazy to find the link atm.

 

[mbf]

No, the edited article doesn't revoke the stability claim. It merely states, that ABIT hasn't totally written off the Nforce3 250, and might be waiting for a new revision, probably the one with PCIe support.

Still, absolutely *noone* has any clue as to what these socalled "stability issues" are, and again, I believe it's FUD of the finest calibre...

EDIT: Damn! Forgot to include the link.