Are Athlon sytems really more unstable than P4/P3?

[CraigRT]

<< Are Athlon sytems really more unstable than P4/P3? >>



Not at all.

I am a stability freak, a computer has to be stable and not crash.. my overclocked AMD/VIA system gives me a grin from ear to ear!

 

[CraigRT]

<< Intel AMD and SiS all make better chipsets than VIA. >>



I have never experienced a problem on my VIA chipset based computers.. they are fast, stable, and reliable...

VIA is great !

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< Anything that has to do with VIA sux. I'm talking from experiense. >>

With words like "sux" and "experiense", combined with a lack of elaboration, I'm tempted to believe that you're simply a bigot with no true knowledge of the issues or actual experience.

EDIT: By the way, which manufacturer do you suggest instead of VIA? Acer Laboratories?

 

[soulm4tter]

i've built and used 4 VIA/AMD machines and had no problems with any of them. I don't overclock to the extreme, but i'll go as high as i can go with stability. I play lots of games and use lots of different apps and this current machine has been up over a week and thats while running WinMe....:Q

Perfectly stable VIA/AMD machines i've built and used.

Athlon 700/Asus K7V
Athlon 900/Abit KT7A
Athlon 1400/Abit KT7A
Athlon XP 1600+/Abit KR7A

And i'm building an Athlon XP 1600+/Asus A7V133 tonite.

All used some version of Windows, had suffiecent power and cooling and weren't overclocked to very high. The Athlon 900 was stable at 1104 with 147mhz bus using Muskin Rev2 PC133. The rest have all been fairly mild overclocks.

 

[mellondust]

Usually its in the software.

 

[BFG10K]

The problem isn't AMD's CPUs (unless the cooling fails of course), it's with certain VIA and ALi chipsets. While it's certainly possible to build a stable ALi/VIA/SiS + AMD setup there are more likely to be problems with it than with Intel + Intel systems. It's not the processor, it's the motherboard chipset design.

The fact is that Intel makes the most stable and reliable motherboards available and you will have less problems with them than with anyone elses. It's easy to scream "PEBCAK" whenever someone has a problem with non-Intel chipsets but the fact is that there are too many hardware issues with them to simply dimiss it as a problem with the person.

Despite my KT133a being completely stable for the most part, the alarming amount of VIA hardware issues that have come to my attention over the past few months make me too nervous to simply ignore them. That plus that fact that the 437s have for the first time produced random crashes during 3D games on my system has made me decide to go with an Intel rig for my next upgrade. Sure AMD processors are excellent because they're cheap and fast but the fact is that I don't trust VIA anymore and I don't trust ALi or SiS either.

Intel may be more expensive but I'm paying for quality, stability and compatibility across the board.

 

[WageSlave]

I sense a small waft of troll in that last post.

 

[Insane3D]

"Yes, Intel AMD and SiS all make better chipsets than VIA. "

In your opinion...

 

[BD231]

Their more problematic

 

[oldfart]

<< Yes, Intel AMD and SiS all make better chipsets than VIA. "

In your opinion... >>


And also many others including the major HW sites.



<< "....The Pentium 4 2.2 will cost a bit more although it runs significantly cooler and has much more overclocking headroom, if combined with an 845 DDR platform you'll have one of the most stable setups we've ever tested.? anandtech

"...those looking for a rock-solid platform with the most compatibility will likely continue to seek a processor from Intel.? firingsquad

"Another factor is the stability and product quality of a system: while all Athlon processors suffered from occasional instability in our tests, the Pentium 4 platform ran without a glitch.? tomshardware

"?numerous shoppers wooed by the speed and economy of the Athlon XP are hastily returning their KT266A systems due to stability or compatibility problems. The cry, "back to Intel," is resonating deeply among these early adopters?? hardwarecentral

"Intel components are still the pinnacle when it comes to building a problem-free system that we can rely on.? hardocp

"Intel is a platform company, with a range of processors, chipsets, and even motherboards, enabling it to be a complete solutions supplier. It's perhaps the most significant hurdle AMD has to overcome--not perceptions of clock rates.? extremetech >>



And on and on.....This opinion is backed up by an overwhelming amount of evidence. VIA problems are very well known. I agree with others here. Its not at all the AMD prcessors that give AMD a reputation for instability. It's the buggy VIA motherboards.

 

[Pabster]

Athlon systems are only "more unstable" when using VIA-chipset based mainboards. Stick to AMD or SiS.

 

[Insane3D]

Personally, I prefer to rely on my personal experience over some hardware site. Hardware sites also have bias to any given system or platform. If I have built several Via based sytems for customers and myself over the years and had no issues with any of them, why should I discount all that experience with them because of other peoples opinions or what some hardware site says? If all the hardware sites started saying that Intel/Intel setups were unstable and shouldn't be used, but you have had great success with them over the years, would you just ditch them all and blindly follow what the sites say? I highly doubt it..

Funny, I have never had one single customer call me with a problem with their AMD/Via system..should I call them and accuse them of not telling me about their problem with their buggy systems?

 

[oldfart]

<< Personally, I prefer to rely on my personal experience over some hardware site >>


So then, I guess VIA is a stable platform is "your opinion". You are entitled to it as I am entitled to mine.

 

[Insane3D]

"So then, I guess VIA is a stable platform is "your opinion". You are entitled to it as I am entitled to mine. "

Absolutely...I would not expect to change your opinion, and I fully respect it. However, if I feel you are making statements that are not accurate, I will offer my own experience or knowledge as a counterpoint to correct what I feel might have been an inaccurate statement. That is, after all, what these forums are for. 🙂

 

[LXi]

<<VIA problems are very well known. I agree with others here. Its not at all the AMD prcessors that give AMD a reputation for instability. It's the buggy VIA motherboards.>>

It's not the VIA chipsets that earned the bad rap, it's the motherboard manufacturers! You hand a chipset to a brilliant mobo maker like MSI or Epox, they'll pump out excellent mobos with little or no issues. Good motheboard makers can turn anything into gems, crappy motherboard makers cannot, if you hand a VIA chipset to the hands of the likes of Abit, ECS, and PCChips, of coures, you will run in to trouble. The thing with Intel chipsets, is that they're easier to handle than VIA, no question about that, almost anyone can make a good Intel board, but does that completely eliminate any possiblilities of making a gem with VIA? No. Anything is possible, we just don't have enough good manufacturers partnering with VIA right now; turns out that lots of the VIA boards were half-ass made, of coures your reputation will be tarnished, but you'd have to trace it back to the people who designed the mobos, not the chipsets. Remember, the earth round.

 

[thirdeye]

Its funny to hear this over and over again. I was just talking to a customer the other day that said in his new computer he wouldn't touch an AMD because they are unstable. Where do people come up with this idea. With a good system built from quality parts (ie not the 99 cent motherboard in Jim Bob's House of Puters bargain bin) you will eliminate 99.9% of your problems right there.
That's just my 2 cents.

 

[oldfart]

<< a brilliant mobo maker like MSI..... >>


Not to harp on this, but I remember how heavily people on this forum were pimping that MSI KT133 Pro2A. If you didn't buy one of them you had to be crazy. That thing turned out to one of the worst of the KT133A mobos. The complaints were endless. People are still complaining about it. Anandtech had to remove it from their servers it was so bad.


<< we just don't have enough good manufacturers partnering with VIA right now; >>


I have to ask about this one. Isn't every major mfgr making VIA based boards? ASUS, ABIT, MSI, SOYO, Gigabyte, EPOX, Iwill, etc etc. Which good mfgr partners are missing?

 

[Mem]

<< << Personally, I prefer to rely on my personal experience over some hardware site >>


So then, I guess VIA is a stable platform is "your opinion". You are entitled to it as I am entitled to mine. >>



No problems here with my two VIA boards(KT133 & KT266A) before this I was using Intel and SiS boards,anyway I`m a hardcore gamer etc and I`ve never had any problems period with any of my boards including VIA.

Oh yes and my MSI K7T Pro is one of them 🙂.
Just remember many things make a good board not just the chipset in question.

 

[Whitedog]

It's all USER ERROR! You're all idiots!




😉 hehe j/k

 

[MrGrim]

<< How is this so? I owned/built a few different PCs that use VIA chipsets, and I haven't had any problems at all.

ABit KT7-E, etc. etc.

Thats funny... who makes better chipsets... Intel? (Laughs) >>



I'm sorry if I have offended you by saying that your motherboard's chipset manufacturer sux. However the fact remains that anything that has to do with VIA is NOT good.

The answer to your "How is this so?" question is very simple, it just is! Here are a few examples

1. PCI Latency issues
2. AGP sideband addressing
3. AGP fast writes
4. 4in1 drivers that show all the devices as SCII and render DVDs and CDRWs useless.
5. IDE Busmaster drivers that prevent windows from loading ... ever!
6. Via chipset/Zip drive problem patch that prevents windows from loading ... ever of course.

I could keep going but it's boring explaining something that is a well known fact.

Oh and yes, Intel's chipsets are far superior.

 

[MrGrim]

<< With words like "sux" and "experiense", combined with a lack of elaboration, I'm tempted to believe that you're simply a bigot with no true knowledge of the issues or actual experience.

EDIT: By the way, which manufacturer do you suggest instead of VIA? Acer Laboratories? >>



Because I used the word "sux" instead of "sucks" or "it's not good" and because of a spelling mistake you come to the conclusion that I'm a liar. You don't strike me as a very intelligent person, as a matter of fact I think you are simply somebody with a bit of spare time that likes to point others' mistakes out to feel good about himself.

The depth of my knowledge I don't have prove, simply because I couldn't care less what somebody like you thinks about me. You see, this is not a contest. You don't get a prize if you say something clever and you most definitely don't get anything for making fun of others' spelling mistakes. I didn't offend anybody, yet you felt necessary to insult me. That shows your true self.

BTW ... VIA sux.

 

[MrGrim]

<< Its funny to hear this over and over again. I was just talking to a customer the other day that said in his new computer he wouldn't touch an AMD because they are unstable. Where do people come up with this idea. With a good system built from quality parts (ie not the 99 cent motherboard in Jim Bob's House of Puters bargain bin) you will eliminate 99.9% of your problems right there.
That's just my 2 cents. >>



Well that's what I thought; untill I bought an Asus AV7133. Then my Internal Iomega Zip drive and my Creative Labs Sound Blaster stopped working properly. I believe that both peripherials come from well known manufacturers. They are both pretty much the standar in their domains.

 

[Hendrik]

An Athlon system based on a SiS 735 or nForce motherboard is at least as stable, and probably more so, than any P3/P4 system. Based on my own experience, I'd say that SiS 735 and nForce are definitely among the best chipsets that you can get today.

If you're going to build an Athlon system, just do yourself a favor and stay away from anything made by VIA, and that unfortunately includes most motherboards with the AMD 761 Northbridge (which is very good, but...).

Hi, Pabster! I'd like to know whether you've checked out an nForce motherboard, or whether you're at least planning to do so - I think you'd be impressed.

 

[BreakApart]

The majority of AMD stability issues can be directly linked to VIA chipsets, on the other hand a healthy percentage of Intel users with stability problems are also linked to VIA chipsets. See a pattern? I do.

Take the time to read the forums here and across the net you'll find VIA has a horrid track record, however they have been the leaders in offering LOW COST options, for the popular CPU at the time. It's just those shortcuts always seem to bite end users in the rear.


IMHO

 

[splice]

Honestly, I've never had any problems with either Intel or AMD based systems. I've use motherboards with VIA, AMD, Intel, SiS chipsets and all different kinds of motherboard mfg's. Never a single problem with any of them. Lucky? maybe... Currently, I have a FIC AZ11E KT133 w/ an Athlon 900 running 24/7 at 100% CPU usage for 2 months now....running 2K none-the-less. Even my ECS K7S5A w/ 1GHz Duron server is running strong 24/7 @ 100% CPU load.