Are the VT266A boards extremely stable/reliable?

[NFS4]

<< Why compare the KT266A that's newer to the older SIS735,wait a few weeks for the SIS745 board to arrive (k7s6A)& then compare the NEW Via KT266a to the New SIS 745 chipset. >>


You can't compare the KT266A to something that doesn't even "exist" yet. And if the K7S6A is anything like the K7S5A, then you better be certain that this place will be filled up with people having problems with them.


<< don't just read benchmarks. I get the boards, put the rigs together, and run the apps/games I do on a daily basis. So let me repeat, again: There is zero REAL WORLD performance difference between KT266A and SiS 735. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Unless, of course, you happen to game at 640x480 and can honestly discern 202fps from 220 >>


BFG10K already answered that one

 

[Workin']

Since Pabster jumped in I can't let it go. He knows what I mean

If you want to compare one person's experience with the VIA KT266A vs. the SiS 735, I'll tell you my sad little story.

I built 6 systems using the K7S5A. 3 are now in the trash (literally, well the mobo anyway). They died between 2 weeks and 2 months of use. I sold 2 of the other boards because they were not stable/reliable enough to use in a business setting, leaving 1 still in service. Not too impressive.

I built 10 systems using the Shuttle AK31A. All are still working perfectly, and 2 have Radeons installed. 3 of them are replacements for the 3 failed ECS boards.

Of course that is nowhere near statistically significant (and neither is any other single user's experience, including Pabster's), so take it (and any other reliability claims) with a grain of salt.

BTW, the only performance differences I notice between the SiS 735 and the VIA KT266A is that the VIA boards actually boot up every time I turn them on, and I don't get random memory-error BSOD's.

 

[Pabster]

BFG10K wrote:

"That's a very weak strawman. The fact is that 640 x 480 is testing the CPU & platform performance. If the CPUs are the same, it's the difference between the platform. That means that the KT266a has 10% stronger performance than the SiS."

Well, no sh!t sherlock. Perhaps you didn't notice where I wrote "I realize that...". My point still stands. The advantages (performance-wise) of KT266A can be measured only in synthetic benchmarks. There is zero real-world performance difference.

"And why has the SiS chipset had a crapload of problems (especially stability & performance) that no-one else had?"

Hmm, please provide these supposed "problems"? I don't see people having issues with SiS 735 like KT266A.

"To suggest that SiS has a better chipset design than Intel is just plain zealotry. Nobody beats Intel in the chipset business. Nobody."

Well, considering SiS 645 outperforms Intel's best for the P4, I'll say that. SiS does have a better chipset design. To suggest that only Intel produces "good" chipsets is "pure zealotry".

 

[Mem]

<< Hmm, please provide these supposed "problems"? I don't see people having issues with SiS 735 like KT266A. >>




Lol... no you only notice the VIA ones so much for your unbiased opinion, I`ve seen you flame VIA threads more times then Burger king ,I thought Hardware was bad but you take the biscuit .

You`ve a problem with people buying VIA boards if so go and see a shrink have the VIA transplant it might help you calm down .

 

[NFS4]

<< "To suggest that SiS has a better chipset design than Intel is just plain zealotry. Nobody beats Intel in the chipset business. Nobody."

Well, considering SiS 645 outperforms Intel's best for the P4, I'll say that. SiS does have a better chipset design. To suggest that only Intel produces "good" chipsets is "pure zealotry". >>


When it comes down to Intel processors, there is NOTHING better than an Intel chipset for that processor IMHO...I don't care WHAT you say. Nobody does Intel better than Intel on a performance/compatibility front. And you are pretty much GUARANTEED support with Intel.

Just b/c it's faster doesn't mean that it is a better design. The Altima is faster than the Camry, but the Camry is an overall better built/high resale value/higher quality vehicle.

 

[Pabster]

NFS4 wrote:

"When it comes down to Intel processors, there is NOTHING better than an Intel chipset for that processor IMHO...I don't care WHAT you say. Nobody does Intel better than Intel on a performance/compatibility front. And you are pretty much GUARANTEED support with Intel."

Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree. I see no reason to spend more for less. That could be said about P4 in general, of course. I'm hoping Northwood changes that, but I'm not so sure.

"Just b/c it's faster doesn't mean that it is a better design. The Altima is faster than the Camry, but the Camry is an overall better built/high resale value/higher quality vehicle."

Let's see. SiS 645 outperforms both the ridiculously expensive Intel i850 and the newly released i845-D. It also has native support for PC2700 modules. And it costs significantly less.

You can't apply a lot of 'general' wisdoms to the technology sector. Furthermore, with the cycle changing every 3 months (or less), you likely won't have the board long enough to ever make a judgement about "longevity". There's been no evidence of glitches with SiS 645. Only superior performance at a lower cost.

So go ahead and spend more for an Intel chipset. I'll take the extra performance with some extra cash in my pocket that SiS provides.

 

[NFS4]

<< There's been no evidence of glitches with SiS 645. Only superior performance at a lower cost. >>


Well, if ECS is making one, then you can be SURE that there will be problems with it. MSI and Iwill also have a board, but that's about it. Nowhere near the support that Intel has with its i845 and i850 solutions. In fact, I would STILL pick an i815D DDR chipset over a third party vendor for an Intel processor ANYDAY!

 

[formulav8]

Ummm. You guys are going no where. Just thought I would let you know.

 

[t4t3r]

<---- owner of an epox 8kha+ board. very stable and very fast. kt266a chipset it the best you can get for single processors. i have had mine running for probably a month now with 0 problems.


t4t3r

 

[Shuelessjo]

I have a SOYO Dragon Plus board and it works great. I tried to use two different Epox 8KHA+ MBs and they did not work for me. One didn't recognize any keyboard I had, PS/2 or USB. The other did not want to boot from ANY device, HDD, FDD or CDrom. But others here have had great success with that board.


Joseph

 

[Budman]

<< Just b/c it's faster doesn't mean that it is a better design. The Altima is faster than the Camry, but the Camry is an overall better built/high resale value/higher quality vehicle. >>



That's exactly why the SIS735's better than a Via KT266s chipset.



<< Well, if ECS is making one, then you can be SURE that there will be problems with it. >>



Just because YOU could not get your ECS board working right doesnt mean it's crap,a lot of people are running ECS boards without any problems.

 

[Pabster]

NFS4 wrote:

"Well, if ECS is making one, then you can be SURE that there will be problems with it. MSI and Iwill also have a board, but that's about it. Nowhere near the support that Intel has with its i845 and i850 solutions. In fact, I would STILL pick an i815D DDR chipset over a third party vendor for an Intel processor ANYDAY!"

Boy, you've turned in to quite the ECS hater

You shot yourself in the foot, BTW. MSI and Iwill aren't the only vendors with SiS 645 solutions shipping or very close. ABIT and ASUS are also on the list. As is Soyo (in fact, the new SiS 645-based dragon is now shipping.)

VIA won't be able to intimidate competition in the P4 arena.

 

[NFS4]

<< That's exactly why the SIS735's better than a Via KT266s chipset. >>


If it were so much better (and hell, it's a cheap chipset), more vendors would be using it...but as we see, the KT266A gets the bulk of mobo-makers' attention. It has full support from all of the major manufacturers (except for maybe Iwill, but I'm not sure). I guess they know a good thing when they see it. Obviously, SiS's Athlon chipsets aren't compelling enough to them. Who makes SiS735 boards?? ECS/PC-Chips/Amptron and Leadtek. Hmmm, no major takers?? I wonder why?


<< You shot yourself in the foot, BTW. MSI and Iwill aren't the only vendors with SiS 645 solutions shipping or very close. ABIT and ASUS are also on the list. As is Soyo (in fact, the new SiS 645-based dragon is now shipping.) >>


I listed mobos AVAILALBE for sale. ECS, MSI, AOpen, and IWILL are the only ones with SHIPPING motherboards. They are the ONLY ones listed on Pricewatch. Get it, Got it, GOOD! MSI was "close" to shipping a SiS735 board. Where the hell is it?? Kicked to the friggen curb


<< Boy, you've turned in to quite the ECS hater >>


Still not as much an ECS hater as you are a VIA hater, and that's a fact

 

[Budman]

<< Of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong. >>



Very wise words Brandon.

After all is said & done the most important thing after all is to be satisfied with your PC, it dont matter if it's Via Sis Intel Amd....

 

[Pabster]

NFS4 wrote:

"If it were so much better (and hell, it's a cheap chipset), more vendors would be using it...but as we see, the KT266A gets the bulk of mobo-makers' attention. It has full support from all of the major manufacturers (except for maybe Iwill, but I'm not sure)."

That's no big surprise. These manufacturers' have lucrative agreements with VIA. In fact, VIA has been able to successfully pressure manufacturers' away from producing SiS-chipset products. A perfect example is the 'disappearing act' of MSI's K735 ... Fortunately, VIA isn't having such 'luck' in the P4 arena. Perhaps it has to do with the plethora of issues which have already plagued P4X266?

"I guess they know a good thing when they see it. Obviously, SiS's Athlon chipsets aren't compelling enough to them. Who makes SiS735 boards?? ECS/PC-Chips/Amptron and Leadtek. Hmmm, no major takers?? I wonder why?"

Read above. If you were a mainboard manufacturer, and VIA told you that all of a sudden you'd pay twice as much for your VIA chipsets, if you were to begin producing SiS-based mainboards... It's business, nothing more.

"I listed mobos AVAILALBE for sale. ECS, MSI, AOpen, and IWILL are the only ones with SHIPPING motherboards. They are the ONLY ones listed on Pricewatch. Get it, Got it, GOOD! MSI was "close" to shipping a SiS735 board. Where the hell is it?? Kicked to the friggen curb"

So did I. Looking at PriceWatch as we speak, both the ASUS P4S333 and Soyo SY-P4S are shipping, in addition to boards from ECS, MSI, AOpen, and Iwill. Expect ABIT's solution soon. As for MSI's K735, we know what happened. I've already explained it.

"Still not as much an ECS hater as you are a VIA hater, and that's a fact."

LOL. Pretty soon I'll be labeled a 'hater' period, eh?

 

[NFS4]

<< That's no big surprise. These manufacturers' have lucrative agreements with VIA. In fact, VIA has been able to successfully pressure manufacturers' away from producing SiS-chipset products. A perfect example is the 'disappearing act' of MSI's K735 ... Fortunately, VIA isn't having such 'luck' in the P4 arena. Perhaps it has to do with the plethora of issues which have already plagued P4X266? >>


The P4X266 is a steaming pile IMHO, so I'll give you that one As for "lucrative deals", they also have deals with Intel. Big deal. I don't see Intel getting pissy for MSI or Asus making AMD motherboards NOW...(see below).


<< Read above. If you were a mainboard manufacturer, and VIA told you that all of a sudden you'd pay twice as much for your VIA chipsets, if you were to begin producing SiS-based mainboards... It's business, nothing more. >>


That's a cop out. If that where the case, we never would have seen the Athlon platform take off. Intel threatened to withhold BX chipsets from offending parties. But they knew a good thing when they saw it and told Intel to piss off. I think that VIA would be an easier pushover than Intel.

 

[Pabster]

NFS4 wrote:

"That's a cop out. If that where the case, we never would have seen the Athlon platform take off. Intel threatened to withhold BX chipsets from offending parties. But they knew a good thing when they saw it and told Intel to piss off. I think that VIA would be an easier pushover than Intel."

Depends entirely on the manufacturer. You've also got to remember that the scene today is not even vaguely reminiscent of that 2 years ago. Competition is much, much fiercer -- even in the low-end arena. Every dollar counts. No longer is Intel able to corner the market. In fact, they are relying more and more on third-party board makers and chipsets.

 

[ElFenix]

NFS4 - you can ignore the realities of the situation as much as you want, it doesn't change the fact that VIA has successfully pressured the top tier guys from making 735 boards.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

I would love to jump into this one, but I'm still trying to figure out why my K7S5A keeps rebooting when I choose shutdown.



Shuttle board still chugging along flawlessly though...

 

[NFS4]

<< NFS4 - you can ignore the realities of the situation as much as you want, it doesn't change the fact that VIA has successfully pressured the top tier guys from making 735 boards. >>


Oh, I'm not denying anything. I know that VIA was the main reason why MSI didn't come out with a SiS735 board; in fact, I was the one that POSTED the email message from MSI here in the General Hardware forums But that still doesn't mean that motherboard manufacturers have to get down on their knees and open up wide for VIA. If someone like Asus started flexing their muscle at VIA in regards to the SiS735/745, then I'm quite sure that VIA would listen. Asus is too big to be "force fed" if you get my drift

 

[BFG10K]

My point still stands. The advantages (performance-wise) of KT266A can be measured only in synthetic benchmarks. There is zero real-world performance difference.

Rubbish. Since when is Quake3 a synthetic benchmark? It's one of the best real world benchmarks there is.

Hmm, please provide these supposed "problems"? I don't see people having issues with SiS 735 like KT266A.

Good lord you have a short memory. SiS chipsets were notorious for flaky AGP support, even moreso than old VIA motherboards.

Well, considering SiS 645 outperforms Intel's best for the P4, I'll say that. SiS does have a better chipset design. To suggest that only Intel produces "good" chipsets is "pure zealotry".

If something's faster but crashes more often and has less compatbility then it's not really faster at all.

 

[Pabster]

BFG10K wrote:

"Rubbish. Since when is Quake3 a synthetic benchmark? It's one of the best real world benchmarks there is."

When it's ran at 640x480. No one plays at that resolution. And there isn't a soul here who could honestly discern the difference between 202fps and 220fps, without the frame counter showing. Playing at 1024x768x32, you'd be hard pressed to get a 1fps difference.

"Good lord you have a short memory. SiS chipsets were notorious for flaky AGP support, even moreso than old VIA motherboards."

Not so. Most of the 'issues' with older SiS chipsets and AGP revolved around all-in-one boards designed for nVidia cards. People were trying to use ATI or what have you with no success. There have been zero issues reported with SiS 735. Zero.

"If something's faster but crashes more often and has less compatbility then it's not really faster at all."

Where do you come up with that? SiS 645 has proven itself not only rock solid, but a better performer than i850 or i845D. Period.

 

[NFS4]

<< There have been zero issues reported with SiS 735. Zero >>


A chipset is nothing without a motherboard to put it in...

There have been absolutely NO problems with the ECS K7S5A or Leadtek SiS735 board?? Don't sit there and lie to my face like that. I don't like to be lied to!

The state rests

 

[Pabster]

NFS4 wrote:

"There have been absolutely NO problems with the ECS K7S5A or Leadtek SiS735 board?? Don't sit there and lie to my face like that. I don't like to be lied to!"

Those aren't problems with SiS 735. Separate fact from fiction.

 

[Budman]

All i can say from personal experience is that SIS735 had been the most stable chipset for me so far.

i have used a bunch of via chipsets, intel,via apollo,Amd kt**, but the most stable ones so far were BX(intel) and SIS 735 (socket 462).