Arguable superiority of Intel 815 over Via 694x ??

[gustavo]

Could you please ennumerate the (arguable ?) advantages and disadvantages of the Intel 815E over the Via 694x ??
Thanks all of you Gustavo.-

 

[MichaelD]

I'm interested in this thread as I just bought an Intel 815ep board for my second box/server. (Iwill BD133). Well, what are you really experienced, intelligent folks waiting for? POST ALREADY!

 

[LXi]

You can always check out the Anandtech reviews, there are many head to head benchmarks between the two chipsets, although they were all tested more than a year ago. Anyway, i815 tend to lead 694x in gaming under Win9x, but things get tightened up in Win2k for some reason. I think the 694x has better memory performance, but overall a bit than i815 in real world tests. The disadvantage of i815 is obviously the memory limitation, only 512MB, compare to 694x's 1.5GB; and the other advantage would be price, i815 generally cost more. I personally will take i815 over 694x, because the boards based on i815 are better designed, a lot of them are equipped with 1MHz increments, so they're good for overclocking. But don't discount the 694x, it's a very comparable chipset.

 

[gustavo]

LXi: would you consider the MSI MSI 6337 LITE (815EP) a better designed mobo trhan the ASUS CUV4X-E (694x) ??
I am concerned because today maybe 512 MB is enough but how long could it take to be not enough ?? At today´s rythm maybe less than a year and 512 MB is too little, Don´t you agree ??

 

[LXi]

Well, 128MB lasted a long time, even today 128MB is adequate for 90% of the home PCs out there. In my opinion, most enthusiasts wouldn't need more than 512MB; plus the P3s are slowly being phased out, how long do you expect an i815 will last anyway? As for your question, yes, I do believe the MSI i815 series is better designed than the CUV4X-E.

 

[gustavo]

I sincerely appreciate your experienced advice LXi, now I think I have a better picture.
Thanks again Gustavo.-

 

[RGN]

I have an 815 board with 512MB in it. I'm not real concerned with the longevity of 512MB because I think its more than enough for todays common computing and IF you REALLY need more than 512, you will be looking at a higer end system - most likely workstation class. Then, when 512 is truely not enough, the rest of your system will not be enough either...


I ran scared from Via chipsets 4 months ago, I stilll cannot bring myself to recommend them. :Q

 

[Athlon4all]

I think 815 wins hands down, unless 1GB of RAM is a necesity, or unless you are getting a Dual CPU Machine which as people have pointed out shouldn't be needed or you'd be buying a Workstation class chipset. 815 is higher performing than 133A, and more stable. So I think 815 hands down.