Intel vs. VIA Chipset (Please no sniping)

[jliger99]

I currently have a Pentium III 900Mz (100Mz Bus) and an Asus CUSL2-C in my setup. I want to increase the bus speed, so I was considering getting a 1Gz processor, as its Bus speed is 133Mz. The current cost is about $200 with shipping. The cost of Pentium IVs is supposed to drop; I'm not to sure about the PIIIs. For that money, I could get an Athlon board and CPU that uses either a 200Mz or 266Mz Bus speed.

Herein lies the dilemma: Should I go to a VIA chipset board with much faster Bus speed (and room for upgrading in the future), but potential compatability problems, or stick with the Intel board (with no further upgrading) with no compatability problems?

One compatibility issue: I have an ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder video card, and I've heard it doesn't like VIA too much.

My current setup:

Intel Pentium III 900Mz
Asus CUSL2-C
256MB PC-133 SDRAM (Crucial)
75G hard drive setup (1 15G, 1 60G)
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
Midiland 2.1 speakers
ATX case - 300W
DVD Drive, CD-RW, Keyboard, blah, blah, blah...

 

[DClark]

The Asus CUSL2-C supports a 133mhz fsb, as it uses the 815EP chipset; you don't need a different motherboard (the CUSL2-C is one of the best P3 boards on the market).

Not all 1Ghz P3s run on a 133mhz fsb though; make sure that you get a 1000EB, not the 1000E. The "B" denotes a 133mhz fsb.