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Nforce 415, is it better than KT266A mobo?

G

Gomce

Senior member
I am sick and tired of my Gigabyte KT266a 7vtxe mobo, the bios is completely useless, and now that I've upgraded to the latest beta
F8a I can't seem to install anything over it.

I think of buying ASUS A7N266-C/NFORCE415 board, it will cost +30$ if I give my Gigabyte away, so, is it worth it ?

In the beggining I plan to use it only with one PC2100 ddr module
 
Here are a couple of reviews:

Hardwareluxx

Techhard

As far as it being better? Well, that's hard to say. Their scores are relatively close. The A7N is suppose to be an excellent overclocker, and it has some nice features. If you want to stick with VIA, the EPoX 8K3A+ is suppose to be an outstanding board.

Hope this helps!
 
Via sucks. Go for the nForce motherboard. If you do, you'll never want to go back to Via. In fact, you may never want to go back to Intel either 🙂

 


<< Via sucks. Go for the nForce motherboard. If you do, you'll never want to go back to Via. In fact, you may never want to go back to Intel either >>



How exactly does VIA suck? Please explain. Their older chipset might be troublesome, but their newer products are in fact quite stable and fast. Except sometimes required one of those driver updates (VIA 4in1 Driver).
Also, how does nVidia's nForce better than Intel's chipset? Plz also explain.
 
For a chipset that is fairly new, the nForce is refreshingly free of bugs plus its fast/stable. It has advanced features such as twin-bank memory and hypertransport. Although these features may not necessarily translate to real world performance, I attribute this to the fact that no AMD CPU as of yet can fully take advantage of them (especally the twin-bank architecture). The Asus boards lock the AGP and PCI clocks so you can OC the FSB without worrying about peripherals crapping out. VIA chipsets are not that bad, once properly implemented in a mobo, they are fast and stable. But in terms of stability, I think nforce chipsets are more stable. Even SIS chipsets are more stable than VIA.
 
Check around the web j@cko, nForce boards have been quite troublefree. From my experience with the MSI K7N420 motherboard (nForce 420-D), I can say nothing but excellent things. It's simply a solid board, was easy as pie to setup, and I haven't had to touch it since. Of course, the performance is quite excellent. Multitasking is also slightly better then my MSI K7 Master (AMD NB, VIA SB) main rig, but nothing huge.

Now price isn't an issue, unless you think $89 is too much for a motherboard. Go to Newegg and you'll see that the MSI K7N415 board (nForce 415-D, w/o GeF2MX core) is $89 before shipping. Damn good deal, considering it comes with nForce sound, LAN, NIC, and room for expansion with 5 PCI slots.

I'm not sure, but one of the reasons why nForce may have such a good stability reputation at this point is because of the top-tier mainboard makers that are supporting it, namely ASUS, MSI, and ABit.
 


<< Check around the web j@cko, nForce boards have been quite troublefree. >>



That wasn't my point. I was asking why he said VIA sucks.
 


<<

<< Check around the web j@cko, nForce boards have been quite troublefree. >>



That wasn't my point. I was asking why he said VIA sucks. >>

Sorry, I should have indicated I was responding to what you said here: Also, how does nVidia's nForce better than Intel's chipset? Plz also explain.

AmdInside didn't say that Intel chipsets were better or worse than nForce, he was just saying that you can at least compare them to Intel. VIA on the other hand has had a long history of relatively buggy chipsets. But I do agree with you, VIA's most recent chipsets aren't that bad, but I still don't see the appeal to them, especially since price really isn't an issue with nForce anymore. In addition, ASUS's nForce boards offer great overclocking options, so what's the big deal with the KT266A or KT333 boards really?
 
what a load of manure. If you can back up such assertion with stuff like "under this stress test for for x amount of time the kt266a became unstable" or similar type data you should keep your opinions away from hardware tech boards.

Opinions without even anectdotes to back em up are worse than useless.
 


<< what a load of manure. If you can back up such assertion with stuff like "under this stress test for for x amount of time the kt266a became unstable" or similar type data you should keep your opinions away from hardware tech boards.

Opinions without even anectdotes to back em up are worse than useless. >>

Lol, search google with the search phrase "VIA Bug" or "VIA PCI latency" and see what you get.
 
Funny thing, I dont think VIA has ever released a chipset for the Athlon without running into some type of flaw :Q.
 
J@cko wrote:

"That wasn't my point. I was asking why he said VIA sucks."

And if you ask such a question, you've obviously never used a VIA-chipset based mainboard 😀

Take a look around and see how many users are literally tearing their hair out trying to stabilize rigs based on VIA core logic.

nForce 415, stability and performance-wise, all the way. The price is right too. 🙂
 


<< And if you ask such a question, you've obviously never used a VIA-chipset based mainboard

Take a look around and see how many users are literally tearing their hair out trying to stabilize rigs based on VIA core logic. >>



Funny how my two VIA boards are rock stable infact they are boring now because nothing goes wrong 😀,I guess the VIA flamers are out in force today 😉,anyway both are good chipsets IMHO,it`s down to the features really .


🙂
 
I have had a via board since the 1st athons came out. Just recently I switched over to an Nforce board. I got to admit-installation was pain-free the very 1st time(it took me many tries with each different via chipset(kt133, kt266...etc) & motherboard brands to get a trouble free installation). Will I go back to via-probably, but I sure am impressed with the nforce chipset.
 


<< J@cko wrote:

"That wasn't my point. I was asking why he said VIA sucks."

And if you ask such a question, you've obviously never used a VIA-chipset based mainboard 😀

Take a look around and see how many users are literally tearing their hair out trying to stabilize rigs based on VIA core logic.

nForce 415, stability and performance-wise, all the way. The price is right too. 🙂 >>




Wrong, I'm using a VIA board and am very happy with it. I've used an Intel board too, was happy with it. All in all, neither sucks. 🙂
 
I almost got an nForce board. I got the soyo dragon+ instead -- because the MSI K7N420 was too expensive a few months ago. Plus, I wanted to try out a Soyo board again; the last one Ihad was a Soyo 6KB with the Intel 440LX chipset.

I have had several VIA-powered boards. Abit VP6, MSI K7T Pro2-A, ASUS P3V4X, my current Soyo Dragon+, MSI K7T266 Pro2U, to name a few -- I can't remember the rest right now 🙂 They've all been nice to me, for the most part; the VP6 was difficult to get started (but ran great once started), and my K7T was just a lemon to begin with. If I didn't get my Dragon+, would I have gotten an nForce board? Sure would have. I'm always eager to try out non-VIA chipsets. Plus, the dual-channel DDR really looks intriguing.

Don't bash VIA, it's not always their fault. On the other hand, it's SOMETIMES their fault.
 
I don't think one is better than the other even though there have been some people who have had stability issues with Via chipsets. I have Via and it was a bit to get it straightened out but now it's running well. The new nForce 415 looks nice though since they took the video off and lowered the price. That would sell it to me and most people who want a stable board and already have a better video card. Feature wise, the nForce board is quite rich and it keeps up with pretty much all of the chipsets out in terms of speed in apps.
 


<<

<< Via sucks. Go for the nForce motherboard. If you do, you'll never want to go back to Via. In fact, you may never want to go back to Intel either >>



How exactly does VIA suck? Please explain. Their older chipset might be troublesome, but their newer products are in fact quite stable and fast. Except sometimes required one of those driver updates (VIA 4in1 Driver).
Also, how does nVidia's nForce better than Intel's chipset? Plz also explain. >>



I work as end user support for an OEM. Trust me. Via sucks. About 80% of support issues that come up are with Via chipset motherboards. Even KT266A.

Also, I didn't mean to imply that Nvidia's nForce was better than Intel's chipset. I love Intel's chipsets. I just meant if you were looking for a good cost, features and stability combination, that nforce plus AMD combination would give you enough that you may not have a desire to go with Intel. But I don't want to go so far as to say nForce is better than Intel.
 


<< And if you ask such a question, you've obviously never used a VIA-chipset based mainboard >>



Then you are obviously wrong. I have not had a single problem since the use of KT133, KT133A and now KT266A.
 


<< I am sick and tired of my Gigabyte KT266a 7vtxe mobo, the bios is completely useless, and now that I've upgraded to the latest beta
F8a I can't seem to install anything over it. >>




I never use beta Bios myself they can be risky,as to your problem it probably is not the chipset,some people always look to blame the board or chipset when things go wrong & have stability issues etc when most of the time it`s something else,anyway post your exact problem and we may be able to help you,you never know it may save you some money.

I would flash back to the older bios and take it from there,anyway give us some more info on the problem,if you want to go nForce still fine it`s your money your choice.



🙂
 
Well Mem that is my exact problem, I cannot flash back to previous bios version, and I am not newbie in this matter.
I tried flashing to previous bios version but unsuccessfull.
I used the windows utility, it flashes the bios, I restart and it automatically enters the bios, and because this is dual Bios motherboard it copies back the F8a (beta) from the backup CMOS to the main CMOS.

There is utility in the bios to use a new bios from a floppy and copy it, I tried that but it says "Bios Tag error" and nothing happens.
🙁
 
Ya, VIA sucks... thats why their boards are the top performers in SocketA (KT266A), Socket370 (133T), and Socket478 DDR (P4X266A) 😉

In all seriousness, VIA's got a bad rap now-a-days because of their past performance. Their boards are amazingly stable compared to where they were just a year ago, and can dish out some serious performance to boot. Just because other chipset makers have stepped up their game (SiS) and there are new entrys (nVidia), it doesnt mean we should abandon all hope in VIA. Recently, ive built computers based on the P4X266A, KT266A, KT266, KT133A, Pro133T, AMD 760, SiS 735, SiS 645, SiS650, nForce420, ALiMAGiK, 845, 845D, 850, and 815EP recently and if you want to tell me ANY of these chipsests "suck", you deserved to be slapped. 😉

Almost all of the chipsets on sale today are dead even... for example: the SiS 735, AMD760, KT266A, are Nforce are all within 5fps of each other... 5FPS! And all are so amazingly solid that you can run them for weeks without having to reboot. Its come to the point that the only real deciding factors are price (ECS'es niche) and features (Soyo/ASUS/MSI's battle ground). Im sorry, but if you can find me a BAD chipset from the last 6 months... i mean truly BAD like the ones that were around during the Slot 1 / Super 7 days, i will be truly impressed and will delete this post and eat my words... but i dont think thats gonna happen.

"sucks"... Ha.
rolleye.gif
 


<< Ya, VIA sucks... thats why their boards are the top performers in SocketA (KT266A), Socket370 (133T), and Socket478 DDR (P4X266A) 😉

In all seriousness, VIA's got a bad rap now-a-days because of their past performance. Their boards are amazingly stable compared to where they were just a year ago, and can dish out some serious performance to boot. Just because other chipset makers have stepped up their game (SiS) and there are new entrys (nVidia), it doesnt mean we should abandon all hope in VIA. Recently, ive built computers based on the P4X266A, KT266A, KT266, KT133A, Pro133T, AMD 760, SiS 735, SiS 645, SiS650, nForce420, ALiMAGiK, 845, 845D, 850, and 815EP recently and if you want to tell me ANY of these chipsests "suck", you deserved to be slapped. 😉

Almost all of the chipsets on sale today are dead even... for example: the SiS 735, AMD760, KT266A, are Nforce are all within 5fps of each other... 5FPS! And all are so amazingly solid that you can run them for weeks without having to reboot. Its come to the point that the only real deciding factors are price (ECS'es niche) and features (Soyo/ASUS/MSI's battle ground). Im sorry, but if you can find me a BAD chipset from the last 6 months... i mean truly BAD like the ones that were around during the Slot 1 / Super 7 days, i will be truly impressed and will delete this post and eat my words... but i dont think thats gonna happen.

"sucks"... Ha.
rolleye.gif
>>



Go work for an OEM or motherboard manufacturer that uses Via chipsets. Then come back and tell me that you feel Via is "amazingly stable". I like SiS. I like NVIDIA. I like Intel chipsets. I do not like ALi or Via. Sorry but this is from personal and work experience.
 


<< Go work for an OEM or motherboard manufacturer that uses Via chipsets. Then come back and tell me that you feel Via is "amazingly stable". I like SiS. I like NVIDIA. I like Intel chipsets. I do not like ALi or Via. Sorry but this is from personal and work experience. >>


It's funny that people say that "they like SiS" when they have only put two chipsets out in recent memory that people here use alot (645/735). Hardly enough to employ an all encompasing "SiS is stable attitude."

And let's not forget all the issues that the SiS735 based ECS K7S5A had. It was hit or miss with that board. Even more so than with VIA based motherboards.
 


<< Then you are obviously wrong. I have not had a single problem since the use of KT133, KT133A and now KT266A. >>



Nor have I.
I have a KT133 based AMD rig, 2 KT133A's and a KT266A - I like them all.
 
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