POLL: VIA - Will you buy and AMD board based on their chipsets again?

[Ilmater]

I was looking at the benchmarks on HardOCP's site comparing the nForce 2 Ultra 400 and the KT600, and I realized something: I don't care. Not at all. And you know what? It doesn't seem like anyone else does either. There was a ton of talk before the nForce 2 came out, and even a lot of talk before the KT400A came out, but no buzz at all right now about the KT600.

Then I went on to actually read the article and looked at the benchmarks. It seems that while one board might beat the other handily in one game, the majority of benches showed the two neck and neck (which, I'll grant, is good for VIA's SCDDR solution). Given VIA's seeming lack of ability to create drivers that are stable, I wouldn't even consider buying the KT600. Thus, the idea of a poll was born. I'm curious to see what you all think.

Link to HardOCP's Review

 

[microAmp]

My next chipset upgrade will be for the P4 or Athlon64 so it really doesn't matter much to me.

 

[Ilmater]

I understand that. My main point is that regardless of what VIA puts out, given my past experience with them, as long as there is a viable (pun intended) alternative, I'd go with it. Save any ALi chipset, as I trust them less.

 

[dullard]

I got a bad taste of VIA when my brother got a ~200 MHz AMD computer with a VIA motherboard. The thing crashed randomly about every 5-6 hours despite everything we tried to do to stop it. I've never seen anything that unstable. I always blamed VIA for those crashes - and I haven't looked back. At this point, they probably have fixed the problems, but I'm not going to give them a second chance any time soon.

 

[Mem]

Given VIA's seeming lack of ability to create drivers that are stable, I wouldn't even consider buying the KT600. Thus, the idea of a poll was born. I'm curious to see what you all think.

Hmmm I must be doing something wrong here,I`ve KT133 (MSI K7T Pro) which is nearly 3 years old and KT266a(Epox 8KHA+) which`s almost 2 years old ,both are rock solid infact very boring since nothing goes wrong.

I use the latest VIA drivers as they come out and never had any problems with them( all the way from 4.24 - 4.46) .

Yes I would use VIA again,I would also consider other chipsets as well since I`ve tried most of them and they have all been good experiences.

 

[Acanthus]

nope, too many problems.

 

[snidy1]

I'll wait and see, it's too soon to tell which will be better. I did lose some faith in VIA though with my last VIA board.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: Mem

Given VIA's seeming lack of ability to create drivers that are stable, I wouldn't even consider buying the KT600. Thus, the idea of a poll was born. I'm curious to see what you all think.

Hmmm I must be doing something wrong here,I`ve KT133 (MSI K7T Pro) which is nearly 3 years old and KT266a(Epox 8KHA+) which`s almost 2 years old ,both are rock solid infact very boring since nothing goes wrong.

I use the latest VIA drivers as they come out and never had any problems with them( all the way from 4.24 - 4.46) .

Yes I would use VIA again,I would also consider other chipsets as well since I`ve tried most of them and they have all been good experiences.

Come on. Why does this always happen. No offense, but there's always those people that have been lucky (yeah, I said lucky) and haven't had problems with VIA that come in to threads like this, lay down the sarcasm and act as though everyone else must be doing something wrong. You have to know that VIA has had issues in the past, right?

My point is that VIA has had many problems in their history (and the results of this post will prove that to you) and many don't trust them any more. I honestly don't care much what VIA puts out, and I think many share that POV. As long as nVidia's chipsets are in the same ballpark performance-wise, I won't even look at KT600 boards. I'm barely interested enough to check and se how KT600 boards perform. If I were a Soprano, I'd say, "VIA is dead to me," and then I'd curse a lot. And then I'd kill somebody.

Originally posted by: snidy1
I'll wait and see, it's too soon to tell which will be better. I did lose some faith in VIA though with my last VIA board.

I understand waiting, but I made the poll with the assumption that we're in a fantasy world and the KT600 numbers on HardOCP's site are the same as the numbers for the actual production boards.

 

[Mitzi]

I've no problems with Via...I've never had a sniff of a problem with my KT333 board.

 

[Remedy]

I have to ask this. What exactly does this thread accomplish besides people bringing up the past history of KT133 and other discontinued chipsets track record? How long are people going to hold this company in contempt (in this forum)? ATi also had a bad track record for drivers. Did this really stop anyone buying a R300 core? SiS was never known for a high performing chipset either, but companies are starting to pick up on them as well. ALi was never a threat until Opteron and Athlon64 announcement was made recently. Sorryl Ilmater, You're asking for trouble with this thread.

 

[JZilla]

My current system is KT266A and it is the most stable I have had, EVER.

BUT I would not buy Via again, but only because there is something called the nforce2 with the wonderful sound built right in.

 

[DaFinn]

Ilmater,

You call people not having any probs with VIA chipsets lucky? Looking at the number of chipsets and boards sold compared to how many people have problems with them, I'd say people with probblems are a small minority. Rather they have been unlucky. Intel has had a lot problematic products in the past too!!! Any VIA chipset after KT133 has been a great one!

And no, I don't have a VIA chipset so don't bother calling me a fanboy.


-DaFinn

 

[Mem]

No offense, but there's always those people that have been lucky (yeah, I said lucky) and haven't had problems with VIA that come in to threads like this, lay down the sarcasm and act as though everyone else must be doing something wrong. You have to know that VIA has had issues in the past, right?

My secret is simple,do some research on the board and brand you`re buying,(reviews, lots of them) next use quality components from PSU to ram etc,clean install of OS as well,that`s all I do .

I`m not saying any chipset is perfect ,but just that I have had no problems with my boards with many different chipsets over the years.
.

I would never say any hardware is perfect or other people haven`t had any problems ,but yes I`ve been lucky board wise or have I .

 

[BenSkywalker]

I selected the option that was closest for me, although there wasn't one for 'I'd dig up one of my old Sis Socket7 mobos and run a K62 333 until I could get a real board"

I had relatively decent luck comparitively speaking running VIA chipsets, compared to others anyway, but there was still too many issues to be acceptable.

How long are people going to hold this company in contempt (in this forum)?

Five years is my general rule of thumb.

ATi also had a bad track record for drivers. Did this really stop anyone buying a R300 core?

My five year period for ATi had expired, so I picked up a R300 core board. I tollerated it for about a month before trading it for a GeForce4. There is at least one game that has been broken since the core launched that is still broken today using the latest available drivers(Sacrifice, won numerous GOTY awards a couple years back). It will be '08 before I pick up another ATi board(the Sac issue wasn't the only one, all HL powered games, pixel popping in Q3 engined games along poly seems, screwed up AF implementation etc).

 

[Ardan]

these people don't get "lucky" in getting a stable system. I have used a horrible VIA chipset motherboard from Soyo when I had a 700Mhz Athlon (Thunderbird), then bought a replacement VIA-based MSI board and it was great. I have 2 other MSI motherboards right now (KT3 Ultra w/ a 1600+ and a KT4VL with an 1800+ Thoroughbred) and they are rock solid. If a motherboard you bought is horribly slow/unstable I would blame that largely on the manufacturer, not the chipset maker.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: ReMeDy{WcS}
I have to ask this. What exactly does this thread accomplish besides people bringing up the past history of KT133 and other discontinued chipsets track record? How long are people going to hold this company in contempt (in this forum)? ATi also had a bad track record for drivers. Did this really stop anyone buying a R300 core? SiS was never known for a high performing chipset either, but companies are starting to pick up on them as well. ALi was never a threat until Opteron and Athlon64 announcement was made recently. Sorryl Ilmater, You're asking for trouble with this thread.

The purpose is simple: I want to know if there are people like me that have absolutely no interest in VIA chipsets as long as there is a viable option out there. It's as simple as that. If you like VIA, answer as such.

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: Ilmater
I understand that. My main point is that regardless of what VIA puts out, given my past experience with them, as long as there is a viable (pun intended) alternative, I'd go with it. Save any ALi chipset, as I trust them less.

If I had to choose between the two, all the Athlon chipsets I have used had been VIA and never used an nForce, I would choose nForce. For me it has nothing to do with stability, my first chipset KX133 was a huge headache, but once I found a site that optimized the CMOS, it became fairly stable.

The only issue I ever had with VIA chipset was the popping sounds being paired up with unCreative Lab SC. Newer drivers from CL cleared a lot of it up, but still showed up every now and then.

I run a VIA KT333 now, and it does me pretty well and without any complaints, but I'm tired of them and would try something new too.

 

[chocoruacal]

My kt333 AT7 is a rock solid VIA board. However, after spending time with my 8RDA+, I find VIA to be rather embarassing (compared to the kt333 and kt400 boards I've owned.) To be honest...I was miserable after making the switch from Intel to AMD/Via. If nForce2 hadn't come along, I would have gone back to Intel. But, in the end I could give a crap who's name is on the box...if VIA actually can contend with nForce2 then great...maybe it will stir up some competition and force them both to keep bringing out quality products.

While I'm generally interested in max performance/$....nForce2 has some features that completely negate the extra 10fps that kt600 might offer: pci/agp lock and hardware DD sound.

 

[Malladine]

First of all, cheaper than what? How much will the KT600 boards be? Secondly, VIA have always been perfectly stable for me.

That said, if I ever become more interested in o'cing than I am, the nvidia chipsets would seem to be by far the best choice...right?

 

[AmdInside]

I wonder why if you install Windows on an Intel chipset motherboard, it runs stable without needing the installation of Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility. If you try doing the same on a Via chipset motherboard, you will have an unstable system. Via motherboards require a user to install their 4 in 1 drivers to run somewhat stable. Oh well, I am holding off for Athlon 64 but when I do, I promise it won't be paired with a Via chipset.

 

[Remedy]

The purpose is simple: I want to know if there are people like me that have absolutely no interest in VIA chipsets as long as there is a viable option out there. It's as simple as that. If you like VIA, answer as such.

Fine, you don't have to be so aggressive.

 

[sharkeeper]

Get real. I will never recommend such a rogue solution to my clients. Such a setback would be embarrASSing and could even result in a lawsuit. :Q

On a personal note, I tend to use what I recommend up to a point, so Intel/Intel or AMD/AMD 4 me!

-DAK-

 

[Remedy]

Originally posted by: AmdInside
I wonder why if you install Windows on an Intel chipset motherboard, it runs stable without needing the installation of Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility. If you try doing the same on a Via chipset motherboard, you will have an unstable system. Via motherboards require a user to install their 4 in 1 drivers to run somewhat stable. Oh well, I am holding off for Athlon 64 but when I do, I promise it won't be paired with a Via chipset.

I don't how many Intel systems you've ever built. But the ones i was contracted on all need the Intel drivers to function(intergrated features, a/v/L). From what I remember, Windows has some Intel inf's available for generic use with the chipset. So that could be why it works stable without installing exclusive software. But Intel releases updates on their site all the time so to say that you don't need drivers would be an overstatement. You need chipset drivers all chipsets, Nvidia, SiS, ALi Serverworks etc.

 

[AmdInside]

Originally posted by: ReMeDy{WcS}

Originally posted by: AmdInside
I wonder why if you install Windows on an Intel chipset motherboard, it runs stable without needing the installation of Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility. If you try doing the same on a Via chipset motherboard, you will have an unstable system. Via motherboards require a user to install their 4 in 1 drivers to run somewhat stable. Oh well, I am holding off for Athlon 64 but when I do, I promise it won't be paired with a Via chipset.

I don't how many Intel systems you've ever built. But the ones i was contracted on all need the Intel drivers to function(intergrated features, a/v/L). From what I remember, Windows has some Intel inf's available for generic use with the chipset. So that could be why it works stable without installing exclusive software. But Intel releases updates on their site all the time so to say that you don't need drivers would be an overstatement. You need chipset drivers all chipsets, Nvidia, SiS, ALi Serverworks etc.

I know you should alway install chipset drivers as I do whenever I build a new system. I am just stating, when Windows includes chipset support for an Intel chipset based motherboard, those drivers are usually pretty stable. When Windows includes driver support for a Via chipset, those drivers end up resulting as pretty unstable.

I am getting married soon, so the point may be moot anyways. I probably won't be allowed to upgrade my system until an Athlon 128 is out.

P.S. Avoid PCChip motherboards....and ECS motherboards at all cost.

 

[Remedy]

P.S. Avoid PCChip motherboards....and ECS motherboards at all cost.

What's wrong with them? I built 12 systems off of the VIA KM266 seres with both of them and didn't have any problems. I do know that the SiS735 that ECS built had problems with the first revisions AFA PSU validation goes. The PCC boards have been rock solid for the past months I've built them on. Send them out to clients and never heard back from them either. Just as well as all my VIA chipsets I deployed.