Questions on new Machine

[EvlG]

Hi all, I am looking at buying parts this week to build a new box (using some of my existing parts as well). I was wondering if you could answer a couple of questions.

Here is what I am looking to build:

A7m266 + 1.4ghz Tbird w/ 512mb Crucial PC2100 DDR
IBM Deskstar 60GXP 40gb Drive
IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30gb Drive
Acer 10X DVDROM
Plextor 16/10/40 CDRW
Generic floppy
Enermax 365W power supply
Hercules 3D Prophet Geforce DDR-DVI
Kazer (No-name brand) TNT2 PCI for secondary video
SB Live Value
Netgear FA310TX
Linksys WPC11 Wireless Ethernet
3COM Controller-based PCI Modem
Bunch of miscellaneous USB stuff (cameras, mice, etc...)

I have heard that I should not install the VIA drivers when the motherboard arrives. is that accurate? If so, can someone tell me why or point me towards an article that definitively states why not? This seems to be a point of contention in the community.

Also, will I have any compatibility problems with the components? I have heard some bad things about Soundblasters on VIA chipsets; would switching to a hercules Game Theatre XP (a card I want to upgrade to anyways) help with that?

Thanks a lot.

 

[WhatWasIThinking]

There are issues with VIA and the SB Live, but unfortunately I don't know the details. Look around these forums and you will probably find out what you need to know. There may also be issues with the Netgear NIC. I have a FA311 that doesn't work with my Epox 8K7A. I think that has something to do with VIA chipsets too, but I don't know whether that will affect you. It may be specific to the 8K7A.

 

[EvlG]

thanks for your help!

 

[Priit]

There was a problem (HDD data corruption and sound cracking/popping) with SBlive and VIA vt82c686b south bridge but it's fixed with latest 4-in-1 service packs. Everything should work just fine...