Via 4 in 1 drivers and Win XP

[benjamat]

A couple of weeks ago I changed from my usual intel based systems to Via and AMD, in that two weeks I have spent around 35 hours trying to get my system to run stable,

lessons Learned.

1 - Do not install Via 4 in 1 with windows XP, leave native drivers in place.

My results in Sandra -

Disk = 24000

memory Integar - 2036.
Float - 1868.

With 4 in i's I got no where near these results. In addition it was impossible to prove udma5 working.

2 - Windows XP will lose its stability in games if you install later nvidia drivers than native 1240. I have only noticed problems with games but three times over!

3 - Do not waste your time with Windows 2000. In spite of the mealy mouthed reviews that are around Windows XP is significantly faster , more stable and indeed easier to use than W2k in all areas. If you have purchased your copy the activation really is no problem and because of the stability and ability to roll back drivers you will not need to activate very often.

Note - I only installed XP because I was sent an evaluation disk and being bored one night I installed it straight over a W98 installation and let it rip. It installed perfectly and ran first time. This is the only time I have ever seen a problem free system change without formatting hard disks.

 

[jfunk]

I second the 4-in1 comment....don't bother with the new ones...stick with built in for now.

 

[jfall]

uhhh.. to my knowledge the VIA 4-in-1's are already installed with XP.... I believe the 4.31's

 

[Uclagamer_99]

the 21.83 drivers work fine...you must have problems with your system...either that or your upgrade install fubared it

 

[benjamat]

I take your point however I have read of many others trying different 4 in 1's with no better results and can only speak from my experience of trying to use the 4 in 1 drivers with W98, W2k and Win XP all with failure.

The other issue is that the drivers have serious problems with nvidia drivers later than those shipped with WinXP, I think they are 12.40. in fact even without the 4 in 1 drivers many games will crash using the via chipset and native drivers when updated nvidia drivers are installed. Surely this is an issue for Via, I have had no problems until switching to this hardware setup being greedy for speed.