What's the best chipset for gamer/enthusiast? (Non-SLI)

[piromaneak]

I like the features of the nForce 4 Ultra and I heard good things about it but some people are telling me to go with VIA instead because they are more reliable etc? I would just like some other opinions before I choose a mainboard with the chipsets in question.

 

[Gamer X]

I would go with the nforce 4.

 

[piromaneak]

I need sort of an explanation as to why... Im trying to weigh between the two so anything you have to back up your opinion would be nice. Thanks.

 

[Cheesetogo]

I would think the nforce4 and even if that particualar chipset is not as good, you have the DFI lanparty ultra-d, which is supposed to be excellent for ocing.

 

[piromaneak]

so everyone pretty much agrees on the nForce 4 Ultra? So how come some mobo manufacterers such as ASUS still use the VIA chipset? Is that just because they are bound to use them by a contract or somethin?

 

[Painman]

Asus is coming out with the A8N-E very soon, maybe they're late with it because they want to work the kinks out of it before launch... we'll see.

 

[gobucks]

nforce 4 definitely. The feature set on the K8T890 sucks. It was supposed to use the VT8251 southbridge, bringing SATA-II/NCQ, HD Audio, etc. Unfortunately, this southbridge has since dissappeared off the face of the earth, and all the current K8T890 boards use the old VT8237. nForce4, on the other hand, has SATA-II/NCQ, hardware firewall, nice software overclocking/monitoring tools (ntune), gigabit lan, etc. On top of that, performance and overclocking is pretty damn good. I was at one point looking forward to the K8T890, but considering how much of a joke the whole product line has been (lacking features, months of delays with no explanation, lack of any variety of retail boards), I have to say I'd avoid it like the plague.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

gobucks,
I see a Seagate 80GB on your sig; didn't you have a Maxtor before?

Sorry for the off-topic. Anyway, I think both chipsets are ok. The nForce4 Ultra has more features but the K8T890+VT8237 is supposed to make up for it in price. Mobo companies offer boards with different chipsets because different people have different needs, and they want to sell as much as they can.

 

[piromaneak]

well I wouldnt go so far as to say "spare no expense" but I think I can manage the nF4Ultra chipset mobos heh... thanks for the info all.

BTW, I have heard strange things (meaning heresay) about ATi cards having some compatibility issues with the nVidia chipsets.. can any of you confirm this as I plan on using an X800 XT PE card. thanks in advance.

 

[Cheesetogo]

I don't think your going to have any problems with your x800xt. Nvidia card users get a very slight boost in performance, but you should not have any problems using an ati card.

 

[piromaneak]

ok thanks cheese

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

I think the performance of the two chipsets is about the same.

You need to ask yourself if the features of the NF4 are useful to you.
SATA2 - Well, no drives are close to maxing SATA1, so probably no benefit there
NCQ - Hasn't shown significant performance difference except in server apps
Firewall - Maybe a benefit, but doesn't seem to be very stable

I think the only benefit of the KT-890 is that it uses less power and is passively cooled in pretty much every mobo. The only NF4 mobo that is passively cooled is the Chaintech, and that may be chainged due to some reviewers who damaged their during attempted overclocking.

So, if silence is important, the VIA might be the way to go. If you find value in the NV features, then go that route. Either way, I doubt you'll notice a performance difference between the two.

I personally have the Chaintech NF4 Ultra board on the way with an X800XL ready to install. Hopefully all goes well. I also really like the Soltek KT-890 based mobo, but it wasn't in stock @ ZZF when I ordered, so I got the Chaintech instead. I wanted a passively cooled solution, so hopefully my Chaintech will come with a passive chipset cooler.

-D'oh!

 

[Painman]

My ATi card works just fine w/NF4. (Sapphire X850XT)

 

[Macro2]

Soltek KT-890 based mobo seems to have the least problems. Sound is great and it even OClocks pretty good. The nforce4 was released prematurely, IMHO.

 

[piromaneak]

After what I've been reading about the MSI neo4 macro, I might be agreeing with ya... Ill research the soltek a bit further... gettin caught up in all the nf4 hype its hard to see there are more mobo manufactuers than just asus, msi, dfi and abit heh...

 

[MTSteel]

The other problem piromaneak is there are not many Via boards on the market at the moment for comparison. I would really be interested in a nice roundup from Anandtech of the VIA and Nforce4. I am sure it will come, guess I have waited this long, cant hurt to wait a little longer.

 

[homercles337]

Originally posted by: Gamer X
I would go with the nforce 4.

 

[piromaneak]

yea well... you can wait till the end of time when they have an AMD TriAthlon 999giga+ with SDDDR (SuperDuperDoubleDateRate) 5000k Ram... Technology aint slowin down for anybody... kinda like a moving train... you just gotta time your jump on to it so you dont get caught between two cars and then... well you know

Grizzly analogy I know but its the best I could think of ATM lol

 

[MTSteel]

O I know about the waiting, but I do not have much of a choice when the stores I am shopping at do not even have stock of the new stuff Either they have not received the newer boards, or cant keep them on the shelf long enough for me I know what I want in reguards to platform, just not sure which manufacturer of mobo, so I am not sitting around waiting for the next best thing like a dual core This brand new stuff just seems to have some growing pains, not sure I want to be nvoed until i can read more reviews from each company.

Good Luck in your choice!