KT333 chipset...bad or good?

[tbates757]

Whats with the VIA bashing, I have a EPoX 8KHA+ KT266A motherboard and it's awesome. Running an AthlonXP 1600+ @ about 1.85ghz. That is 176FSB. I also run D2OL on it about 12hrs a day, so if that isn't stability and awesome overclocking, not sure what is.

And, if you RMA'd 3 Epox 8KHA+'s and none of them worked, I doubt the motherboard was the problem in the equation.

 

[AbRASiON]

I was referring to one person.

I couldn't give a sh1t about your opinion about me.

I KNOW that Via screwed up before with the KT133 (A)!!!!! (and the 133) - and therefore I dislike the 333 - specially if you are comparing the nforce 2 and KT 333

Apologies to the original poster! - I thought he wrote nforce 2.

 

[capodeloscapos]

Maybe you can get MORE from your money buying a KT333, it´s a great Chipset, and VIA is an excellent manufacturer.
My KT266A and my brother´s KT133 are working fine.

 

[Soulkeeper]

I've had a KT133 chipset based board and, contrary to what most would expect, this chipset has never given me problems. I even had a sound blaster live! in it with not a single issue.
i've had it overclocked and everything
the only issue i had with the kt133 was it wouldn't take a 133mhz fsb
other than that i keep the system running for months at a time in a server environment and play games on it without a single issue that I could blame directly on the chipset

I think most people that blame stuff on via have one or all of the following issues:

sucky motherboards(cheap ones like leadteck, fic, aopen, and ecs)
cheap psu's
Bad drivers for their corny hardware
don't have the latest 4in1 drivers installed
want to pick a part in their system to hate and blame all issues on (cause it's easier that way)
or they just don't know how to build a system.....


if my KT133 is near perfect for me
My uncle's KT333 is perfect
my friend's KT133a is perfect
and i havn't heard any credible issues with kt400 yet

i just think their's some people out there jumpin on the bandwaggon and i won't hate VIA till i get burned or start seeing people getting burnt

the nforce2 is a nice chipset tho and serves as good competition to the KT400 (the nforce2 does edge it out a bit in overall performance with it's dual channel ddr support)


ohh yeah and i would get a kt400 over a kt333 for several reasons
-faster V-link
-usb 2.0
-agp 8x
-sata
-more likely to get thermal diode protection
........



so yur choice right now is between nforce2 and KT400 if you want the best chipset

 

[Mem]

Errrr well no I wouldn't say only with idiots, it's a matter of opinion.
and I had far LESS problems with my KT133 chipset than my KT133A (total piece of shit)
The question is moot - KT333 vs an nforce2 = not a chance in hell - via is slower and less reliable.

Via have earned their bad name and they can keep it.

Sounds like user error to me,yes I`ve both a KT133 and KT266A which are rock solid,btw I`ve had the same rock stability with my other chipsets which include SiS and Intel .Little tip for you, the quality of the other components also determine the overall stability ,the chipset is only a small part,throw in quality of the brand and model of the board plus PSU ,ram ,etc and last but not least skill of the user and you see there`re many factors.

Back on topic KT333 are fine for stability ,true the nForce 2 boards are faster but then they`re like gold dust at the moment and remember you`ve KT400a boards out early next year,point being no chipset remains top dog for long.

 

[Sunner]

I wouldn't say all errors are user errors.

My KT133 rig wasn't entirely stable(though sufficent for what I did with it), it was an Asus A7V, Crucial PC-133, Addtronics case/PSU, GF DDR, Windows 2000/Linux, and a TB Santa Cruz, I wouldn't exactly say those are too shabby components.

And frankly if a chipset requires better than that while others don't, I'd say the chipset that does is definately far inferior.

 

[DigitalXtreme]

Originally posted by: AbRASiON

I was referring to one person.

I couldn't give a sh1t about your opinion about me.

I KNOW that Via screwed up before with the KT133 (A)!!!!! (and the 133) - and therefore I dislike the 333 - specially if you are comparing the nforce 2 and KT 333

Apologies to the original poster! - I thought he wrote nforce 2.

I am wondering how U can make up ur decision just based on that ... but then I guess U never used the KT266A mobo and a KT333 mobo


As far as the original post goes ... I have been using this MSI KT3 Ultra2-R board with the KT333 chipset for over 4 months with 0 problems. I am running a Athlon XP 2000+ mildly over clocked to 1.7 and never had any troubles. My older puter was an ASUS mobo based on the KT266A chipset and my buddy is using it right now and between the 2 of us we naver had problems with that for over a year and guess what ... the sound card in that system is Soundblaster Live

As far as my decision goes ... i would definately buy a KT400 board before the nForce2, but I have heard solid feedback about the nForce2 ... but imho if U have to choose between KT333 and nForce1 then KT333 would be my choice

Hope this helped
DX

 

[MadRat]

Nforce2 and NForce1 take more money to upgrade the memory. The NVidia chipsets take paired memory to get their performance. You also need to scale beyond the 2000+ to notice any difference from NForce chipsets to the KT333, because the latter can nearly feed as much memory bandwidth to the chip that it can handle.

The KT333 takes one stick of RAM to get nearly the same performance at most clock speeds.

 

[JamesM3M5]

Had a Shuttle AK31A (sitting in a box, now) with KT266A chipset. Rock solid stable and OCed an 1800 to 1.7GHz easily. Took all of my perhipherals without a hitch.

Now I have an EPoX 8K3AE ($75 refurbished, from newegg) with KT333. OCed a 1600 to 1.74GHz, 166FSB no problem. Only trouble I have is a USB Smart Media card reader that won't install. Bought a different flash card reader, problem solved.

No experience with nForce.

JamesM

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: redly1
what are the downfalls and benefits of a motherboard with this chipset compared to Nforce 1?

The KT333 chipset is superior to the Nforce 1 by a pretty decent margin. The Nforce 2 would be better than both.

This thread is pretty wrought with opinion but little fact. Anand has an article on each of these chipsets, go check them out.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: AbRASiON
It's a VIA KT333 chipset so it's no good.


(specially with the nforce 2 out)

The nforce 2 would definately be the better choice, but otherwise your opinion is pretty stupid. FYI.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: AbRASiON

I was referring to one person.

I couldn't give a sh1t about your opinion about me.

I KNOW that Via screwed up before with the KT133 (A)!!!!! (and the 133) - and therefore I dislike the 333 - specially if you are comparing the nforce 2 and KT 333

Apologies to the original poster! - I thought he wrote nforce 2.

alright.
good reasoning, btw.

 

[U2ForNow]

Originally posted by: JamesM3M5
Had a Shuttle AK31A (sitting in a box, now) with KT266A chipset. Rock solid stable and OCed an 1800 to 1.7GHz easily. Took all of my perhipherals without a hitch.

Now I have an EPoX 8K3AE ($75 refurbished, from newegg) with KT333. OCed a 1600 to 1.74GHz, 166FSB no problem. Only trouble I have is a USB Smart Media card reader that won't install. Bought a different flash card reader, problem solved.

No experience with nForce.

JamesM

Anyone still looking for one, take a look at TCWO.com they have some on their clearance site for a bit less with free fedex shipping. Link

 

[CyNics]

Originally posted by: tbates757
Whats with the VIA bashing, I have a EPoX 8KHA+ KT266A motherboard and it's awesome. Running an AthlonXP 1600+ @ about 1.85ghz. That is 176FSB. I also run D2OL on it about 12hrs a day, so if that isn't stability and awesome overclocking, not sure what is.

And, if you RMA'd 3 Epox 8KHA+'s and none of them worked, I doubt the motherboard was the problem in the equation.

176FSB???? 176/4 = 44 PCI bus..are you trying to smoke your PCI cards...or maybe your HD ??????

 

[AbRASiON]

Anyone disputing the KT133 issues as "user error" obviously hasn't been around the IT scene long enough...

 

[StattlichPassat]

I've built two rock-solid workstations off ASUS KT333 boards- they're wonderful.

 

[Brian48]

Running an Epox 8k3a here. Best motherboard I've used to date. Only wish I got the plus version instead so I can use the HPT373 RAID controller.

 

[Remedy]

I KNOW that Via screwed up before with the KT133 (A)!!!!! (and the 133) - and therefore I dislike the 333

How can you dislike something you never used? That is like saying you don't like Granite bay chipset because the i850 had a PCI problem, even though you've never dealt with it. Or similar to saying you don't like IBM and their latest IDE technology because of the past 75GXP failure rate. I suppose you don't like ATi's 9700 because of the driver problems that the Rage Fury had in 99?

Anyone disputing the KT133 issues as "user error" obviously hasn't been around the IT scene long enough...

Anyone mentioning KT133 and IT in the same sentence should of been out of work before a period was even placed on that sentence. Many enthusiast were able to get that chipset up & going without a hitch along with the (A) revision. Now if some IT staff isn't able to get a chipset up and going that members of a forum Can, maybe the occupational skills of that person are in serious question.

IMHO, never make a company a scapegoat for a problem which others have already conquered.

 

[acidvoodoo]

my kt333 has given no problems, it is very good

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: acidvoodoo
my kt333 has given no problems, it is very good

mine has been sweet as well..no drivers issues here

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: acidvoodoo
my kt333 has given no problems, it is very good

I agree!

 

[Insidious]

Originally posted by: ReMeDy{WcS}

I KNOW that Via screwed up before with the KT133 (A)!!!!! (and the 133) - and therefore I dislike the 333

How can you dislike something you never used? That is like saying you don't like Granite bay chipset because the i850 had a PCI problem, even though you've never dealt with it. Or similar to saying you don't like IBM and their latest IDE technology because of the past 75GXP failure rate. I suppose you don't like ATi's 9700 because of the driver problems that the Rage Fury had in 99?

Anyone disputing the KT133 issues as "user error" obviously hasn't been around the IT scene long enough...

Anyone mentioning KT133 and IT in the same sentence should of been out of work before a period was even placed on that sentence. Many enthusiast were able to get that chipset up & going without a hitch along with the (A) revision. Now if some IT staff isn't able to get a chipset up and going that members of a forum Can, maybe the occupational skills of that person are in serious question.

IMHO, never make a company a scapegoat for a problem which others have already conquered.

That needed said twice!

For Christ's sake..... :disgust:

 

[AbRASiON]

"Anyone mentioning KT133 and IT in the same sentence should of been out of work before a period was even placed on that sentence. Many enthusiast were able to get that chipset up & going without a hitch along with the (A) revision. Now if some IT staff isn't able to get a chipset up and going that members of a forum Can, maybe the occupational skills of that person are in serious question."

There's a difference between "up and working" and "working reliably" - as well as working 100%

Put an SB Live in there - it still has issues, put an SB 16 in there - latest bios, latest 4 in 1's AND the advice of the faq on viahardware.com - ooooooooh still crackling
So don't come down on me with bullshit like it's a lack of skill on my behalf - the chipset is a known issue - and half the older members of this board who actually remember would agree with me - perhaps the KT333 IS a different story - I admit I'm biased.

NONE.THE.LESS - due to the 133 being a POS - Via have earned themselves a name as trash with many enthusiasts hence my initial comments.

You can all "join the bandwagon" and support each other - I couldn't care less how many people dislike my opinion - in the long run there WAS an issue with the chipset, there still IS an issue with the chipset and denying it is proving YOUR lack of knowledge - just because you may have had the 1/999999999999 million combinatino of hardware which didn't caure a problem - doesn't mean others didn't.

and with that - I leave my case to rest.

 

[Remedy]

You said there is a issue with VIA chipsets. But yet you haven't pointed out what issue it is today with the current chipsets. Discussing a chipset from more than 3 generations ago as it were released yesterday is just as bad as saying ATi rage fury is a reflection of todays R9700. Or the IBM point i brought up. What's that you say? The soundblaster is still crackling? No you mean audigy Stuttering right? On an Intel chipset? No i must be a liar.. Go blame Creative for the rice crispy problem.

I admit I'm biased.

You mean you admit you're out to destroy a companies reputation? How helpful/creditable is your opinion if you claimed to be Biased?

 

[Jhhnn]

Every chipset maker pumps out a lemon once in awhile, with Intel it was their initial rdram offering, the 840, iirc... , or the memory controller hub part of the deal...

Having worked with several different Via boards, I really think that most of the problems come from the boards themselves rather than the chipsets. One of our home machines has a soyo kt133 board- it was a little cranky to set up, but it's been very stable for the last 18 mos., and this is a kid's machine running a variety of games. Recently worked over a friend's system with an Asus A7V- hate that board, it's a pain in the ass, and has never worked right. I've used the KM (integrated video) boards for people who don't game w/o regrets, and the wife has a km266 Epox that hasn't been rebooted in over a month.

So it all depends on what you're comfortable with, either the kt333 or nforce1 will serve you well provided you get a good board. If you're using WinXP, you don't need the 4in1's at all- my last 2 builds with kt266a boards and XP were the smoothest I've ever done, Windows put it all together seamlessly. Scared me half to death...