Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Most people just don't have the experience or time to setup a system. So VIA got a bad rap as Microsoft didn't support the VIA chipsets nativaley, hence the need for the 4in1's before win XP came out.
Originally posted by: IQJUMPuw
I would get the Nforce2 board. I'm pretty sure KT400a is going to be nice, but why wait when Nforce2 is the best chipset out right now?
The only thing that would stop me from getting the Nforce2 board would be the price.
No more 686B southbridge problems here (as far as I can tell anyway). Example, the Epox 8K9A2; it uses the KT400 chipset, with a VIA VT8235 southbridge.why, so you can wait for whatever bugs this via chipset has? ok, first the 686B south bridge didn't work with SB cards, then the KT266 had bad USB and poor memory performance, then the KT400 doesn't even support DDR400 or dual channel memory. don't by via and save yourself from the pain.
Originally posted by: SinfulWeeper
Just go the Intel route like I did. The CPU's cost more, the motherboards gennerally less for much superior quality.
Example. My Duron 800MHz system I got fed up with on a Soyo Dragon board... crashed all the friggin time. The mobo costed me new at the time. $179. The Duron was a relic, before the XP's were even released. But $89 at the time, actual value at the time of buying the Soyo board was about $68. (prices w/o shipping) $268 total, or $247 real time value.
Now my new system. Abit BE7-Raid mobo. $123. P4 Retail $118 (non-northwood). The P4 OC's to 2.48GHz on stock retail intel cooling. Can probably do more, but my cheap Corsair PC2400 memory can not handle it. Total system value, $241.
This is what I noticed about AMD CPU's = Little $$$. Good quality mobo's = Losts of $$$
Intel based high quality mobo's = Low-'mid-high' $$$. CPU's = Primo money at high MHz... but the lower MHz OC really well. Also the lower frequency give more yeild of OC ability... AMD's do not OC in my experience anywhere as close as Intel.
And now I do not have those friggin crashes AMD setups always gave me. Makes me glad I dumped those crappy AMD setups.
Ahh well. Just glad it's off my chest.
Originally posted by: SinfulWeeper
I am getting off topic though. To me Intel's are stable. AMD's were not. I never tried a nforce type of board. I thought about it when I was about to ditch my Soyo. But I decided I am done futzing trying to get that last tweak in to see if it will be stable. I wanted a fast computer, I wanted it cheap, and I wanted with no stability issues. That only left me the Intel route. Sorry AMD fans.
i agree about the nforce2 being pricey. thats why i just ordered a kt400 mobo.