nVidia nForce vs VIA KT266

[edge077]

I'm looking at upgrading (who isn't) from my current system.
I really like the specs on the nForce chipset motherboards (specifically the ASUS A7N266), but some of the comments in the article about the KT266 based motherboards have me wondering. I'm curious what the general opinion is, with money being an issue, would it be a better deal to get the nForce based motherboard or is the performance of the KT266 based motherboard enough better to make it worth the extra money of having to get a geforce2 video card?

 

[System of a Down]

after two amd/via systems i was dissappointed in their stability/problems/issues. This caused me to buy all intel systems for the last two computers i have bought. I blame the problems i had on poor VIA chipsets and i think i was right. I just built an athlon XP 1600+ with an MSI K7N420 Pro and i am very much pleased with the system so far. I am using it as my web development workstation so i'm not gaming on it, but it is faster and just as stable as the p3 1ghz and intel i815 mobo i had before. I have nothing but good things to say about my nForce mobo and i would and will reccomend them to anyone looking at getting an AMD based computer. btw, i believe there will be an nforce model coming out that doesn't have integrated graphics, for much cheaper so maybe you should wait and get that.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Welcome to Anandtech!

I guess it really depends on what computer hardware you have now, and what type of video/audio performance you're looking for. The KT266A is currently the fastest chipset for the AMD platform. I doesn't have any onboard features (other than AC 97'...blah).

The Nforce is almost as fast as the KT266A, but more expensive. The onboard GF2 MX is nice compared to other onboard video solutions, but if you're looking for high quality video performance look elsewhere. The onboard audio is excellent and comparable to PCI card alternatives. The ASUS board also has onboard NIC.

Do you want high quality video (GF2 Ti200 +)? Do you already have a comparable soundcard?

 

[brainalien]

Personally, I would never buy any mobo with built in graphics, because you will need upgrade options later on. Go buy a 266A mobo and a cheap Geforce2 GTS or MX or wait for the Nforce mobos without the integrated graphics and see how they compare to the 266A. Besides, the current Nforce boards are more expensive right now, so going with a seperate graphics card setup won't be too much more. Decent PCI sound cards are so cheap these days that on-board sound really isn't an issue in my opinion. Whatever you decide, good luck.

 

[Raspewtin]

"The KT266A is currently the fastest chipset for the AMD platform"

by 1 or 2% which falls within the margin of error which means they are effectively the same speed (based on the findings at Tom's Hardware) there could be other more recent results that suggest otherwise of course.

"The ASUS board also has onboard NIC."

yeah, the MSI does too (the onboard NIC is very good)

" I'm curious what the general opinion is, with money being an issue, would it be a better deal to get the nForce based motherboard or is the performance of the KT266 based motherboard enough better to make it worth the extra money of having to get a geforce2 video card? "

re: performance, they are essentially the same speed, the gf2 in the nforce is nothing exciting IMO though.

--

IMO Via has more issues than it's worth though, way more than they should for having so much experience making chipsets. That was the motivating factor in my situation.

 

[Athlon4all]

Welcome to Anandtech edge077!

I have one question, are you going to, nForce or not, be getting GeForce2 MX video? If you are, then it's a no brainer(imo). Go nForce. The MSi K7N420 Pro at $146 at Newegg includes GeForce2 MX video, better than SB Audigy Sound, NIC, and limited overclocking, for almost a $100 less than what it would cost to get all that with a EPoX 8KHA+ KT266A board. There are 2 downsides to nForce:

1. Overclocking on all boards except for the A7N266-E is poor.
2. You must use 2 identical make and size DIMM's in order to get optimum integrated video and system performance. So to get 256Megs of DDR, you would get for example 2 128MB sticks of Crucial PC2100 DDR. Also, If you use more than 2 double-sided DIMM's the system will slow down so it is best to use only 2 identical make and size DIMM's.

I would not worry about performance or stability for nForce in comparision to 266A. Performance is at most on nForce 3% slower than 266A (not noticeable) and stability, well as long as you follow the guidelines for memory, nforce may be more stable and problem free than 266A. So really, it is as ST4R said all about what you want to get and what you have now. Without even taking into account the Audio and NIC, I think that if you're getting GF2 MX video, then there is no reason to go 266a and every reason to go nForce. If you want better than GF2MX video like a GF3 Ti200, then well you can either go 266A now with a GF3 Ti200 or you can wait for nForce 415-D boards which do have the strict memory guidelines, but no integrated video and are rumored to start at $100 and they will still feature the nForce APU and NIC. 266A is a great solution, don't get me wrong. If you have any questions just ask.

P.S. The only reason to go the Asus A7N266-E over the almost $50 cheaper MSi K7N420 Pro is if u have some serious overclocking in mind, that is the only plus for the A7N266-E otherwise, you will be better off taking the K7N420 Pro.

 

[AGodspeed]

I have a K7N420 board in my secondary system:

1. Performance: The fastest board I've ever had by far. I haven't tried the current crop of KT266A boards, but the difference between them is (as most have mentioned) like 2%.
2. Stability: Definitely the most stable board I've ever had. I used to have a 440BX based PIII system back in the day and this system is definitely as stable if not more stable than the 440BX. Everything I've thrown at this nForce system has not made it slow down or unreliable at all. I'm really happy.
3. Price and setup: The price when I bought this board was just under $160, now it's just under $150. IMO, it was worth the extra money for this board simply because of the stability and performance it offers. And although the KT266A boards offer equal or better performance (stability is debatable) I'm fairly certain that the use of setting up this board cannot be found in a KT266A setup. All I had to do to get this board going was a single driver install, which contained all the necessary drivers for basically everything in my system. That was definitely cool.

Get this board if you're going to want the GeForce2MX graphics. If you don't need the graphics, then get the 415-D nForce motherboards that are going to start showing up in a couple weeks. Abit, ASUS, and MSI are supposed to have boards based on this chipset.

 

[Hendrik]

Brainalien:

"Personally, I would never buy any mobo with built in graphics, because you will need upgrade options later on. Go buy a 266A mobo and a cheap Geforce2 GTS or MX or wait for the Nforce mobos without the integrated graphics and see how they compare to the 266A. Besides, the current Nforce boards are more expensive right now, so going with a seperate graphics card setup won't be too much more. Decent PCI sound cards are so cheap these days that on-board sound really isn't an issue in my opinion."

You don't seem to realize that all nForce boards have AGP slots, so you can always upgrade by sticking in an AGP card.
As for price, the MSI 420PRO costs about $145. This includes the built-in Geforce 2 MX (worth $60) and built-in sound (worth another $60 or so). If someone actually needs a new graphics card and is happy with a budget card such as the Geforce 2 MX, they'd be crazy to pass up the MSI 420PRO in favor of some 266A board.

 

[BD231]

<<the KT266A boards offer equal or better performance>>

I would go with the 415-D or a KT266A board. I am running a KT266(not A) chipset with an Athlon XP 1800+ and stability wise I have had no problems whatsoever. In fact my computer has been running so well that I almost feel like its an Intel machine. I think the KT266A and the nForce are pretty much even in every way possible.

 

[Hendrik]

<In fact my computer has been running so well that I almost feel like its an Intel machine.>

You mean, only 2-3 crashes a week?

Do yourself a favor and check out an nForce based motherboard. You will never want to go back to VIA.

 

[Ryan]

I personally really like NForce boards I am planning on building my next system on the platform. I think the supurb audio, and the nic make it worth it. I won't be using the integrated video, but I think that it's a good option for anyone looking to go integrated.

 

[AmdInside]

I really like my nForce motherboard (MSI). It has been rock solid stable, no crashes whatsoever. I would put the stability right up there with Intel. I would put Via stability right up there with the Ford cars I have owned in the past, junk. Yeah, I paid like $165 for the motherboard but the way I see it, I am going to keep this board for a while. I will be replacing my video card someday and it sort of helps having a replacement video card on my motherboard just in case I want to sell my video card before I purchase another video card. I highly recommend the nForce chipset, especially for its stability, audio and low CPU utilization network built in.

 

[Cuular]

Well until you actually try it, and push the integrated video to the limits (Overclock it), don't knock it. The ASUS mobo lets you overclock the video card. Mine is running at Core 220, Mem 320, and at 1280X1024 beats the plain GF3 on the games I play for being smoother with less stuttering. The games I play most often are DAOC, EQ, RTCW. Now it may be missing some extra functionality that the GF3 has, but so far the games look just as good, and some of them even better on the builtin GF2-MX as they do on the GF3. At it's stock 175/266 setting it is kinda a dog. Now to find a way to try and push that just a little bit faster.

EDIT:
For the record I have two machines both with the same CPU/memory, scsi controller and hard drives. Only difference is the lan/sound/video cards. On the non Nforce one, the nic is intel pro, the sound is GTXP, and the vid card is GF3, the original.

Both run WinXP pro.

 

[AmdInside]

One more think I forgot to mention that I also like is that I am still using the drivers that came with the motherboard and haven't had to update them like I do with the 4 in 1 drivers. That is such a great feeling. I tried the ECS SiS 735 motherboard too but it had problems with my SCSI controller (worked fine with only IDE devices) and so I returned it.

 

[CraigJay]

I personally was never able to get my VIA system stable. I had all sorts of trouble with hard drive corruption. I just never had the ability to figure out how to make my 133a stable. With the nForce, I have had no trouble since I installed the nVidia reference drivers. I am using WinXP.

Craig

 

[spamsk8r]

<< Well until you actually try it, and push the integrated video to the limits (Overclock it), don't knock it. The ASUS mobo lets you overclock the video card. Mine is running at Core 220, Mem 320, and at 1280X1024 beats the plain GF3 on the games I play for being smoother with less stuttering. The games I play most often are DAOC, EQ, RTCW. Now it may be missing some extra functionality that the GF3 has, but so far the games look just as good, and some of them even better on the builtin GF2-MX as they do on the GF3. At it's stock 175/266 setting it is kinda a dog. Now to find a way to try and push that just a little bit faster.

EDIT:
For the record I have two machines both with the same CPU/memory, scsi controller and hard drives. Only difference is the lan/sound/video cards. On the non Nforce one, the nic is intel pro, the sound is GTXP, and the vid card is GF3, the original.

Both run WinXP pro. >>



I highly doubt that the Geforce2 MX could ever come near to a geforce3, especially an integrated one, what are you smoking?

 

[AGodspeed]

<<

<< Well until you actually try it, and push the integrated video to the limits (Overclock it), don't knock it. The ASUS mobo lets you overclock the video card. Mine is running at Core 220, Mem 320, and at 1280X1024 beats the plain GF3 on the games I play for being smoother with less stuttering. The games I play most often are DAOC, EQ, RTCW. Now it may be missing some extra functionality that the GF3 has, but so far the games look just as good, and some of them even better on the builtin GF2-MX as they do on the GF3. At it's stock 175/266 setting it is kinda a dog. Now to find a way to try and push that just a little bit faster.

EDIT:
For the record I have two machines both with the same CPU/memory, scsi controller and hard drives. Only difference is the lan/sound/video cards. On the non Nforce one, the nic is intel pro, the sound is GTXP, and the vid card is GF3, the original.

Both run WinXP pro. >>



I highly doubt that the Geforce2 MX could ever come near to a geforce3, especially an integrated one, what are you smoking? >>



It's called overclocking Mr.

 

[bluemax]

Hee hee hee... overclocking an MX to GF3 speeds.... hee hee hee....
Mind you, if it can make it to GTS speeds, that's plenty for average Joe anyways. I'd be quite happy with that.

 

[edge077]

Thanks for all the welcomes, and for the information.

In any case when I upgrade I'll go to a geForce2 graphics solution, the geForce3 is beyond my needs just now as I primarily play AC.

Just to recap so I know I have the info right:
From what everyone has said performance is not an issue as they are within 2% so the primary concern is actually graphics and sound. Since the sound on the nForce is way beyond what I'll ever likely need and the geForce 2 is what I was shooting for the issue boils down to can I get the nforce motherboard cheaper than I can get a motherboard/geForce2/sound card combination.

BTW: I had been looking exclusivly at the ASUS boards as I've had good experiances with them in the past, but some of the info here has pointed me at other manufacturers

Pricewath here I come

Thanks again all

 

[BFG10K]

I'd pick the KT266a althought I'm looking at an SiS 735 as a possible alternative.

I highly doubt that the Geforce2 MX could ever come near to a geforce3, especially an integrated one, what are you smoking?
------------------------------------------------
It's called overclocking Mr.

ROTFLMAO!

 

[PlatinumGold]

i find it hard to justify the extra expense of the KT266a over the SIS mb. i know i know, PC Chips and ECS sux. but i have the ECS board and i love it.

you take the ECS at 54 or so, add decent sound card and Video Card and voila.

still not as good of a deal as the Nforce but good deal nonetheless.

bottom line, given what your looking to do, get the Nforce, myself i'm waiting for the 415 chipset from nvidia. if any of the 415 boards supports cpu internal diode temp thingy, i'll get one of them.

 

[Bovinicus]

<< i find it hard to justify the extra expense of the KT266a over the SIS mb. i know i know, PC Chips and ECS sux. but i have the ECS board and i love it. >>

I tend to agree. The SiS735 chipset is very stable and at the same performance levels as the competition. The ECS K7S5A is really cheap. Grab a Hercules Fortissimo or Muse XL for under $30. Then, grab a GF2 GTS-V. The slightly slower clocked GF2 at a great price. This should give you the best combination of price, quality, and performance. You can also use some SDR SDRAM memory if you need to.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

in theory, nForce 420D should be the fastest, it uses amd hypertransport - 800MB/s system i/o bus, and 4.2GB/s memory bus, nvidia claims that its built-in audio and network is hardware solution while c-media and realtek's is software, and it's even faster than add-in card such as sb audigy and intel or 3com nic.
it also has DD 5.1 encoder.

Asus mb uses realtek chip for the lan instead of the nForce built-in which is strange.
MSI mb is much cheaper than Asus and is the first manufacturer released it.

 

[brainalien]

"You don't seem to realize that all nForce boards have AGP slots, so you can always upgrade by sticking in an AGP card.
As for price, the MSI 420PRO costs about $145. This includes the built-in Geforce 2 MX (worth $60) and built-in sound (worth another $60 or so). If someone actually needs a new graphics card and is happy with a budget card such as the Geforce 2 MX, they'd be crazy to pass up the MSI 420PRO in favor of some 266A board. "


Well, I feel like an idiot . I had no clue that the current Nforce boards had an AGP slot. Thanks for the info Hendrik.