VIA KT400A. *3-31-03 UPDATE*

[NicColt]

8237 won't be that big a deal, it will add 2 USB's total to 8 and native SATA bypassing the pci bus and V-Link Ultra interconnects. Even with the SATA bypassing the bus won't bring increase speeds and the v-link wont help you in real world performance unless you have every USB 2 link running at max. Who here is going to have 8 USB devices running at max output at the same time ???

to come and say not to get the board because of the missing 8237 is crazy, and on top of that the 8237 is going to be a drop in chip meaning if you really want it you'll be able to buy it for $10 or so and just replace it. The important chip here is the VT8235. Overall this board is looking good.

 

[Remedy]

to come and say not to get the board because of the missing 8237 is crazy, and on top of that the 8237 is going to be a drop in chip meaning if you really want it you'll be able to buy it for $10 or so and just replace it. The important chip here is the VT8235. Overall this board is looking good.

Totally agree here. Now that KT600 is on the road map for June. I'm waiting again.

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: ReMeDy{WcS}

to come and say not to get the board because of the missing 8237 is crazy, and on top of that the 8237 is going to be a drop in chip meaning if you really want it you'll be able to buy it for $10 or so and just replace it. The important chip here is the VT8235. Overall this board is looking good.

Totally agree here. Now that KT600 is on the road map for June. I'm waiting again.

Then KT600A would appear and the waiting goes on...................

 

[Remedy]

Well after reading the specification for the KT600. I've decided not to wait for it. I'll take the KT4A.

 

[thehandler]

Anyone know where I can read up on this KT-600 chipset? Any links?? MIke

 

[Soulkeeper]

the kt600 might never make it to market
the kt400a is close enough in performance to the nvidia and sis solutions to where via is prob gonna give up on socket a
kt600 might be all hyped up and talked about but don't get yur hopes too high

 

[thehandler]

well yes but VIA will have to do something to get the official 400mhz FSB support. It is clear that we will be seeing Bartons with 400mhz FSB. I can't imagine VIA will not want a piece of that market. mike

 

[Remedy]

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper
the kt600 might never make it to market
the kt400a is close enough in performance to the nvidia and sis solutions to where via is prob gonna give up on socket a
kt600 might be all hyped up and talked about but don't get yur hopes too high

What are you talking about hyped and never making it to the market?

They never announced it. It was on their Road Map @ Cebit over the weekend, which is what interested a couple of websites. It's still unannounced as it is and it fully supports 400mhz Barton with 8287 SB and few other features that can be bundled via 3rd party devices. It's basically a KT400A with with a similar moniker. What your post is about is beyond me.

 

[thehandler]

I don't know either but the KT-600 sounds exactly like what I have been waiting for. And since Asus announced that their version of the KT-400A mobo will have a locked PCI/AGP bus, VIA is a lot more exciting to me. The 600 can only be better. Since the Socket A is near the end of its evolution, I am hoping to hold out and get my hands on the latest, most up to date final version of a chipset that will be produced to support it. I want a chipset that will support the 400 mhz Barton all the way up to the fastest speed it will ever be released in. That is why I have held out thus far on not buying an NF2 board even thouigh they seem to be quite wonderful for the AMD CPU's. I thought the KT-400 was going to be the end of the Socket A road for VIA, then came along the A revision and now it appears there will be a 600. Hum, makes me wonder if we will one day see a 600A Mike

 

[sequoia464]

Handler, I waited months for KT400A and it still isn't available, probably several weeks away still, and when it does come out it won't have the newer southbridge. Add in a couple more months for that. Then KT600?? Dude, you're looking towards end of summer, next fall for something that is allready here; nForce2.

When I finally gave up on the VIA waiting game a few weeks back I bought an ABIT NF7-S (revision1.2). I have never been happier with a board. Not hyping ABIT specifically here, there are several good nForce2 boards out. I was in a different position than you though, I was still using a KT133A board that was fading, looks like you have a pretty decent setup.

EDIT ;;::;;, I just saw at Hard OCP that KT600 is due out by May, not such a long wait after all. Why is VIA bothering with KT400A at all??

 

[NicColt]

"According to sources, the KT600 (codenamed KT400A-CE) is pin-to-pin compatible with the KT400A (codenamed KT400A-CD), but is designed to support a 400MHz FSB. The KT400A only supports a 333MHz FSB."

It's just one stepping above the CE and only diff will be that it will officially support the 400MHz FSB Barton's and will also have the newer 8237.

>Why is VIA bothering with KT400A at all??

I'm not planning on going to a 400 FSB Barton so the KT400A fits just fine into my plans.

 

[thehandler]

To the last two posters. I understand where you guys are coming from. I was VERY close to buying an Abit NF-2 rv1.2 myslef. In fact, if I buy and NF2 board, that will be the one I buy as it looks to rock.
BUT, even NVidia is talking of plans for an upgraded chipset beyond the NF2 which supports socket A and will have native SATA support plus who knows what else. Can you even feel comfortable with a current NF2 solution when another one is coming down the pipe?
As to the VIA matter. Yes , like you say, May is not that long to wait for the KT-600 chipset but there are issues to be considered. It is supposed to be pin to pin compatable which will allow it to be delivered to the market soon, BUT, some of the people in the know, have doubts that it wil be PTP compatable. It is supposed to have some features that will require another couple of pins so some are skeptical until it is actually seen in the retail market. And as far as the 400A vs the NF2, well, the test boards with the VIA chipset seemed to perform pretty darn close to the NF2 boards and that is with a reference board.
It is widely held that once the boards are being produced on a regular basis and the bugs are worked out and the various revisions make their way through the system, you may well see better performance from the 400A than the NF2. That is why I am waiting a bit to see some of the retail boards and how they compare. MIke

 

[SpideyCU]

I'm just amused that people were telling me not to buy an NF2 board in late November/early December when I needed a new mobo. "Wait for the KT400A, it's just around the corner!"

Yes, four months later, I would've been just happy to have waited for this chipset, running without a main rig all that time. NOT!

 

[sequoia464]

Looks like ASUS is dropping the KT400A... An article at x-bit labs indicates they will forego KT400A and wait for KT600. Maybe released in may.

I am so glad I gave up waiting on VIA and got an nForce2 board.

 

[DoubleL]

Well I am more than happy with my KT400 board so I could care less how long it takes to come out with a KT400A or KT600, I have yet to build a Nforce2 that will out perform it or run any more stable

 

[First]

Originally posted by: DoubleL
Well I am more than happy with my KT400 board so I could care less how long it takes to come out with a KT400A or KT600, I have yet to build a Nforce2 that will out perform it or run any more stable

I'd really like to see exactly what hardware, drivers and OS you're running that would make your KT400 board just as fast as your nForce2 motherboard. Quite simply, unless you're using an unequal setup, any nForce2 board will be substantially faster than the best KT400 boards. In addition, the two retail KT400A boards I have tested are still slower than all the nForce2 boards we've tested. You'll see those results this week.

 

[sequoia464]

EVAN, I don't know what you can say yet about the brand of retail boards that you have for testing, just wondering about Asus and if they are indeed skipping KT400A. Do you know anything of this??

 

[First]

Originally posted by: sequoia464
EVAN, I don't know what you can say yet about the brand of retail boards that you have for testing, just wondering about Asus and if they are indeed skipping KT400A. Do you know anything of this??

I just emailed ASUS your question, so I'll let you know as soon as I get a reply from ASUS.

 

[NicColt]

>any nForce2 board will be substantially faster than the best KT400 boards

hhhmmm that's like saying that the Honda Formula One racing car is faster than a Chevrolet 2003 Corvette, although I do agree that the F1 car is substantially faster, anyone having a Corvette shouldn't complain either.

 

[DoubleL]

Epox 8K9A2+ XP2400, Corsair 2x512 3500 c2, Ti4200 video, Audigy2 sound, Running 333/166, Bios is the one the board came with, CPU 1.85V. Mem. 2.8V., Of the Nforce2's I have run bench marks on the KT400 beats them on harddrive speed both cached and uncached, Memory speed is close, 3DMark the KT400 wins, system speed the KT400 is faster, The KT400 will over clock higher, 200 FSB with no problem, One of the Asus A7N8X Dlx tops out at 174 FSB with Corsair 3200 twinx, If you do some work on the board it will clock higher but you don't have to do anything on the KT400 boards and in the real world with the computer loaded with programs the KT400 is a more stable board, I ran the KT400 up to 225 FSB but the Ti4200 couldn't take it, The way I look at it the Nforce2's are not any better than the KT400's and in a lot of cases not as good, Just to close to call and to see reviewer say the Nforce2 beats the KT400 by a mile is just bs, I build a lot of computers and I really like the KT400 boards

 

[sequoia464]

Just saw that ABIT is also NOT going to release a KT400A product. X-BIT labs reporting again.

 

[thehandler]

Im not disputing what you are saying about the kt-400 board and how it performs for you in your tests against the nf2 boards BUT, in all the head to heads I have seen, the NF2 outperformes the KT-400 in just about every way and in the case of 3D apps, it is quite pronouced. The dual channel mem is a very nice feature. And to tell you the truth, the locked PCI/AGP bus is an awsome overclocker feature that by itself is enough to make me buy one.
Having said that, I have NOT bought one. I am a VIA guy and I have been waiting for the 400A and HOPING it would kick butt. Well it is here and VIA has made BIG improvements to it and it can run with the NF2 due to its reworked memory controller. Paired with the 8237 southbridge, it will be a very nice set up. BUT, now that the 600 has been announced, I will for sure be wating for it. I want the LAST of the socket A chipsets. I doubt I will be able to afford a 64 bit system for a very long time and I will one day have a 400mhz Barton on the best Chipset available. That is why I am waiting so long. Please don't forget however, that NVidia, may now release an revised NF2 as well and then that must be taken into account. It has already been said the 400A boards will have the ability to lock the PCI/AGP bus so that takes care of that issue. Just my thoughts. mike

 

[First]

Originally posted by: NicColt
>any nForce2 board will be substantially faster than the best KT400 boards

hhhmmm that's like saying that the Honda Formula One racing car is faster than a Chevrolet 2003 Corvette, although I do agree that the F1 car is substantially faster, anyone having a Corvette shouldn't complain either.

I'm not saying KT400 boards are worse than nForce2 boards just because it's a proven fact that nForce2 boards are faster. Maybe some people like the features of a particular KT400 board and don't mind it being slower than an nForce2 board. That's fine. The point is, however, that if you try to squeeze out every bit of performance from an nForce2 board and a KT400 board using the exact same hardware, OS, drivers, etc. the nForce2 board will come out ahead (usually by a substantial margin) every time.

Originally posted by: DoubleL
Epox 8K9A2+ XP2400, Corsair 2x512 3500 c2, Ti4200 video, Audigy2 sound, Running 333/166, Bios is the one the board came with, CPU 1.85V. Mem. 2.8V., Of the Nforce2's I have run bench marks on the KT400 beats them on harddrive speed both cached and uncached, Memory speed is close, 3DMark the KT400 wins, system speed the KT400 is faster, The KT400 will over clock higher, 200 FSB with no problem, One of the Asus A7N8X Dlx tops out at 174 FSB with Corsair 3200 twinx, If you do some work on the board it will clock higher but you don't have to do anything on the KT400 boards and in the real world with the computer loaded with programs the KT400 is a more stable board, I ran the KT400 up to 225 FSB but the Ti4200 couldn't take it, The way I look at it the Nforce2's are not any better than the KT400's and in a lot of cases not as good, Just to close to call and to see reviewer say the Nforce2 beats the KT400 by a mile is just bs, I build a lot of computers and I really like the KT400 boards

All this tells me is your KT400 setup, which is a 2400+, 2 X Corsair XMS 3500, GeForce4 Ti4200, etc. What about your nForce2 setup? I guarantee your read/write times will be better on your nForce2 board, you just either haven't tested your nForce2 board properly or you have an unequal configuration compared to your KT400 configuration.

And by the way, I've seen plenty of Epox's nForce2 boards get past 220MHz FSB, your KT400 board isn't the only one.

 

[Soulkeeper]

Originally posted by: ReMeDy{WcS}

Originally posted by: Soulkeeper
the kt600 might never make it to market
the kt400a is close enough in performance to the nvidia and sis solutions to where via is prob gonna give up on socket a
kt600 might be all hyped up and talked about but don't get yur hopes too high

What are you talking about hyped and never making it to the market?

They never announced it. It was on their Road Map @ Cebit over the weekend, which is what interested a couple of websites. It's still unannounced as it is and it fully supports 400mhz Barton with 8287 SB and few other features that can be bundled via 3rd party devices. It's basically a KT400A with with a similar moniker. What your post is about is beyond me.

ok let me clarify if yur confused
we're basically saying the same thing
it is just rumor/speculations/whatever that the kt600 is dual channel ddr
it is also speculation that it will for sure come out, i mean you can't guarantee it
things tend to get hyped up and never make it to market so just cause it is on a few websites don't mean anything
all i'm saying is not to get too excited cause you never know

 

[Soulkeeper]

Originally posted by: thehandler
Im not disputing what you are saying about the kt-400 board and how it performs for you in your tests against the nf2 boards BUT, in all the head to heads I have seen, the NF2 outperformes the KT-400 in just about every way and in the case of 3D apps, it is quite pronouced. The dual channel mem is a very nice feature. And to tell you the truth, the locked PCI/AGP bus is an awsome overclocker feature that by itself is enough to make me buy one.
Having said that, I have NOT bought one. I am a VIA guy and I have been waiting for the 400A and HOPING it would kick butt. Well it is here and VIA has made BIG improvements to it and it can run with the NF2 due to its reworked memory controller. Paired with the 8237 southbridge, it will be a very nice set up. BUT, now that the 600 has been announced, I will for sure be wating for it. I want the LAST of the socket A chipsets. I doubt I will be able to afford a 64 bit system for a very long time and I will one day have a 400mhz Barton on the best Chipset available. That is why I am waiting so long. Please don't forget however, that NVidia, may now release an revised NF2 as well and then that must be taken into account. It has already been said the 400A boards will have the ability to lock the PCI/AGP bus so that takes care of that issue. Just my thoughts. mike

hahaha me and you are on the same boat
I want the last and greatest socket A chipset
maybe that's why i've been sitting on a kt133 board for years
and might be using an sis 735 board

socket A rocks !!!