While the 845G and P4X333 swap positions once again the performance difference between the two is intangible.
Although VIA has had much more experience in producing DDR memory controllers than Intel, the 845G's GMCH is able to offer performance equal to VIA's finest DDR333 memory controller. This is one of those situations where sheer R&D budget can outshine production line experience
Under Quake III Arena we're able to see the largest lead the P4X333 ever holds over the 845G. At 4%, the performance advantage isn't enough to be even remotely noticeable to end users.
Our final two benchmarks paint a similar picture to what we've seen throughout this entire review - the 845G and P4X333 are effectively performance equals
The 845G and P4X333 are the highest performing DDR chipsets for the Pentium 4. The two solutions perform very close to one another however the 845G wins out because of the fact that you'll find it in more motherboards than the P4X333, unless VIA can surprise us with a tier 1 motherboard manufacturer. Since the P4X333 does not have any integrated graphics the price of P4X333 boards should be noticeably lower than 845G boards but given that the 845G GMCH is manufactured on a 0.18-micron process the integrated graphics shouldn't add too much to the price of the chipset.
845G is also a rock solid chipset. VIA?
Yeah, but it works perfectly. I'll take a stable platform even if the PC2700 support is unofficial (for now). To each his own.VIA's DDR memory controller is more mature than Intels, and offically supports PC-2700, which Intels does not
Originally posted by: Mark0999
With a 400Mhz P4, the P4X333 would be faster. Most of the P4X266A and 333 reviews I have read have stated the inability to get the FSB to 133Mhz and beyond. The is a huge problem!
No, it would not. Only thing you will get by going VIA are the problems that are so well known with VIA chipsets. Dont forget the lower IDE performance as well. Cant see a reason anyone would consider one.With a 400Mhz P4, the P4X333 would be faster.