VIA vs Nforce chipsets

[jayclark]

Hi all, I was talking to someone and they said don't use with VIA chipsets due tot he fact they have compatability problems. He was refering the the KT 400 and 600. He said Nforce is better. I used VIA and thats what I like. But I also know that Nforce are good to. I didn't know there was compatabilty problems with the KT chipsets anf if so exactly what? Also I read and have been told that VIA is more stable when oced but the Nforce can oc higher. So exactly which is better? I think it all about prefrence since both of them are good.

[Spicy_Mustard]

To be perfectly honest i would go with Nforce chipset. Everyone i know has had only trouble in one way or other with VIA. They've got compatibility problems and they're a little more unstable than Nforce. I'm nots saying VIA is completely unstable but it is more so than Nforce chipsets. I myself have a VIA and am wishing i had'nt bought that.

You were asking what compatibility issues are there. Well i dont know all of them but i know for a fact that the KT400 has problems with some earlier models of the radeon 9700 pro. This is what i have and i cant put my card at 8X agp. i'm reduced to putting it at 4X. From what i've read on many many boards is everyone who has my problem seem to have the via kt400 and radeon 9700pro combo. SO i came this conclusion.

I'm not sure of any more compatibility issues cause i did'nt really research them but i'm sure theyr'e there.

My brother has a nforce2 chipset and he's not looking back

[Ridgerunr]

Your question will open a very large can-o'-worms on this subject. I've seen it happen many times. Yes, VIA had problems with 'some' chipset drivers many moons ago(in computer time). But the problems were solved with driver upgrades in a very timely fashion. Opinions being what they are, many of the gripes I heard were from folks who did 'not' bother to upgrade the chipset drivers as they should or use the ones recommended.
I've been using boards(mostly Asus) with the VIA chip for over 4 years and have not had a problem. As with 'all' hardware,including VIA, ATI 'and' Nvidia,the latest is not always the greatest in the last year or so. The whole hardware setup needs to be considered before naming names and throwing rotten tomatoes. At the moment, I use an Asus A7V600-X board with an ATI AIWonder 8500DV vid card. The card is a couple of years old now and i use Catalyst that have been around for over 6 months. I use MMC 8.7 which is also not the latest. But I can capture video from any source I care to and at any resolution I want and the VCD's or DVD's I create are excellent. Photo shop has no problem and neither does Nikon View and a' couple others with editing video,photo's or enhanced graphics.
Another click for VIA,is I can 'still' put their 4in1 drivers on a floppy disk for storage if I like. At over 20MB, you'd think the Nvidia drivers should make your system roar like a lion. Fact is, they do not with every setup. If you don't match the hardware wisely,it may be more like an alley cat with a sore throat. Why else would they put a hot link on their driver dn/load page for a 'direct' dn/load for a problem fix?
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_udp_winxp_4.24

[jayclark]

If you don't match the hardware wisely,it may be more like an alley cat with a sore throat.

That is true and funny at the same time.

[rbc1100]

I have both, I like both. But I like the Nforce better. No issues with either really.

[DrMDJ]

don't use with VIA chipsets due tot he fact they have compatability problems

In a word: Nonsense! Nor do these chipsets (KT400/600) display instability.

There are pluses and minuses to both the Via and Nvidia chipsets. Depending on what one wants the choice of one over the other could be a toss up, or one might provide an edge in a particular case. But overall both are very good.