Author Topic: via vs ali chipsets, thoughts??also best mem type (Read 791 times)

jagjeff · « **on:** October 22, 2001, 06:31:00 PM »

ok,I'm going to go for the epox 8kha+ or ha2 I think.I wanted to know what peoples thoughts are on the via vs ali chipsets.I keep hearing the via set is faster than ali.also,what type of memory should I be getting for this board as far as pc1600 pc2100 and so on.I'm going to go with crucial memory but they give me a vague number on what type of memory I should install.lastly,what is the main diff between epox 8kha2 and 8kha+ ?

Raubvogel · « **Reply #1 on:** October 22, 2001, 06:56:00 PM »

This is just my 2 cents, but I had a VIA based Athlon board and had many problems with it. It would constantly lock up when I ran any kind of Direct 3d application, and gave me BSODs all the time. I recently bought an Athlon board with an ALi chipset and it has been rock solid with no problems at all. I'll take stability over speed any day. New board is an Asus A7A266. I highly recommend it. As far as RAM, get 2100 if the board supports DDR memory.

Karnak · « **Reply #2 on:** October 22, 2001, 07:03:00 PM »

Via chipsets perform much better tha ALi chipsets, last I checked anyways.

AMD chipsets are the way to go for Athlons in my opinion.

Staga · « **Reply #3 on:** October 22, 2001, 07:21:00 PM »

Asus A7M266 here with AMD761 Northbridge and Via686b Southbridge.
Athlon 1,4GHz oc'd to 1,51 with 768Megs Mushkin PC-2100 DDR-RAM running 144MHz and system is stable as rock with ElCheapo Volcano 6Cu heatsink/fan.

jagjeff · « **Reply #4 on:** October 22, 2001, 07:49:00 PM »

will asus a7a 266 handle a model 1800 athlon xp processor?It should but I am not sure on this.

Raubvogel · « **Reply #5 on:** October 22, 2001, 08:40:00 PM »

Yes, with the latest BIOS the A7A266 will support Athlon XPs.

Rendar · « **Reply #6 on:** October 22, 2001, 09:30:00 PM »

The Epox 8KHA+ is the best right now. It uses KT266A, outperforms the AMD761, and is rock solid, even when overclocked.

The 8KHA is a POS...only get the 8KHA+.

[ 10-23-2001: Message edited by: Rendar ]

Rendar · « **Reply #7 on:** October 22, 2001, 09:32:00 PM »

Eh, what the heck? Someone gave me a 1-star rating? Pfffft...

jagjeff · « **Reply #8 on:** October 22, 2001, 11:15:00 PM »

Thanks for the info Rendar,The 8kha+ was my first choice and now definitely is my choice.

Reschke · « **Reply #9 on:** October 23, 2001, 12:08:00 AM »

I am not sure about any of the Epox boards since I stopped messing with them a couple of years ago. Only boards I go with are the ASUS boards for stability reasons.

I just bought the ASUS A7V266 with the latest Via chipset update and it is smooth and stable. I am running an AMD T-Bird 1.4GHz and have had it up to 1.66GHz with no trouble. Anyway with all motherboards make sure that you update the BIOS and keep it cool when running the newer Athlons.

Forgot to mention this. With the memory don't go less than PC2100. Micron/Crucial/Infineon (Micron makes those that I know of) are making a PC2400 DDR memory module. I know it will run in a DDR motherboard but I am unsure if you have to get a BIOS update to recognize the higher speed. That is something I can check on.

[ 10-23-2001: Message edited by: Reschke ]

jagjeff · « **Reply #10 on:** October 23, 2001, 09:43:00 PM »

Thanks for the info Reschke