chipsets
- Thread starter TwitChy
- Start date
Big B
HWF Godfather
Intel--Very stable, can't be beat. Here, buy a board based on the i845D for DDR, or if you can afford it, the i850E which uses RDRAM--this supports the latest PC1066RDRAM.
Via--I haven't had problems with them, but they are notorious for being unstable. The latest chipset on the AMD side of things is the KT333, but the KT400 is right behind it. On the P4 side of things the P4X266A is available and the P4X333 is on the way. Intel has a bit of a beef with Via over a liscensing issue, so not many companies have jumped on the Via P4 chipset bandwagon.
nVidia--Only for AMD. These are very stable, highly integrated chipsets. If you go the AMD route, I would definitely be looking into this chipset. Go with either the nForce 420 or 415---I suggest the 415 as it lacks the integrated graphics, which is good if you plan on using an external graphics card anyway. I use Abit's NV7-133R in my main box and it's a wonderful board (plug:chk: )
Sis--They have some chipsets for both AMD and Intel. On the Intel side the newest is the SiS645 which features DDR 333 support, and is officially sanctioned by Intel. A newer, and faster version of the chipset, the 645DX would be better to look into as it should future-proof your investment a little longer. On the AMD side, the 745 is the latest, but hasn't been really hot in the motherboard market. ECS is big into Sis, but I really don't like their boards--mainly because they seem to be finicky about what cards you put in them.
ALi--I don't really know much about their chipsets. I do know they have a P4 chipset out, but the only company I recall using it is Iwill. Same for their Magik 333 Athlon chipset, and the board using it is the Iwill XP-333--which I've heard is very good.
Basically, these are the options. Now let me throw out some questions for you: Do you have a preference to Intel or AMD? What is the price range you are looking at to spend on a new motherboard? What features do you want on this motherboard?
Via--I haven't had problems with them, but they are notorious for being unstable. The latest chipset on the AMD side of things is the KT333, but the KT400 is right behind it. On the P4 side of things the P4X266A is available and the P4X333 is on the way. Intel has a bit of a beef with Via over a liscensing issue, so not many companies have jumped on the Via P4 chipset bandwagon.
nVidia--Only for AMD. These are very stable, highly integrated chipsets. If you go the AMD route, I would definitely be looking into this chipset. Go with either the nForce 420 or 415---I suggest the 415 as it lacks the integrated graphics, which is good if you plan on using an external graphics card anyway. I use Abit's NV7-133R in my main box and it's a wonderful board (plug:chk: )
Sis--They have some chipsets for both AMD and Intel. On the Intel side the newest is the SiS645 which features DDR 333 support, and is officially sanctioned by Intel. A newer, and faster version of the chipset, the 645DX would be better to look into as it should future-proof your investment a little longer. On the AMD side, the 745 is the latest, but hasn't been really hot in the motherboard market. ECS is big into Sis, but I really don't like their boards--mainly because they seem to be finicky about what cards you put in them.
ALi--I don't really know much about their chipsets. I do know they have a P4 chipset out, but the only company I recall using it is Iwill. Same for their Magik 333 Athlon chipset, and the board using it is the Iwill XP-333--which I've heard is very good.
Basically, these are the options. Now let me throw out some questions for you: Do you have a preference to Intel or AMD? What is the price range you are looking at to spend on a new motherboard? What features do you want on this motherboard?
syngod
Moderator
Just a side note on the nForce boards, nvidia is launching the next generation of them on July 15th so it might be best to disregard any suggestions of the 415 and 420 and wait for the new boards.
Apart from that I agree with everything Big B says, with the new nForce boards coming out they are probably going to be the best choice on an AMD based system and Intel boards are the best for a Pentium based system.
Apart from that I agree with everything Big B says, with the new nForce boards coming out they are probably going to be the best choice on an AMD based system and Intel boards are the best for a Pentium based system.
Big B
HWF Godfather
In the US, nearly any motherboard, save some dual socket A boards, will fit into that price range. Right now, all ATX nForce boards, except Leadtek's have 5 PCI slots. You'll see USB 2.0 on the nForce 2 and other Athlon chipsets, like the Via KT400 and probably whatever ALi and SiS are coming out with.
The new nForce 2 boards should be available in late August/early September, and will be the chipset to beat. nVidia is also saying they want them to be under the $100 mark (USD, of course).
The new nForce 2 boards should be available in late August/early September, and will be the chipset to beat. nVidia is also saying they want them to be under the $100 mark (USD, of course).