Via Kt400 Chipset

[cypher_soundz]

Has any one heard about the new Via kt400 chipset yet? its claims to be faster than the KT333 , which would be logical , but i cant find any reviews on it yet , only a sneek peak on http://tomshardware.com

[Candock]

yesterday i`ve read that the kt400 isn`t as successful as via expected. so they put an kt333-sticker on the chip and sell them as an KT333!
funny those guys :).

the difference in speed between the both chips is ignorable til the athlon can manage an 200MHz FSB :D!
but the kt400 has AGP8x which is needed by no game (so not really an advantage).

[cypher_soundz]

DAMN ! now i dont know what to do , i was all set to buy the new Microstar (MSI) mobo with the kt400 , the good thing about that is the board also suports 400mhz DDR ram , which i was going to get , so i might still go for it nearly the same price and at the least the chip looks better LOL :D
http://www17.tomshardware.com/mainboard/02q3/020814/images/aufmacher_en.gif

KT400 first look:

http://www17.tomshardware.com/mainboard/02q3/020814/index.html

Any other info? comparisons???

[Candock]

an kt400-board with ddr400-memory with an athlon xp (133fsb) should be around 3percent.
once i`ve read somethin similar in a test between kt333 and kt266a-boards!

[cypher_soundz]

yeah they have compared the two chips on tomshardware , (kt266 Vs kt333)

[droolian01]

Hi there.

I just recently (about 8 weeks ago) built a system with asus a7v333 raid athlon xp2100 - and i swore that i wouldn't read any hardware reviews for at least 6 months as i know it would make me cry!!!

But... i think that the new faster athlons have a higher fsb so could benefit from the kt400 chipset - but there agian the kt333 may be also fully 'realised' from the higher fsb athlons.(i think it will be a xp2600 or xp2800 - not sure)

So - if you use a 'slow athlon xp (2200) then you may be wasting your time now. Waiting a little (weeks) should see these faster athlons become available. Hard choice. I'm waiting for at least 18 months for my next upgrade, should get a hammer at c. 3.5-4 gig maybe - we'll see!

[cypher_soundz]

OOH the new XP's sound nice :D i think the few weeks wait will do me good ! any idea how much the new XP's are going for? does any MOBO support the higher 333fbs at this time?

[Candock]

yeah, some ddr333-mobos support the full 166MHz FSB (and i mean really synchronous ;))! for example my purple mobo from Soltek :cool:.

other mobos don`t!
u have to look at the websites...

[SVCD4Me]

Check out AnandTech.com They have some interesting things to say about the new XP+'s, KT400's, and lots of other things.

I was looking forward to upgrading to the new kt400, but they say that a well configured 333 is better. Best thing to do in my opinion is read, read, read for at least a few months before buying anything.

Anandtech Review of new XP+'s (http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1718&p=1)

[SVCD4Me]

Check out AnandTech.com They have some interesting things to say about the new XP+'s, KT400's, and lots of other things.

I was looking forward to upgrading to the new kt400, but they say that a well configured 333 is better. Best thing to do in my opinion is read, read, read for at least a few months before buying anything.

Anandtech Review of new XP+'s (http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1718&p=1)

[cypher_soundz]

Hmm looks like 333mhz DDR Ram is better too, as it run synchronous with the FSB of the new XP’s well if I can stand to wait that long for a 2800 XP+ I haven’t even seen any 2400 XP+ around yet! I might settle for a 2200 XP. The Kt333 has got some good reviews a while back too! If only it supports the new DDR ram I don’t wont to buy and then get left behind straight away :D

[xox]

kt400 chipset doesn't only feature the utilisation of ddr3200 (400mhz ddr fsb) RAM, but also gigabit ethernet and 6.1 channel sound (if am not mistaken). the question is, will there be an 'A' version kt400 chipset in the future like they did with kt133 and kt266. kinda hard to make a decision until the new xps (with 166Mhz fsb) really come out.

[cypher_soundz]

yeah good point , they should make a flash upgrade to "A" :D when it comes out lol ...if only it could be that simple ,maybe in another world?well looks like i may have to wait. I HATE PLAYING THE WAITING GAME!!!
~Cypher picks up his plans for a time machine and then quickly puts them back down after getting very confussed :D~

[xox]

if it was as easy as flashing roms, via wouldn't profit as much as it does now. if i were you, i'd stick with the kt333 chipset (the latest epox mobo has SATA - a safe bet for future upgrades), especially if overclocking is not your major concern. i mean, future xp chips will officially run on 166mhz fsb instead of 200mhz (400mhz ddr - kt400), so if you're not gonna go much above 166mhz, it's more sensible to invest in a kt333 chipset.

[cypher_soundz]

Yeah good point . i was very impressed with the chip set when i saw many reviews for it !

[alexnoe]

Some general comments:
DDR400 RAM is slower than DDR333 and instable, due to bad timings, bad memory controllers, lack of any specifications. JEDEC has refused to make it a "standard". So do not waste any money in DDR-400 RAM.
Tom, from Tomshardware, is a troll. Don't waste time on his stuff. Especially some of his techinal explanations are, due to lack of another appropriate description, completely crap. He lacks basic knowledge on things he's writing about.
KT400 is instable. VIA is going to fix the major bugs and might label it "KT333A", but that's not for sure yet.
AGP 8x is not worth anything at the moment. It's just a silly margeting gag, as UDMA-133. S-ATA won't be any faster than UDMA-66, due to lack of hard discs which are faster than what UDMA-66 could handle. The only advantage are the thin cables.

[cypher_soundz]

I See :eek:
* Cypher finds Tom from tomshardware's phone number and gives him abuse!!!

Well i think the kt333 is good , i will stick with that, and of course ddr333 as well ;)

[alexnoe]

Well, the most typical VIA flaws, such as the lack of a PCI bus arbitration, are present and still cause violet distortions on TV cards if another device also tries to cause a high PCI load, but this flaw is present in all VIA chipsets.

[cypher_soundz]

i didnt know the via/capture issue was so bad ...my capture card does say on the box about not supporting via totally but my old via chip kinda works ok...i do get alot of noise on captures though...

[alexnoe]

Cheap capture cards or Geforce Cards with Video-In always make a lot of noise, even on iBX440 chipsets (the most stable chipset ever). That's why I've spent 250 Euro on a Pinnaccle DC10+ (with hardware MJPEG encoder).

Some makers of capture cards and drivers spend lots of time on finding good workaround on these bugs, such as Hauppauge. WinTV PVR e.g. works pretty good on most VIAs.

Pinnaccle doesn't do that, and trying to get a DC10+ work on a VIA chipset is gambling. And a 250 Euro capture card is nothing I like to gamble with, that's why my last upgrade (2 weeks ago) was PIII/800 => P4@2900, instead of a system containing VIA components.

[cypher_soundz]

So in terms of chip set are you saying arent the best for amd (used for multimedia/encoding/games) ?

[alexnoe]

Only capturing is critical. But well, if you want an AMD, then you don't have too much choice.

[Hiro2k]

I just bought a Gigabyte GA-7VAXP, VIA KT400. I noticed you guys failed to mention to mention the USB 2.0, Firewire and 6 channel audio that comes standard with the the KT400 Mother Boards. Well actually it's the new Via South Bridge (VT8235) that does all the work.

Some general comments:

AGP 8x is not worth anything at the moment. It's just a silly margeting gag, as UDMA-133. S-ATA won't be any faster than UDMA-66, due to lack of hard discs which are faster than what UDMA-66 could handle. The only advantage are the thin cables.


AGP 8x cards are soon to be released (Nvidia, ATI). S-ATA has the advantage of hotswaping hard drives which is a big plus in RAID systems. And the thin cables are a major advantage in cases that require lots of cooling since they don't block the air flow.

I must agree with Alexnoe post about Tom's Hardware, his reviews are not well done. If you guys would actualy like to have good reviews go read them at www.anandtech.com
They have the best reviews and all the technical info you will need. Pluse their benchmarks are reliable and well tested.

[alexnoe]

AGP 8x won't make garphic cards faster than AGP 4x, as UDMA 133 doesn't make hard discs faster than UDMA 100.

Yes, the thin cables are of course an advantage. I use 5 IDE channels at the moment and know what you speak about :)

Promise FastTrak 100 TX4 controllers and better (SX6000 e.g.) allow hot swapping of IDE drives.

Tom's mainboard reviews are BTW not the worst he's ever done: His worst article ever was about how SafeDisc 2 works :sly:

[Hiro2k]

Well actually you could get AGP 8x cards to work faster than 4x, but you would have to increase the Bus Speed of the PCI Bus and most of those PCI cards cost $$$$$$$. I've only seen them in servers. :D

[cypher_soundz]

i've never been one for overclocking , i cant stand knowing that if i hadnt messed around maybe it could of been better ;) hance reformating ever 3-4 weeks , i have problems lol :D