VIA SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!!!!!!!!! NEW MOBOS WITH 686B RELEASED!!!!!!! MAJOR COMMENTS ABOUT VIA

[nikos_24]

I just found out that mobos using 686B chip are still being released.
So the only explanation is either VIA or the mobos manufactur. are crooks!!!
Stop this f@@*@n' thing, releasing buggy chips like KT266 or at least put a label on the box stating that there are known bugs or incompatibility issues.
They thing that customers are beta testers?
One thing is for sure: VIA is losing customers everyday.
"Don't buy nvidia,don't buy Soundblaster".Next thing will be "buy VIA CPUs".
They think (VIA) that if they let us lose a month or two and then release some patches after a couple of months or even more it's ok.
NO MY FRIENDS IT'S NOT OK.
I am a University student and I can finish 2 hard projects in 2 months (that's the time I spent on my KT266).
Do I have a point or I'm just crazy?

[nikos_24]

VIA SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!!!!!!!!! NEW MOBOS WITH 686B RELEASED!!!!!!! MAJOR COMMENTS ABOUT VIA

[crosscourt]

Huh?? Is there a point to this?

I use a Msi 694T pro mobo with a 686b southbridge and it works fine and George Breese and Viper use kt266a mobos without problems and kick butt performance.

The 686b issue is an old issue and has been resolved quite awhile ago and as to the pci bus issues that will be worked out in time but isnt affecting users to any great extent and patches are already being released.
Intel has problems with their agp slots in 845/850 mobos and the ata100 feature doesnt work properly either limiting performance to users.These issues have been reported but they still make the mobos.Intel 815 mobos depending on the maker revert to 100mhz fsb when all 3 dimm slots are used.
All mobos have some problems and noone has ever made a perfect chipset so it will be the user that will have to be well informed as to how to deal with this but thats why we are here to help.
The problem is we arent responsible for these problems nor are we the maker of the chipsets so if you feel you need to complain or vent I suggest you visit www.viatech.com,www.viaarena.com or contact John Gatt at Viaarena directly.
Im not sure what the point is to your thread but I suggest you explain more and try to calm down and if you must vent your anger at Via but on their site not ours.We are always here to help but I have no other comments to offer with this thread,CC  

[Reflex]

The 686B issues only affected the first couple revisions of the chip.  Once the problem was isolated the problems were resolved with a new run of the chip.  Current boards use the 686B because it is cheap and reliable.  There are no other known issues with that chip, and since those issues have been resolved, there is no reason to stay away from it now.

[Viper 508]

It seems like the general rule is "If it's not working, it must be the 686B". That's crap. I have seen so many people get on here and blame the 686B for this and for that when in fact it is just a uneducated guess from angry, frustrated people. There was a time when the 686B was causing some problems, but with current chipset revisions and mature drivers this is just rarely the case anymore. Go to Viatech.com and vent your frustrations at them, nobody here is works for Via as far as I know, and if they do they ain't saying!

[Viper 508]

I thought that the KT266 used a newer southbridge then the 686B anyway? The KT266A uses the VT8233. The AMD 760 and 761 chipsets use the 686B and they are fine chipsets.

[Roj]

"Do I have a point or I'm just crazy?"

I'd say the latter.

"Don't buy nvidia"

Good advice - fast GPU but CRAP drivers and compatibility.

"don't buy Soundblaster"

Again good advice until the Audigy came out - crap hardware and crap sound quality.  Now with the Audigy we're down to just crap drivers.

Next...

[wdb1966]

LMAO @ Roj!

[nikos_24]

Roj you should respect other people's opinion.
So tell me why to buy VIA when I can use SB & nvidia with AMD chips?

[nikos_24]

I already have SB and nvidia cards and I am not willing to waste more money just to make VIA happy.

[Reflex]

The 686B does not currently have any issues with nVidia or Creative hardware.  That does not mean that certain versions of the SBLive and geForce series cards do not have any problems with Via.  However there is nothing Via can do when a manufacturer does not design to the agreed upon spec.  The current revision of the 686B meets all specifications for the PCI bus and ACPI compatibility.  There is nothing more Via can do once they do that.  Creative, on the other hand, does not meet the PCI or ACPI specifications in either their firmware or drivers, as a result they have issues on many motherboards, including some by Via, but not exclusively Via(ask Crosscourt about all the problems on Intel i815 and i850 motherboards with Creative).  Also the Infinate Loop problems are not Via specific either, they are a bug in the geForce drivers and can occur with many motherboards and chipsets.

I had a SBLive for a while, on Windows 2000 it had crackling issues, installing WIndows XP made those issues go away(MS has a hack in the OS to get past Creative's awful firmware issues).  However I have since slowly migrated my hardware to more compliant stuff, including replacing my SBLive with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz.  I can now run any OS on my PC without any problems.  No matter what chipset I use.

[Roj]

"Roj you should respect other people's opinion. "

I do.

However if someone knows there is a Mack truck heading straight for them and doesn't get out of the way then what is there to say?

"So tell me why to buy VIA when I can use SB & nvidia with AMD chips? "

So don't buy Via - it's not an issue for me whether you do or don't.

However your problems won't go away - the same problems exist on intel systems.

You've hung out on VH long enough to see the posts indicating that the original Live! is a broken product.  The issues plagueing it don't occur with other soundcards OR the Live! 5.1 OR the Audigy.  If you want to hold your Live! near and dear to your heart then feel free to do so - just don't expect any sympathy.

On nVidia, their Certified drivers seem to give good results.  However their perennial beta drivers (read: the latest driver release of the day) aren't nearly so problem free.  The information flowing in indicates that the issues with nVidia cards are the results of THEIR drivers so obviously THEY must fix them.

Now, do explain how either issue above is a Via problem.

"I already have SB and nvidia cards and I am not willing to waste more money just to make VIA happy. "

Good for you.

In light of the facts iterated above, your statement is pretty amusing.

A reality check for you: if one has a problematic piece of hardware, one generally gets rid of it to achieve stability.

Now, that being said, under XP the Live! works properly due to a workaround hardcoded by Microsoft in the OS to deal with Creative Labs' faulty design (I can't tell you how many times I've had to type this - people should learn to damned well READ the FAQs and forums).  That workaround exists ONLY in XP - not 98, not MiniMe, Not Win2K.  Similarly, the WHQL certified drivers for the nVidia cards seem to work well under XP even with the GeForce 3.

So you have a couple of options and gee isn't it strange how none of them are Via related.

The ball is in your court.

[nikos_24]

OK.Just wanted to say that I use my SB Live 1024 for more than 2 years in my second system with Via Apollo pro 133 with no problems at all.And something else.In my country you can only find Creative or Yamaha Sound cards with logical price.You can also find some no-name crap but I am sure that I cannot find a high quality Sound card without paying a fortune.My soundblaster works almost good (KT266 & 8233),but I got some friends that have some sound corruption and instability problems.
OK.That was it.I don't think I want more advice on this subject.
Thanks.
PS. Roj,being ironic doesn't make you smart.Thank you for your advice.  

[Roj]

"Roj,being ironic doesn't make you smart."

Don't confuse irony with sarcasm.

And you're most welcome.

[Zakule]

[Off Topic, Trivial, yet somewhat relevent to the last post]

A lot of people confuse irony with sarcasm or coincidence.  George Carlin did a really funny bit on this point in his book "Brain Droppings."  

[Zakule]

I've seen several times on this forum discussion of the issues with SBLive! Not to discount what has already been said, I personally never experienced any problems other than the occasional sound crackling on my i815 system.  I still use it as a secondary system:

General Hardware Specs:
ASUS TUSL2 - BIOS v.1011
1 GHz Intel PentiumIII
512MB Crucial CL2 SDRAM
Video: ASUS v8200 Pure
Sound: SoundBlasterLive! Value (CT4830)
NIC: 3com 3C905B
ATA100 EIDE-
--Primary Master - 40GB Western Digital ATA100 7200RPM
--Primary Slave - Plextor 16/10/40A CDRW
--Secondary Master - Sony CDU5211 52x CDROM
--Secondary Slave - 30GB Western Digital ATA66 7200RPM

Software:
OS - Win2K/Win98SE
Win98SE-
--Intel Chipset Installation Utility v.3.20.1008
--Intel UltraATA Storage Driver v.6.20
--ASUS v8200 series drivers v21.81a (beta)
--Most recent SBLive! drivers + Liveware 3.0
--3com Etherlink v5.4 drivers

According to what I've gathered from Reflex-Croft, mainboard manufacturers where able to help correct the problems with SBLive! in the system BIOS.  In this instance, how the issues were dealt with isn't as important as the fact that they were.  My system gets 5726 in 3dMark2001 and the only crashes I ever experience are always attributable to a fault in the game (such as games using the infinity engine, which occasionally crash on any system).  Stable, well-designed games where the bugs have been worked out, never crash.  I've played Serious Sam v1.05 in 1280x960 res, 32-bit color, for 16 hours straight (pathetic, I know, but is was fun ) with no problems except a very infrequent soft crack in the sound here or there (which most of my friends that use the machine say they don't even notice).  I've never had to deal with the data corruption and stability issues I hear are possible on i815 systems.


One other thing:

CC:
<< Intel 815 mobos depending on the maker revert to 100mhz fsb when all 3 dimm slots are used. >>

I realized this early on and just as quickly realized it was a non-issue.  Since 512MB is the max memory there's no shortage of dimms.  To the people who would complain that this inconvenienced them - this is a minor inconvenience compared with some of the defects found on various VIA chipsets.  

[Gurm]

You have a Soundblaster Live! 1024? As in the European version of the Value?

So you're blaming your malformed ACPI headers on VIA?

Shame, shame.

- Gurm

[Zakule]

<< You have a Soundblaster Live! 1024? As in the European version of the Value? >>

<< So you're blaming your malformed ACPI headers on VIA? >>

Are you referring to me?  If so, shame on you for putting words in my mouth.  No where in that post did I blame VIA for anything.  All I said is that with my i815 system I've never experienced the data corruption or stability issues that everyone here says are possible.  I'm not saying that the SBLive! doesn't have the problem, but I am saying that the problem was never evident on my system.  I've given you the specs, and I'd put down good money that if you put together that same system you wouldn't have any SBLive! problems either.

Of course, it's your choice whether or not to trust my statement - your refusal to accept reality is your own problem, not mine.    

[Roj]

"All I said is that with my i815 system I've never experienced the data corruption or stability issues that everyone here says are possible. "

You're lucky.  I did on my test rig at the office (Asus CUSL2).  That's one of the things that started me looking **A LOT** more carefully at the garbage Creative Labs builds for sound.  

[Zakule]

<< You're lucky. I did on my test rig at the office (Asus CUSL2). That's one of the things that started me looking **A LOT** more carefully at the garbage Creative Labs builds for sound. >>


Okay, I'll buy that.  Again, I did have to deal with the sound cracking, but somehow skirted the data corruption issue.  How?  I really have no idea.  A friend of mine is using my old CUSL2 (had to ditch it to prep my system for the Tualatin, which I just put in the other night.  It works pretty well from what I can see. My numbers in 3dMark2001 went from 5726 to 6280 just from moving from the 1GHz Coppermine to the 1.2GHz Tualatin) equipped with the SBLive and he recently contacted me to tell me that he's now getting an intermittent Bluescreen error on startup.  A result of data corruption from using the SBLive?  Could be - I haven't looked at the system yet, but I'll definitely have my eye on the SBLive, and I might have to switch him to the onboard C-Media (even though it doesn't sound as good).

Question for you, Roj.  I gave my SBLive to my little bro this weekend and slammed an SB Audigy in my old TUSL2.  The new creative startup logo slows down the boot, so I'll probably remove it from the registry, but other than that it seems okay.  It was OEM - costed only $29+shipping.

I'm planning to give my Altec Lancing system to my roommate in favor of a Dolby Digital 5.1 setup (what are friends for if not to help you upgrade? ).  Was the Audigy a decent choice for Dolby Digital 5.1, or do you think I blew it?  

[Roj]

"I'm planning to give my Altec Lancing system to my roommate in favor of a Dolby Digital 5.1 setup (what are friends for if not to help you upgrade?  ). Was the Audigy a decent choice for Dolby Digital 5.1, or do you think I blew it? "

That depends.  For Dolby Digital DVD playback the Audigy is fine, although the drivers are still rough-edged.  Music is where it falls down so if you want to listen to music a lot (as I do) then this was not exactly an optimal choice.

Have a read and message me if you have any questions:

http://www.epinions.com/content_55647309444  

[Gurm]

No zakule - I was referring to nikos. He has known bad hardware (old style SB Live) and is all amazed that he is having problems.

This irks me.

Like the guy in another thread, he has bluescreens in nv4disp.dll and when I tell him it's his detonator drivers and he needs to either get the bleeding-edge ones (27.xx) or downgrade to 12.xx, he says "yeah right!" as if he doesn't believe me.

If you use hardware with KNOWN issues, and disregard all warnings about it, and don't want our advice... why ask?

- Gurm

[Zakule]

<< No zakule - I was referring to nikos. >>

Oops!  Sorry about that.  

[gaboy]

   I was convinced it was a VIA problem with the 686b chipset.That is until I trashed the shuttle board and bought a DFI board and 1g intel chip for it. I have had no problems whatsoever setting it up or with stability. Seems to be a fine mach, (for my wife that is). When I worked with the shuttle board for 3 mos and could only get some stability after several hundred hours of tweeks, I had to move on. It took a lot of talk to convince me to buy another VIA based board and a money back guarantee. so far so good.The only reason it took 3 mos was because of $$$$.That mach now has a dfi m/b, 1gb celeron, 30 gb hd, 32 mb ati video,diamond sound card. all ok now.

 Other mach rocks

Current Config:

Intel 845 BGL m/b
Intel 1.6 gb cpu
Nvidia GF 2- 64 mb video w/tv out
256 mb ddr ram
Onboard sound
32x  dvd rom
8x4x32 cdrw
56k modem
Onboard lan
40 gb 7200 rpm h/d
Logitech optical usb mouse
Wireless k/b

[nikos_24]

Gurm
I have ACPI disabled from BIOS.
So as you all say all hardware brands besides VIA have problems.
The only perfect brand in our solar system is VIA (and maybe ATI as most people say here).
So next time I'll buy a VIA CPU too.
Maybe I'll buy a VIA car too,If I find one.

VIA RULES!!!!!