Via Chipsets

[AirLung]

Via Chipsets

[AirLung]

Planning to buy as Asus A7V266-E and I heard that there are lots if bugs in the Via chipset. Are they mostly fixed by the lastest 4-in-1 drivers (especially the problem with sound blaster live and Geforce video cards). I will go for the P4 instead if i will get too much trouble with the Via.......  

[Buck]

the only "bugs" are those of unsure and fickle users who don't install the drivers properly, or muck around with things too much, generally making a mess in the process.

If you are clean installing (and these is a golden rule), first, DO NOT install ~ANY~ add-in hardware on first build. All you need in is the video card (to see what you are doing), and that's it.

After installing your operating system - Always, ALWAYS ,~~ALWAYS~~ install the 4-in-1 drivers first!

you must ALWAYS install the system drivers before you do ANYTHING else. This goes for EVERY chipset type, including Intel's too.

don't mess with the driver options, just stick to the defaults. Reboot. then install the video drivers. Reboot. correct and check video settings. Install monitor INF. Reboot. Shutdown, install sound card, reboot, install NIC, reboot.

Getting the picture? Do one thing at a time. The most major problem that I see people experiencing when doing new installations/builds/clean installs is trying to do too many things at once, which just complicates the process. Install one thing at a time, reboot in between.

[ricardjs]

Just wanted to drop a small note in here:
If all the people installed their systems like this, there wouldn't be half of the problems u see here. And this is not the worst part. The worst part is that this people later post their problem as !Via incompatibility", "Nvidia hardware problems", ... What hapens later? No one wants to buy via, nvidia, or whatever they see posted. And then, some other posts come: "I heard via chipset was lousy, what should i buy?"...

Get the picture

VH-Buck is right, the install takes a litle bit longer, but it compensates dozens of hours in troubleshouting later.

Ric.

[nikos_24]

That should be written in all the manuals for via-based mobos!

[Viper 508]

To VIA or not to VIA? That is the question. It is a shame that so many "power losers" muck things up and blame VIA, Nvidia, etc. It makes it harder to identify the instances where the hardware is actually at fault, rather then user error. Just take your time and pay attention to what you put on your machine. And in the event that you do run into problems, it will be easier to pinpoint the culprit.

[Roj]

"If you are clean installing (and these is a golden rule), first, DO NOT install ~ANY~ add-in hardware on first build. All you need in is the video card (to see what you are doing), and that's it. "

This is utter nonsense.

I have *never* installed any Via-based box I've created (KX133, KT133, KT133A) with only a video card in it.  Now, if you're having problems, that IS a safe route to follow (it's called "structured problem solving") but to suggest that this is a standard installation procedure is ridiculous (yes, I do know this is on the Via website - since the MVP3 days, which is to say that this is old and outdated information).

As an example, this box (MSI K7T Pro 2-A) was installed with a Matrox G450, a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and a 3COM 3C905-TX-M.  My friend's gaming box has the same board but has an Asus 7700 Pure, an Adaptec 2940U2W, a Santa Cruz, the same 3COM NIC **AND** a Firewire card.  both of us have installed Windows 2000 and Windows XP on these fully configured machines without a hitch.  We have followed the same procedure with the following boards:

-  Asus K7V
-  Asus A7V
-  MSI K7T
-  MSI K7T Pro 2
-  MSI K7T Turbo
-  MSI Pro266 Master

Naturally they all went off without a hitch.  The only board we use any add-in drivers with are the Pro266 Master since the KT266x chipsets were too new for Microsoft to include full support for them in Windows XP.  All others are installed *WITHOUT* the 4-in-1s or patches **because they are not needed under XP**.

I do agree that if you do have a chipset that requires these drivers (currently only the KT266x variants) then you should install the Via drivers first.

However, I stand by my position that the "install only with a video card as standard procedure approach" is NOT warranted under normal circumstances.  

[TRON99991]

I build via and intel chipset systems at work all the time, same thing with quality and compatability. I have yet to encounter a problem with either where the chipset was responsible.  

[TRON99991]

just install the via/intel drivers.

[ricardjs]

All the systems i had or built for others, never had a problem. But notice that even though u don't have problems, doesn't mean others don't have with similar hardware to yours. I mean, try putting up together an ASUS TUV4X along with a SB Live 1024. For a normal user, this is almost impossible!

Ric.

[Squiz]

 Well when you say install from new , thats what  did.
and reboot after each install  - i did .

  but i still get troubles in some games - not all but some -
and thats with the kttpro2 with amd1700

 so i had to install 4in1 - which did fix some games but still has bugs in others !

 i dont beleave that people can say they build these for a living and say theres no problem.
  now when do you build these machines and install games also for people ?
 9and a half out of ten you wouldnt even install 1 game , only the operating machine,
( which mine installed fine also )

  weard but my other pc with same games ( but a p3 instead doesnt have these problems )
guess my bad luck or its still bugs with the via.

hope to get it sorted out soon !

[Roj]

"i dont beleave that people can say they build these for a living and say theres no problem. "

Problems vary from machine to machine based on what's in them.  Most often it has NOTHING to do with the chipset but rather crap hardware (SB Live! / 3COM NICs) or crap drivers (ATI / nVidia / Hercules).

"now when do you build these machines and install games also for people ?"

I have friends who do nothing but play games on their Via-based machines and they have NO problems.  That being said, the key is to choose your mobo vendors carefully and also to choose your peripherals carefully.

You buy crap, you get crap.

[ricardjs]

Roj is right. Before one buys a system, he/she has to study what he wants to expect from it. Only then search the market for wich possibilities there might exist, and only then, after evaluating the hardware the he or she might buy, make up their mind.

Most people just go out and buy an AMD, not because it's good, but because it is "stilish" in this times, they buy a soundblaster live 5.1 or audigy, because it's in vogue in nowadays, and never because it's good stuff. Then later, problems arrise, what do people expect...

Last week, someone asked me to recommend a board for the Celeron he had. I said TUV4X was a nice board, and had the option to upgrade to pentium 3 if he wanted. So he bought one, and later he came and said the board sucked! I asked him why, and he said he could put his old Soundblaster live working on it... Well, if he didn't forget to mention he had a soundblaster live, i would recomend something without the 686B bridge. But now he bought another soundcard (Hercules), and now the board is excellent again, see what i mean? People just connot say this is good or bad that simple, it all depends on the combinations they are making.

Over, and out.

[crosscourt]

Exactly Roj and I just switched to a Msi 694Tpro tualatin mobo with the 686b southbridge and im having no problems whatsoever and i play alot of games,do mods and run demos as well as graphics redering editors and apps all the time.Ive always found in my experience that the Intel/Via mobos from Aopen and Msi are excellent and Ive had alot of issues with Abit in particular,CC

[fasedw]

I have a asus a7v266-e Works Great have 256megs of pc 2700 kingmax tiny bga a soudblaster audigy a geforce TI 500 A 1800+ Unlocked to 1700Mhz a Thermal right cooler with 50cfm delta also the case has two 120mm fans front and rear font filtered to outside air two 80mm on side  Idle temps 35C max temps 37C-38 also my voltage is set at 1.85 Volts. Do like they say install operating system video card driver's the motherboard chipset driver's agp in turbo mode I used the 4.33 that came with the asus cd then the soud card then your modem or net card> This system work's Flawless Goodluck  

[mdzcpa]

I ran an the A7V-266E for a while and it ran flawlessly.  I did not install a single VIA driver.  I let Win XP Pro handle it all.  Gaming, video edit, web surfing, mp3 ripping and burning...you name it.

If you plan on using Win XP, do NOT install the VIA 4in1 unless you have a problem (which I doubt you will).  

PS.  I also installed the system with everything in the box at once.  XP handled it perfectly.

[crosscourt]

Exactly mdzcpa,and most of the Via pcs I build with XP I dont use the 4/1 drivers at all and I let XP handle it as well as any other devices that have suitable XP drivers already available.CC

[Viper 508]

I found that I have had to revert back to a pre-4&1 state in WinXP to get things running smoothly. So far so good. I can't see any reason to try a future 4&1 on this rig. Don't assume that you need them just because they are available. At least test it out for a while before trying them if you do try them.  

[crosscourt]

Thats the attitude to take Viper,updating drivers isnt always the best method and when i hear people say always update to the latest bios or driver I cringe!!! Theres no guarantee that a bios update wont cause more problems or the latest driver is the wrong choice ala 23.11 situation.If it aint broke dont fix it and research bios and driver updates before using plus backup,backup,backup!!CC

[Foghorn]

A few nerves touched on here with good points raised. ROJ, being more assertive than your average Canuck, rightly points out the importance of researching and buying quality components can't be overstated. Also along those lines, some products deviate enough from the standards (quality or technical) to cause problems in some combinations yet not in others.

ROJ also mentioned that with good forehought for components and drivers, installing Windows on VIA chipsets is no more dramatic than Intel. The setup on my Apollo Pro266 was straight forward without any VIA 4 in 1s on Win2k SP2. It is configured as ACPI, all devices work properly including USB.

I run the VIA box through a KVM along side my P3 700E@868 Mhz on an ASUS CUBX(440BX) that has dualboot (2 partitions) Win98SE and WinXP. Both machines are rock solid.

There has been good points in this thread, food for thought!