Phemo

I do agree with you, but AMD's SMP chipset isn't a bad performer at all. They just need to keep working to produce a decent performing uni-processor one to target the enthusiast too, whilst providing support for things like PC2700, etc. Having said that, Intel's chipsets are rock-solid stable and decent performers and that's what makes them so appropriate in the business sector. When it comes to pure performance though, the Intel chipsets are hardly the fastest. It's almost the same story with AMD chipsets - they're stable, believe it or not, and they're not the best performers, but they don't have many issues. As for the heat issues, there's no denying that Athlons run hotter than P3's and P4's, I agree, but my two MP 2000+ chips which run at a default of 1666MHz, are currently sitting at 42 degrees whilst overclocked to 1812MHz - it's not that horrific. My heatsinks aren't even that special - they cost £22 each which is $31. As a comparison, my P4 1900 system runs at about 30 degrees with a dodgy cooler - an overall difference of 12 degrees isn't that significant a margin though.

I personally have had a number of VIA chipsets, ranging from the ol' Apollo Pro 133A for my Intel system to the KT133A with an AMD system. I never had any problems with any VIA platform either. However, from the number of forum posts I've read, hassles at work and the problems that my friends have experienced, I personally would seek out any alternative. Sure I can get it going myself no problems, but the reputation alone, and the fact I'd always be left wondering whether I'd have any problems or not, is enough to put me off. I decided to avoid the whole situation. I'm currently using a dual Athlon platform with an AMD chipset. Aside from the broken USB, (not too much of an issue for me - Asus included a USB2 card, so I lose a PCI slot, but I wouldn't be using it anyway) I haven't had a single problem. Fast, rock-solid and I didn't have that niggling feeling that I'd have any problems. Even before I migrated to my dual Athlons, I was using an Abit KG7-RAID, based on the AMD761 chipset. Ok so it wasn't the fastest out there, but it wasn't the slowest, and more importantly, I'd heard of very little issues and had no problems myself. So to summarise, yeah I like VIA, I've had no hassles with them in the past, but due to the numerous forum postings I've seen/read/heard about, I will seek out alternatives if at all possible. I also like Intel systems - I have a P4 and a dual P3 system, (incidently, the dual P3's are running on a VIA chipset) and they've never given me any hassles either. As has been mentioned before, a processor is only as good as its supporting chipset - and VIA isn't the only chipset available for an Athlon platform.