clutch

ALi is slowly getting my confidence back from when they first released their Super7 flops that were always crashing (yep, a while ago; I don't forget these things) and giving some of my friends a really hard time. I only used SiS for really cheap 486-Pentium boards a few years ago, and we had about 15% failure rate where the board had to be sent back, but we didn't have too many compatibility issues since the machines were running DOS with telephony cards anyway. The newest SiS chipset looks pretty cool, along with the nForce. I am waiting for a fully functioning and stable chipset to show up AND mature for a bit, but I haven't seen that for the AMD CPUs just yet.

Guess you'll have to update that sig, eh? Welcome home...

Are they all in the same workgroup? Can they ping each other? Can all of them get online through your cable connection?

So you have Windows 2000 Advanced Server, yet you don't understand the simple UNC nomenclature that kgeissler is asking you about? Is this correct? Where did you get this copy of Win2K AS anyway? You should have documentation for it, or at least have attended an introductory class where the copies are given out. Tell you what, maybe the w4rez site that hosted this copy (or whomever gave it to you) can help you learn the basics of networking Windows operating systems, so the next time you post you don't scream out to the world "LOOK WHAT I DOWNLOADED!!!".

For Intel-based boards, my friends have only had good luck with them which is why I am really disappointed with the performance of the KG7. Oh well, it's just a reputation, right?

...and attract people with a lot of time on their hands...

I know about the southbridge, hence the Via reference. It kept "finding" the Southbridge when we got the second processor and motherboard combination. As for the config, all it had was an Athlon XP 1600+, a GeForce2 MX 200, and a Netgear NIC. I swapped out the NIC, video card, and memory but that had no effect on it. I went looking for the hybrid drivers first (for the 4-in-1s), and then tried the regular ones from Via. They had no effect on either the reboot or the bizarre hardware discovery at each boot.

I would like to find a good online vendor in the US that carries the most current items in stock. Anybody have any recommendations? Also appreciated would be any warnings as to who NOT to go with. Thanks.

My first was this AOpen (Via Apollo Pro 133a) AX34. It hated my GF2 Ultra and wouldn't function with it properly (well, didn't like it at all) despite 4 install attempts of Win2K Pro in ACPI and Non-ACPI mode. Also, it didn't care for my USB-connected APC UPS and would sometimes call it a HID, and other times just wouldn't see it. It would also have issues with my USB SanDisk reader and would tell me that I didn't properly stop the device if the system went into standby, so I had to disable that function altogether. This spanned throughout 3 BIOS revisions until I got rid of the board and went to my ASUS (Intel i815) CUSL2 and never had another issue. The next one (and much more recently) was an Abit KG7 that had all kinds of fun. At first, it took a couple of attempts at getting Windows XP installed before it would complete, and with the first CPU (the vendor determined it was the CPU when we returned to them all the hardware that was purchased) we had issues with the monitor going into standby, and then not coming back on (GeForce2 MX 200). Also, it would intermittently freeze at boot up and when installation applications it would freeze as well. When we got the parts back with the new CPU, the first issue we had was the system not rebooting properly either from the OS or even from within the BIOS. After that, I was fed up with it and told them to send it back. But other than those issues, Via has been great for me...

Nice guys, thanks. Maybe we should keep this thread going so others can get an idea of who is and isn't good to buy from online.

I have Q3A and Aquanox, but I haven't played either in the last couple of months (and even then that was beta testing a Win2K/XP driver for the SpaceORB game controller). As for bringing any issues Intel may have to light, I don't think you will find one post anywhere here stating that Intel is perfect. What *is* being stated is when you see a compatibility issue, it generally has Via attached to it. Most of the Intel lovers here aren't even stating that the Intel CPUs are faster or better (because frankly, they aren't) than the AMD units; the question has always been the stability of the motherboards they are installed on. On top of that, we have had personal experience with these failures, and are simply pointing them out.

Quote: You're comparing oranges to apples here (no pun intended)... The processors on an Apple are a completely different architecture than the x86 platform, and cannot be compared on a clock-for-clock basis. This is much like you can't directly compare clocks of a P4 to an Athlon, but the difference here is much more drastic. Ars Technica has some good cpu articles if you are interested in the difference between types of processors. Correct. The main point is that you are comparing top-of-the-line vs. top-of-the-line between AMD and Intel, since they can run the same OSs and applications. There used to be many comparisons between Apple and PC performance when Photoshop was the benchmark. However, processor development for the Apple systems slowed down and once they hit a clock speed roadblock in their design the x86 architecture took over. Now, nobody even cares anymore. I was hoping that a properly designed cross platform OS would bring interest back in head-to-head competition, but it doesn't look too promising.

Quote: Lol @ Clutch, Maybe I misunderstood you, when u said "talk about a dedicated Mac fan". I think you were referring to the article's author, not me (even if I supported Macs in some other thread, earlier on ) Yep. I remember thinking the same way about Apple systems when I first fiddled with one in my high school Biology class ('89). I couldn't believe how fast it was and how many cool things it could do compared to the PC and its DOS prompt we used in the computer lab. My, how times have changed...

Congrats Xiven, but I am pretty sure you have seen enough issues posted here and elsewhere to know what I mean. I am holding out for the 760MPX USB issue to get fixed, as I would like a dual cpu system for my development box. I son't know if I am that patient though, but if the next revs come out soon I might order one for work to play with.

It isn't that I am saying one is better than the other, I just feel that he went a bit over the top in his description of the interface. But then again, the entire article was way over the top, and I was just pointing out one aspect.

While they might not have to buy reviews from such a "respected" (*cough* *cough*) site, it is evident that they will favor the AMD line no matter what powers it. If someone could simply roll out a motherboard that would work properly, that means use all the features in a stable manner that it claims to have, out of the gate then I would have been using them a long time ago. I regularly hear that many Intel followers are "blind" to what they have been getting, but seeing reviews like that one and others that proclaim "this system is FAST as long as you don't try to use this feature, or use any of these major vendor add-in cards, etc" it just looks like people want Intel to be beaten SO badly that they don't care what they get in return as long as it isn't from Intel.

Well, I like Trillian more than I like AIM. So if it comes down to using another service through Trillian, then I will. I already have MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, and AIM all patched through it, so it isn't that I have a lack of choices. I just hate the interface and all the garbage attached to the normal AIM program.

There's a 10 connection cap on all NT workstations.

@DosFreak; I have installed WinXP on my workstation at home a few times with my Audigy Platinum, and haven't had any issues with my Firewire port. I wonder why you would have that issue. I am using an i815-based board (and I am looking for an upgrade, hence the questions) that's been awesome, but I need a bit more juice. I just want to reduce the chances of stupid compatiblity issues coming up. I was thinking about getting an MPX-based board, but the last I read they still have broken USB support, and I am not fiddling around with add-in cards. @M4Carbine; You think he's just getting paid by AMD now? Gotta love it...

Quote: Or did I miss something (have to admit to getting bored after the first couple of paragraphs ) AndyF Ditto, but I was thinking more along the lines of the concept alone. It seems like that would be interesting since OS-X was supposed to have an x86 port anyway, so why not just focus on a 64-bit version and make true workstations? The AMD Hammer would work in both modes, so they could get one working and see what the market is like while testing a 64-bit version. I found the remarks about servers funny though. Well, any thought of an Apple server is funny.

Damn, talk about a dedicated Mac fan. The idea is cool enough, but I am not sure about the art gallery interface . Also, if Adobe is so dedicated, why haven't they put out Photoshop 6 for OS-X yet? Hmmm....

Damn, scratch the request on the system specs then...

So you actually got an AMD system? What mobo did you get? If someone can point me to a truly stable motherboard I would consider it. I like the processors, but the last system I worked with (Abit KG7 w/ 1600+) has already had one bad proc, and is about to have the motherboard go in for return. We have wasted 2 weeks on it already with setups and return shipments and are now getting an i845D-based system (probably an ASUS P4B266-C mobo). I knew better than to get it, but this guy at that office has one other that worked OK so I figured I'd try it. Everytime it booted up (well, that was questionable since it wouldn't reboot either) it would re-detect the Via Southbridge. BTW, did I ever mention that I hate Via?

Ohhhhh!!!! I get it! If the Athlon *could* be clocked higher, then it *could* beat the P4, right? That's the point, right? I mean sure, it's slower now, but in the future it could beat that same P4. I get it! Oh wait, wouldn't there be a faster P4(5, 6^, 9#, etc.) to compete with? That's ok! If the Athlon is clocked slower, but can come close, it'll still win because it's better! Woohoo! Thanks Dos... :D

I don't understand why you can't compare the two, I figured that since those are the "top of the line" from both companies, then you might as well compare them. AMD has been selling their CPUs at speeds closer to their max rate than Intel has for a long time, and this just shows that their architecture isn't ready for the jump yet. My point is that these comparisons have always been about benchmark numbers for most of these guys, and even when the AMD is losing they are being hailed as the victor. I don't follow that logic at all, and I wanted to see if someone here did.