VIA or SIS chipset?

[DreamWeb]

I'm have an Athlon XP 2000 chip.

Would I be better off with a VIA chipset mobo, or a SIS chipset mobo?

Thanks guys!

d.

[Silver]

Personally I would actually choose an Nvidia 'Nforce 2' chipset motherboard. Fast and stable.

You should be able to get once quite cheaply nowadays too.

[RayB]

Do they even make an SIS mobo for AMD chips?
I was under the impression you were basically stuck with VIA *or maybe that's only the case with Asus mobos?)

[Paul Olson]

I agree, 1st choice would be NForce 2.  Between VIA and SiS, I would choose SiS.  VIA has more features, but can be a pain.  Getting the motherboard drivers working right can be more troble than it is worth.  I have an ECS K7s5a and it is very stable out of the box.
NForce 2 boards should be cheap enough now that it is not worth trying anything else.

Paul

[DrewKaree]

IIRC, they DO make SIS chips, but (and I'm REALLY struggling to remember if this was for newer version AMD chips) I think they were for the cheaper boards. 

For AMD, the nForce2 boards are the way to go.  That's a Socket A you're looking for, and currently, NewEgg has a sweet board that I just bought, if you don't need some of these features, they sell the same board with fewer features for less money as well, just depends on what you want/need/can afford.

The one I'm getting is here:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-478&depa=0

Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe - $90
Features are as follows:
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 + MCP-T

FSB: 400/333/266/200MHz

RAM: 3x DIMM for Dual-Channel DDR400/333/266 Max 3GB

IDE: 2x ATA 133 up to 4 Devices that's IDE OR SATA, so you are covered no matter what type of drive you have, and can upgrade to SATA later, if you want

Slots: 1x AGP Pro/8X, 5x PCI, 1x Wi-Fi the WiFi slot might not be needed by you, which will drop the price if you go with this board without the WiFi

Ports: 2xPS2,1xLPT,1xCOM,2xLAN,6xUSB2.0(Rear 4),SPDIF Out,Audio Ports

Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650 6-Channel Codec

Onboard LAN: Realtek 8201BL 10/100Mbps + Marvell 88E8001 GbE BOTH types there...if you don't need Giga, it'll drop the price if you go with a board with either 2 10/100's or just a single

Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA by Silicon Image Sil3112A, RAID 0/1don't need RAID?  Again, cheaper if you don't, and go with another board

Form Factor: ATX


That board is considered a DYNAMITE board, and will range from $65-$90 at NewEgg, again, depending on features.  The $65 board will probably be just fine (I'm guessing) for what you're gonna use it for, but in case you wanna check 'em out, here's a link for the various flavors of this board:

http://www.newegg.com/app/Viewproduct.asp?Submit=manufactory&catalog=22&manufactory=1315&DEPA=0&srchFor=Asus%20A7N8X

[krick]

Given the choice between VIA and SIS, I'd take the lesser of two evils, VIA.

VIA chipsets seem to be used on better motherboards.

[bionicbadger]

SiS over Via anyday for socket A.  I too would get the Nforce2 instead if that is a choice, but SiS makes better stuff than Via