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Re: [APML] computer video card
I hate to disagree with you Craig, but my experiences with the VIA chipsets
has been spotty at best. It has been about three years since I last used a
motherboard with a VIA chipset, and after that experience, I doubt I will
use them again. It is possible they finally figured out how to make their
stuff work, so again my experience may not be representative of the status
quo today.
In a nutshell their PC133 "compatible" chipset would not boot up until the
BIOS was set to let the SDRAM run at 66MHz, exactly half of what it should
have run. I returned the motherboard twice and all three of them worked
equally bad. I finally just exchanged it for one using the Intel chipset and
never had a problem again.
Back in the '60s there was a saying among IT managers that "no one gets
fired for going with IBM". In the modern world of the cost driven PC, I
would modify that to say "no one gets fired for going with Intel". I will
stick to the name brands and let someone else gamble with AMD and Via, the
second string in my book.
Richard
----- Original Message -----
From: "cmutter" <cmutter@bellatlantic.net>
To: "Discussion of Film Astrophotography" <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2004 7:55 AM
Subject: Re: [APML] computer video card
> WAit a minute, your talking about two different types of "Chipsets" here.
First VIA makes the controller chipsets for motherboards and are considered
some of the most stable chipsets available even moreso than Intel's. Now
nVidia makes the chipsets for graphics cards not for motherboards. AMD
liscences their chipsets through VIA.
> lets be sure we're comparing "apples to apples"
>
> Craig Utter
>
> "Lane, Jason R" wrote:
>
> > Speaking of the difference between Ford and Chevy, the AMD processor
isn't the cause of software incompatibility problems (unless it is
physically defective). More often, it is caused by bad chipset designs in
the motherboards, or hardware incompatibility with the motherboards. You
just have to know what to shop for. VIA chipsets have been notoriously bad
these past few years. Motherboards based on NVidia's chipsets are
remarkably stable and fast. AMD makes their own chipset that has always
been very stable (although not the fastest).
> >
> > Some folks might gripe about having to sort through hardware to pick
what's compatible or not, but the much lower cost of the processor is worth
it, IMO. Also, it's kind of like a telescope setup or a automobile..you
just don't slap any old piece of equipment in it.
> >
> > Hopefully no more than $.02 up there. =)
> >
> > Jason Lane
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dale Ireland [mailto:direland@drdale.com]
> > Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 10:29 AM
> > To: 'Discussion of Film Astrophotography'
> > Subject: RE: [APML] computer video card
> >
> > Bob
> > Yes some have an agp slot. In fact the 4600 does have an agp slot. The
2400
> > does NOT have an agp slot and it is tricky to disable the integrated
video
> > cards. The integrated video cards have a way of returning to life like a
> > zombie in the "Night of the living Dead". Integrated sound support is
even
> > worse. I mean they work fine but don't get them if you know you plan to
> > upgrade.
> > My experience is the same with the chips too. The best deal is to take
the
> > option for the "next to best" chip. In other words don't get the AMD or
> > Celeron (lots of software incompatibility problems), but get the next to
> > highest speed Pentium. The systems have an option for the very fastest
> > expensive, say 3Ghz, but then there is a huge price difference if you
get
> > the next one down, say the 2.8Ghz P4 which used to be last month's top
chip
> > and is not noticeably different.
> > Dale
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: astro-photo-bounces@seds.org [mailto:astro-photo-bounces@seds.org]
On
> > Behalf
> >
> > Thought I would relate my experience:
> >
> > I've been building my own pc systems(and for friends) for ten years. I
> > generally avoid integrated video just because its one more layer of
> > complexity to disable it if you add another card. Also, they tend to
share
> > ram as opposed to having their own separate on-board ram. I like to
keep
> > things simple. However, most rules are meant to be broken. It is not
true
> > that motherboards with integrated video do not have an agp slot. Many
do
> > also have an agp slot. Thus you can add a second card (meaning a second
> > monitor). With the low price of good video cards (including dual video
> > cards) I would skip the integrated and go for a 128mb dual display card
for
> > $100 or less. This is also easier to setup up if you want dual
displays.
> >
> > A lot depends on how comfortable you are getting around the inside of
your
> > machine, mananaging drivers pulling cards etc.
> >
> > Newer pcs should have a minimum of 512mb Ram because of the bloated OS.
> > Older pcs have some limitations on how much ram they can access.
> >
> > On the flipside, I also have a g5 Dual 2gig with 2.5 gigs of memory.
There
> > are 8 memory slots (for a total of 8gb ram). I use it for video editing
and
> > I allot 1.5 gigs to the program. I have not heard of programs not being
> > able to access more than 1g. I purchased this machine because of the
> > editing software(it is not available for the pc).
> >
> > I would add to Dales comments: Avoid the celeron chip and get the p4 (or
> > AMD).
> >
> > Hope this helps.
> >
> > Bob Seabold
> >
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