Via chipsets are they really that bad(read on)

[Timelord]

All ive seen is people complaining about via chipsets and there capping problems using said via chipsets what a load of crap.
I have an 850oc960 AMD DURON on a gigabyte mobo with a via chipset that drops count them 0 frames most frames dropped ever was from an old vhs cassette(Lp) and that was only 13 drops for just under 3 1/2 hours of capture.How can that be bad i see people with intel chipsets saying 20 frames dropped per hour is fine my math says thats about 180-220 frames dropped for 3 1/2 hours.I know what id rather see.

SO if i can get the results why cant others who have a much better setup than mine get the same results.(using a via chipset).

surely other people have had success using a via chipset.speak up

AS I SAID BEFORE WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP

[kitty]

There was a technical post - VIA did not implement a PCI bus protocol, something like "PCI bus parking". Read previous posts. Most people assumed that this feature was in all chip sets and used it. Intel boards all ok, VIA boards had problems. Some software patches have helped but it is in silicon. Supposedly a new chipset will implement this feature that's been in Intel designes since day 1.

This problem may not affect your captures but it has given others no end to problems.

[hello]

VIA kt133 here and I get minimal frame loss maybe 5 an hour tops and my source is an old vhs-c camcorder.

[3dcandy]

Personally I've had no problems with either VIA or Intel chipsets, but I do believe that tweaking a chipset is necessary for the best performance.
VIA chipsets are becoming a good alternative to Intel, but not always in the performance stakes....

[ZAP!!]

I have an Epox 8KHA+ with an Athlon 1Ghz and 256 MB PC 2100 DDR RAM under Win2k. It took some digging but Epox said under Win2k you should not install the VIA 4in1 package. I also found a registry patch from AMD and M$ for Athlons under Win2K. Before I followed those processes my system was WAY unstable. When I installed the VIA 4in1 package to fix the problem it only made it worse. Then I reinstalled Win2K, used the AMD patch, and left out the VIA package. My system has not crashed since. In fact I rarely even reboot anymore. I now reboot once every 1 - 2 weeks out of habit.

[aznguy]

really BAD... I bought a ATI capture card and its incompatible with my motherboard... you can always use a third party software/driver instead tho..my card works fine with others.

[leebo]

SO if i can get the results why cant others who have a much better setup than mine get the same results.(using a via chipset).

I think it's because you're so much smarter than them.

[gf]

Hi Zap
Need to know.. What AMD Patch? And you found this info on Eopx site?

Steve

[gf]

Hi Zap
Need to know.. What AMD Patch? And you found this info on Eopx site?

Steve

[Devnull]

I have an IWILL KK266 and I never drop more than 3 frames per hour.

[jeex]

via's usb host controller, good lawd. when i was doing tech support, i'd cringe when i would find out they have a via chipset..

[energy80s]

I also have a VIA chipset motherboard and don't have any problems with it dropping frames on capture. However the Creative Labs Live series of sound cards don't work well with them. Creative have even come out and said this.

[MikeV]

I have two motherboards with VIA chipsets and ATI video cards and have had problem zero with both. Just followed instructions on loading the drivers. Loaded 4-in-1 drivers after installing Win2K, rebooted, then installed ATI software. Not dropping any frames or having any lock-ups.
System 1: FIC AZ-31 mb, 900mhz tbird, 512meg ram, 30gig hd 5400 rpm, ATI 7500 video card.
System 2: MS K7T turbo 2 mb, XP1800, 512 meg ram, 2-30 gig hd 7200rpm, ATI AIW
System 2 is used mainly for capturing and editing video, most from old VHS tapes.

[TheInformer]

A big beef with VIA chipsets are that the earlier ones did not bus master the PCI bus correctly, which would cause your PC to lock up tight or restart.

This was obvious in our 'scene' when you had a Dazzle DVC II board and used it in a machine with a motherboard with the faulty VIA chipset in it.

From *personal* experience, I know that the AMD 761 chipset (Gigabyte 7IEX4 mobo) doesn't work correctly, but the KT133a chipset (MSI Turbo Limited Edition) does.

There is an unofficial list of motherboards, chipsets, CPUs, etc that potential Dazzle DVC II owners need to check before they buy the board. Check them out at http://www.digitallyactive.com/dazzle/

[ZAP!!]

Here is a link to the AMD Athlon/Win2k fix. All it does is updates a reg entry. http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/utilities/largePageMinimum.reg

And here is the info from Epox on the 8KHA+ with KT266A chipset. They say for Win2k do not install the 4 in 1 Via drivers. http://www.epox.com/html/english/support/motherboard/Get.asp?Article=1531

For video I have an ATI Radeon All in Wonder. Before I found the above info my machine was WAY unstable. I had installed the Via 4 in 1 drivers to update my system. Then if I played a 3d accelerated game I had to reboot every time I wanted change games or even restart the same game. My machine would also crash if I had too many windows open and I tired to burn a CD. And when I would try to update the ATI software the install would keep failing. I couldn't watch DVD's using the on board DVD decoder. LOTS of problems.

Then I found the above info and like magic all my problems went away.

[TOMMO]

No problem with VIA chipsets at all. Captures fine with the DC30+ with the PPE download from Pinnacle. No problem with firwire captures in 98SE, WIN2K or XP.

Nothing wrong with Via at all.

[leebo]

"Nothing wrong with Via at all."

Well, since you don't have problems on your one system, I suppose everyone else is simply dreaming it.

And of course capturing with an AVI device is identical to capturing Mpeg2.

Oh well, back to the drawing board!

[ZAP!!]

Leebo, you are apparently privy to information no one else has. Would you be willing to share what the problem with VIA chipsets are with the rest of us? I would be most appreciative. This looks to be the right topic to divulge these secrets, with the exception of Leebo's last post.

I had sooo many problems with my machine when I first put it together and installed Win2k. But I finally tracked down what my problems were and they are now all gone.

It would be great if PC's were like our toasters. Insert bread, push down lever, out comes toast. But they aren't and people should not expect them to work EXACTLY how they want right after taking it out of the black and white cow spotted box.

I DID have issues with my mobo with Via chipset, but because I wouldn't accept the problems I had I was motivated to find a solution that works, and works well.

If ya want a solution ya gotta find the answer.

[leebo]

Apparently no one besides me, TheInformer
("A big beef with VIA chipsets are that the earlier ones did not bus master the PCI bus correctly, which would cause your PC to lock up tight or restart."), Jeex, and who knows who else is privy to this info.

My scarcastic remark was only meant to point out that just because you haven't experienced a problem others are talking about, dosn't mean it dosn't exist.

The chipsets in question are the VIA 133 and 233. If there were no problems with them, as Tommo claims, then VIA threw away a lot of money modifying them into the 133a and 233a.


Maybe you should email Baldrick to delete the many posts reguarding VIA chipsets.

[TheInformer]

ZAP!!:
I DID have issues with my mobo with Via chipset, but because I wouldn't accept the problems I had I was motivated to find a solution that works, and works well.

If ya want a solution ya gotta find the answer.

Mind you, the information I present here was found in a search a few months ago when my Dazzle DVC II locked up my computer tight when I tried to use it. I read that the KT133 chipset was the culprit, and a switch to the KT133a would solve the problem. I switched, and the problem was fixed. As for the web site, I do not rememder the URL :^/

Ah if only the solution was a nice simple software based one.

The problem is that it is a hardware problem with the chipsets themselves. Aside from getting a new motherboard, how do you propose that I alter the KT133 chipset so that it bus masters the PCI bus correctly?

A software driver? No. The problem is in the silicon here, not the driver.

leebo:
The chipsets in question are the VIA 133 and 233. If there were no problems with them, as Tommo claims, then VIA threw away a lot of money modifying them into the 133a and 233a.

'a' level chipsets are released to fix problems with the initial release. The KT133a chipset was released to rectify the bus mastering issue plus other minor issues found in the KT133, for example.

[TheInformer]

Let me say that since I upgraded to the MSI Turbo Limited Edition motherboard with the VIA KT133a chipset, my machine has been rock solid!

[TheInformer]

Heheh the machine works well, but my attention doesn't
Sorry for the double post!


>> Let me say that since I upgraded to the MSI Turbo Limited Edition
>> motherboard with the VIA KT133a chipset, my machine
>> has been rock solid!

[leebo]

I triple that sentiment!!!

(Sorry, Informer, I coulden't resist).

[TOMMO]

LEEBO,

The piss take was not really neccessary. Never thought for one minute that the "rest " were dreaming.

Don't know what you mean when you say "And of course capturing with an AVI device is identical to capturing Mpeg2"

I don't or cannot capture as MPEG2 directly.

My chipset is a Via Apollo 133A, with the latest VIA 4 in 1 drivers installed.

Only trying to add useful contribution. But stuff it/[/quote]

[leebo]

Aint no thang.

But the topic starter said that people blaming VIA chipsets were "a load of crap".

And you (Tommo) said "Nothing wrong with VIA at all."
So you're "Only trying to add useful contribution."?

By telling everyone that there are no problems with VIA chipsets?

I must be missing something here.

Also, I see you have an "a" chipset. You didn't mention that little detail b4.


The subject is "Are VIA chipsets really that bad?"

The answer is, yes, some of them are.

But telling people that there's no problem because you happen to not have problems dosn't seem like a "useful contributation" to me.

But then, thats just how I am I guess.

[thxkid]

Heck I use a EPOX 8k+, amd 1600 quadspeed, PC 133 Ram, Creative Labs Sound Blaster live 5.1 card, Voodoo 5500 AGP, Pioneer 16x DVD Rom, HP 12x Burner, Win98SE., Happuage PVR Capture Card, Utobia MPEG2 output card and a D-Link Eithernet card, never drop frames, my MPEG2's look perfect and I installed the 4 in 1 patch and my system never crashes, used this setup for a year now, I have always used VIA chip set boards with AMD procesors for the last 5 years and never reaklly had any problems with them.

[leebo]

Thats awesome.

But you haven't mentioned which chipset you have, so how does that help anyone?

But keep rockin on!

[kitty]

Darth VIA unmasked! http://www.tech-report.com/onearticle.x/3683
by Scott "Damage" Wasson - 08:36 pm, June 5, 2002

COMPUTEX — A little birdie told me about some very interesting events that took place here around or about Computex yesterday. Apparently, a VIA engineer was speaking directly to members of the press about the VIA PCI bus problem that has caused performance and compatibility troubles for some users, and he let slip the precise nature of the problem. It seems VIA's south bridge chips didn't include a PCI extension called bus parking that Intel implemented in its post-BX series of chipsets. Many PCI card makers simply assumed bus parking would be available to them, and when it wasn't, all heck broke loose—snap, crackle, pop on your SoundBlaster. That's what I hear, anyway.

Driver patches seem to have resolved the worst of the problems for most folks, but PCI card makers have to play along in order to resolve such issues.

VIA claims its newer south bridge chips, especially the 8235 chip showing up in P4X333 and KT400 prototype boards, do not suffer from this problem. The new PCI bus, they claim, performs like a champ. We'll test that theory ourselves soon.

Remember, though—always two there are: a master and an apprentice.

[Trik]

VIA claims its newer south bridge chips, especially the 8235 chip showing up in P4X333 and KT400 prototype boards, do not suffer from this problem.

Wouldn't you know that I just bought my first VIA based board in years (since the early days of K6-2's) and its a KT333 so I won't be upgrading for at least a year.

I don't seem to have any problems that can be related to PCI though.
I can make high res, high bitrate caps with no problems.

[ZAP!!]

As far as I found if ya run Win2k and have an Athlon ya need a patch from AMD. If ya run Win2k and you have a VIA mobo with 4x AGP and a 4x AGP video card ya need a fix from Microsoft. As for the Via 4in1, Epox said if you run Win2k on an 8KHA+ with the Via Apollo KT266a chipset ya don't need the Via 4in1 drivers.

Since I did all that my machine has had no problems. Before, I was crashing all the time.