Comparing the Chipsets

The best way to compare features is to lay them out together. So Lets have a look at what each chipset can offer you.

So we can see the big players in the Socket A market head to head, the results are interesting as it seems that the chipsets are very similar even though their release dates are spread over nearly a year. The oldest chipset is the Nforce 2 400 / Ultra, this is most surprising as it certainly doesn't seem a year behind the latest chipset from VIA technologies.

All of the chipsets support all the latest Athlon and Duron CPU's as well as DDR400 memory modules. The interest points on the memory side are the fact the Nforce 2 400 ultra supported Dual channel DDR all that time ago and 3 quarters of a year later VIA have released a chipset with this feature onboard. This was one of the reasons why the Nforce 2 400 ultra was such a great platform at the time. The Nforce 2 400 non-ultra is essentially a cut down version of the ultra version with the Dual channel DDR missing from its armoury. The SiS chipset also makes do with the single channel memory interface.

If your looking for a system with a high amount of memory then the VIA options are the only way to go. Both of the Nvidia chipsets and the SiS 748 offer a maximum of 3Gb in memory with a maximum of 3 DIMM slots. The KT600 offers 4 Gb in 4 DIMM slots, and if your after a monster system in terms of RAM then the KT880 will give you the ability to install up to a massive 8Gb of system memory in 4 DIMM slots.

USB has become the most commonly used external connection on a PC today. Many people have loads of things connected by USB, from their mouse and keyboard to Printers and telephones. The point here is that unless you like to change your peripherals every time you want to use then then you will want to have as many as possible. Again the VIA chipsets have the advantage here. They both support 8 USB ports while the other 3 each support 6 ports. If you don't have everything connected by USB then this is nothing but a future proofing feature.

All the chipsets have integrated sound, however the the KT880 is only chipset which gives you the option of having a 7.1 surround sound chip onboard. Onboard sound is being accepted as being a standard feature on all motherboards now and is getting better quality all the time. It is essentially good enough for most users except gamers with a keen ear and musicians who need the best technology available and extra features that a separate sound card can provide.

Motherboards with the Nforce 2 chipset and the IGP south bridge can have a GeForce 4 MX card onboard. This will cut the cost a little in a whole system if you have onboard graphics, however be aware that the Geforce 4 MX is considered nothing more than a budget video card. The IGP south bridge is so called because it means Integrated Graphics Port.

All of the Chipsets offer an onboard LAN however only the new KT880 can give you a Gigabit LAN chip. They do loose out on the Firewire scene though as the Nvidia chipsets and the SiS chipset can be found with the Firewire support depending on the model of the south bridge. 

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