[Scuddie]

I am very familiar with products associated with the K7 platform.  I know that nForce2 is greatly superior as far as stability and features are concerned, while VIA has many speed and component related capabilities.  I also know SiS should under no circumstance ever be used for anything.  I think it's fair to say that I know the most of the K7 platform and related.

K8 is an entirely different story.  I hear things that are seemingly conflicting with the previous generations.  nForce3 is supposedly untrustworthy as a chipset is concerned, and VIA is supposedly as predictable as a civil political thread.  Every review of every chipset points in opposite directions.  And now I hear ATi has the gall to enter the game.  I dont know where to begin if the path is unclear.

So, is there anyone here who has extensive experience with the K8 platform to tell me what is going on as far as chipsets are concerned?  And when I say chipsets, I dont mean manufacturers.  One thing that has always been true is MSI and ASUS are top tier, and the rest can burn in hell.

[Kosh]

I also know SiS should under no circumstance ever be used for anything. I think it's fair to say that I know the most of the K7 platform and related.

Why?

[phatosealpha]

AFAIK, it was only the original nForce 3 chipsets that had any issues.  The nForce3 ultra (and I believe the 250's as well) are excellent chipsets, my rig is running one.  VIA chipsets don't perform as well as the nForce3 boards, and have issues with dual core if you decide to upgrade.

PCI-expresswise, nForce4 is ruling the day.   Anandtech liked how the Radeon Xpress chipset references performed, but I haven't seen any reviews of actual production boards, and there just aren't that many of them available.  The VIA chipset just isn't going anywhere.