Chipset question

[Sip]

I know Via chipsets are not great, but are the Via-693a-596b chipsets good or bad for audio?
Thanks

[Ohsoflow]

in general VIA has problems with the PCI bus speeds, but that doesn't seem to bother some soundcards. so it al depends on which soundcard you are planning to use... look on the soundcard manufacturers website or email/call them to ask about the specific combination you have in mind.

[Sip]

I'm helping a friend choose a soundcard,and we've decided on the Terratec EWS88-MT. I've checked the website, and couldn't find anything on chipsets. I'm waiting for a reply from Terratec.

[knowdoubt]

Here's my fairly strong opinion on this kind of issue that repeatedly pops up. Choose your soundcard based on the sound card alone. For Pete sake get the sound card you really want that has the features & specs (price) you need, then if your MOBO/chipset (or sometimes even video card) has a problem working with it, ditch the friggin' MOBO or Vid card for a different one which is not really all that expensive an upgrade in proportion to the total system cost. The only slack I would cut here is if there were 2 cards that were fairly equal contenders & one was known to work with the existing MOBO/chipset & the other not or in the case of doing a budget soundcard upgrade to an intermediate system. Every sound card out there will work with some MOBO/chipset except in cases where some sound card manufacturers are having systemic trouble writing descent drivers for their cards in which case they should be avoided.

[Sip]

Knowdoubt,
I totally agree, but like I said, I'm helping someone else. They already have the computer. The first thing I told him was to get an Intel CPU and motherboard with an Intel chipset.

[+Erik.+]

i had an Epox board with VIA chipset running a Terratec 24/96 (same drivers as your card actually) and it gave me pops and clicks. I changed the motherboard and got an NFORCE chipset (running an athlon).

no problems now ;D

[bluehat]

Hi Sip. If you get any reply from Terratec about best hardware for compatibility with the EWS88MT, please post their recommendations. I emailed Terratec about a week ago about the same thing (going to build a computer from the ground up and want their recs), but haven't received any reply yet.

[Sip]

bluehat,
Try the following address.
mark@fostex.com

[recat]

The Intel chipset with intel processor sounded right.The futher you deviate the more something can change. The folks that test stuff can't be expected to test all the combinations.It is not just a Via thing.

my opinion

Wendell

[Pretty Pretty Cyanide]

AMD with nVidea, SIS, AMD, Ali and Intel with SIS work well too.

I have a nVidea chipset with Althon 1800+ proc that runs circles around friends with both newer AMD and Intel processors.