This article originally appeared on Hardware Central.

AMD's and now Intel's 64-bit x86 extensions hog the headlines, but if the latest chipsets from VIA Technologies are any indication, there's a lot of life left in the 32-bit desktop. VIA has made serious waves (and looks to make serious money) in the AMD64 market, toppling Nvidia's nForce3 with its K8T800 Athlon 64 chipset, but its 32-bit offerings in 2003 yielded less than stellar results on both the AMD and Intel sides, and the company's determined to change that.

The VIA KT400 and KT600 chipsets delivered performance competitive with the nForce2, but their lack of a dual-channel DDR architecture (never mind that the 400MHz-bus Athlon XP doesn't require one) gave a definite edge to Nvidia. Things were even bleaker when it came to Intel desktops, where the Pentium 4's higher front-side bus speed really demands a dual-channel chipset to hit the high notes -- the outdated PT800 and its single-channel DDR memory controller couldn't match even Intel's midrange 865PE, let alone the powerful 875P.

The KT880: Better Late than Never

Until now, instead of introducing a true dual-channel-DDR-capable Athlon XP chipset, VIA has relied on incremental improvements such as the KT333, KT400/A, and KT600 -- single-channel DDR implementations with enhanced feature lists and CPU support. Today, the company is at last ready to reclaim some of its lost-to-Nvidia market share with the KT880.

The main feature of the new chipset is its DualStream64 memory controller, which provides true dual-channel DDR operation up to 400MHz. This doubles the effective memory bandwidth of the KT600 (to 6.4GB/sec), while maintaining other base specifications such as support for the 400MHz FSB. The VT8237 Southbridge remains unchanged and includes native Serial ATA RAID, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, and VIA Vinyl 6-channel audio, but the KT880 introduces the option of adding higher-end features such as VIA's Velocity Gigabit Ethernet and Vinyl Gold 8-channel audio through the use of separate onboard chips.

This product release beings us back to the concept of mind share, and how newer, faster technology automatically drives the market. Sure, both the KT880 and nForce2 have the checklist item of dual-channel DDR400 support, but since the fastest available Athlon XP 3200+ has only a 400MHz front-side bus, that's twice the bandwidth the CPU actually needs. (Dual-DDR400 platforms do yield slightly higher scores in memory-performance benchmarks, but nowhere near double.) This is another classic case of the tail wagging the dog, but customers demand dual-DDR400 chipsets for their Athlon XP desktops, so VIA needs to adapt to this market reality.

And even this late in the game, the KT880 has proven surprisingly popular with motherboard manufacturers, bringing top names like Asus, MSI, Abit, Soyo, and Gigabyte into the fold. The vendor comments in VIA's press release center on one important fact: that the company's impressive K8T800 Athlon 64 chipset has brought customers back in droves, and a similar dual-DDR400 model for the Athlon XP will receive instant market recognition. The KT880 lets vendors offer a complete line of VIA motherboards, with no concessions or limitations anywhere in the array.

The PT880: High-End P4 Power on a Budget

Though announced in late 2003, the VIA PT880 has really made an impact of late. The overall design of this dual-channel-DDR400 Pentium 4 chipset is similar to that of the KT880, with the same DualStream64 memory controller and VT8237 Southbridge. It matches up well against the Intel competition, supporting Hyper-Threading Technology and the 800MHz FSB. The only Northbridge wish-list feature not included is Intel's Performance Acceleration Technology (PAT), which is standard on the i875P and sometimes found unofficially implemented on the i865PE.

VIA's PT880 and Intel's 865PE run neck and neck through our memory and overall system performance tests, though the i875P is still the top dog (the PAT feature really shows its mettle with high-end 3D games). This presents a market situation similar to that on the AMD side, with VIA needing a dual-channel DDR architecture to match the market leader. But with the mainstream i865PE and high-end i875P in the Intel stable, it would be incredibly difficult for VIA to compete at the same price-performance level.

Hence, VIA's market strategy is one of providing near-i875P performance levels at a price that undercuts the i865PE. Both market share and mind share may be Intel's to command, but PT880-based motherboards from MSI and Abit offer unprecedented performance and features at the $60-to-$70 price level. That's like ringing the dinner bell for entry-level buyers.

All the Right Moves