This article originally appeared on Hardware Central.

Since it moved its Pentium 4 processor from Socket 478 to the LGA775 package, Intel's 915 and 925X/XE desktop chipsets have owned the market. The new platform's addition of PCI Express graphics is nice, but adoption rates have been stunted by a variety of factors, with the most important being cost.

The 925X/XE use DDR-2 memory, and even though the latter's price continues to fall, it still can't compete with low-cost PC3200 DDR. The 915-series chipsets support standard DDR, but all of Intel's LGA775 platforms are more expensive than their 478-pin predecessors, with both 925X/XE and 915 motherboards showing noticeable price premiums compared to their 875P and 865PE counterparts.

To help drive migration to the new technology, Intel has priced LGA775 Pentium 4 processors below corresponding Socket 478 models, creating a rough parity between the platforms. This also creates an opportunity for third parties to not only take advantage of Intel's low CPU prices, but undercut its chipset costs. We've already seen some manufacturers retrofit old 875P motherboards with LGA775 sockets, but now VIA Technologies is making a much more serious challenge with the release of a new LGA775 chipset line.

A High-End Heavyweight

The top of VIA's new line is the PT894 Pro, a chipset that's definitely no shrinking violet when it comes to features or performance. The PT894 Pro supports Intel LGA775 processors using the 533MHz, 800MHz, or 1066MHz front-side buses, which is right up there with Intel's top-end 925XE and a step ahead of the 925X and 915 series, which peak at 800MHz.

Memory support is also a nice surprise, as the PT894 Pro works with not only dual-channel DDR-2/400, /533, and /667 but standard DDR266, 333, and 400 memory as well. This gives VIA a leg up on the Intel competition, as the 925X/XE supports only high-priced DDR-2; by contrast, the PT894 Pro gives both vendors and consumers a choice of memory, rather than pushing buyers who want the combination of high-end performance and trusty old DDR to AMD by default.

Another important ingredient of this chipset is the presence of DualGFX Express, which allows dual PCI Express video cards. This isn't really VIA's answer to Nvidia's SLI technology, however: It adds two PCI Express lanes to the standard configuration, allowing two graphics cards (one at x16 and one at x4) that can handle up to four displays at once, but offers none of the performance benefits of SLI. In other words, it's a more corporate solution to supply quad-monitor support, while Nvidia's SLI actually doubles graphics performance through dual-card processing. Still, it's a nice feature, although one whose benefits will be limited for most desktop users.

The PT894 Pro is also a PCI Express-enabled motherboard, using the VT8251 Southbridge to support both PCI Express and PCI devices. Other onboard options include VIA DriveStation, which supports both Parallel and Serial ATA storage, as well as integrated Serial ATA RAID capabilities, VIA's Vinyl 6-channel audio, and the company's own Gigabit LAN.

The Mainstream Powerhouse PT894 and AGP-Friendly PT880 Pro

The VIA PT894 is basically the PT894 Pro without some of the latter's fancier features: It also supports Pentium 4 LGA775 processors at bus speeds up to 1066MHz, with the same choice of dual-channel DDR-2 and DDR memory formats. The main difference lie in the graphics area, as the PT894 uses a single PCI Express x16 slot instead of DualGFX Express. This will likely be VIA's most popular LGA775 chipset, as it delivers virtually all of the high-performance features and options at a cost advantage compared to the PT894 Pro.

While Intel has forced migration to PCI Express with its LGA775 chipset lines, VIA's third new chipset, the PT880 Pro, lets buyers make the final choice. Motherboards using this chipset can include not only an AGP slot, but also a PCI Express x4 slot (depending on configuration) for those who may want to upgrade video cards in the future. Eventual PT880 Pro motherboards can include AGP or PCI Express, or both, but the real key is the flexibility this chipset offers motherboard vendors and consumers alike. VIA even allows both AGP and PCI-E graphics cards to be used simultaneously, supporting as many as four monitors.

Memory support is also on par with the higher-end chipsets, as the PT880 Pro can use both dual-channel DDR-2 and DDR. The only change is the use of the lower-end VT8237 Southbridge, an older design that does not support extra PCI Express x1 slots. This is not a huge consideration for this market, and due to the dearth of PCI Express peripherals, it may not be for some time to come.

For new systems, PCI Express is the safest bet, but there are also those looking to take advantage of the Intel price structure and upgrade to a faster LGA775 CPU while taking their AGP cards along for the ride. This makes the PT880 Pro a compelling choice, as it not only supports AGP technology but is an up-to-date, upwardly mobile chipset that can handle 1066MHz-bus Intel processors.

VIA Promotes Flexibility and Low Cost

Unlike Intel's offerings, the new line of VIA LGA775 chipsets offers a full range of choice for vendors and consumers alike, without mandating any real platform changes. Buyers can choose between AGP and PCI Express graphics, or both, along with DualGFX Express, and not miss a beat. System memory support is also a very flexible aspect of the new VIA chipsets, as all three support DDR-2 and/or DDR.