Soltek SL-PT880Pro-FGR: VIA Dual-Channel for the Pentium 4

Final Words

VIA has definitely produced a chipset that is competitive with the best from Intel with the PT880. While it is not the fastest chipset that we have tested for the Pentium 4, it is definitely competitive in every stock performance area with Intel's 875. At a price that is less than even Intel's lower priced 865 chipset, this is quite an accomplishment. We congratulate VIA for producing a great chipset that is feature-rich and competes very well with the leader. For the vast majority of users who do not overclock, the VIA PT880 will do exactly what they want with their Pentium 4, and your Intel platform can be selected between VIA, SiS, and Intel based on features.

The PT880 also proved its compatibility with Intel's latest Prescott and Extreme Edition processors. Both the 3.2E and 3.2EE ran fine on the Soltek PT880Pro, though there are a few areas where additional tweaking may be necessary for best performance of Prescott.

There is an Achilles Heel, however. Intel has achieved almost legendary overclocking abilities with Northwood processors on their 875/865 chipsets; there are many enthusiasts who happily run low-cost 2.4C processors at 3.0GHz and above. Even Intel's top-line processors often achieve 400MHz to 600MHz overclocks at default voltage on Intel 875/865 chipsets. To be a "value" choice in this arena requires, for many, a chipset that can achieve these same levels of performance. Our overclocking results with PT880 were dismal. This time around, it is not a missing PCI/AGP lock that is holding it back; we confirmed the PCI is indeed fixed on this PT880 board. We do not know if the poor overclocking is a problem with the motherboard or the chipset, but since Soltek is a company well-versed in overclocking, we suspect it is the chipset that just can't deliver the overclocks many users demand. We hope this is just a problem with early silicon, and that VIA will quickly address the one issue that could hold back PT880 from the success it otherwise deserves.

As a motherboard, the Soltek SL-PT880Pro-FGR is a great product. As one of Soltek's first offerings in their PRO series, it succeeds in presenting a new image for Soltek as a company that also makes top-line boards. We would suggest that Soltek consider including USB brackets and SPDIF in their package to make it even more attractive. It also would have been a more attractive board if Soltek had used the VIA Envy24 audio chip instead of the competent, but lower performing, VT1616. These are small complaints, however. Overall, the feature set of the SL-PT880Pro-FGR is outstanding. It delivers what most buyers are looking for, and it stands up well to the best from any manufacturer.

Despite the success of VIA with PT880, we also need to step back and take a look at the larger picture. Socket 478 is nearing the end as the top Intel socket, with Socket 775 coming in April. This means VIA's 478 solution that finally supports Dual-Channel is quite late. Perhaps VIA's plan is to dominate in the sales of 478 boards after 775 because this will continue for quite a while with both top-end, and ultimately, value boards. Despite the fact that VIA's solution is competent, it may be too late. We're certain VIA is aware of this, and perhaps PT880 is a "credibility" release, to establish that VIA can deliver a decent chipset for Intel, so consumers will embrace the upcoming VIA Socket 775 chipset.

There is also another factor. No matter how we look at the performance results, the SiS655TX is still the best performing chipset for the Pentium 4. SiS655TX, Intel 875/865, and VIA PT880 are all close in performance, and any of the three would be a good choice for a new Pentium 4 system. The performance differences are generally small, but the SiS655TX is the leader in most benchmarks. This will matter to buyers today, but it may not matter at all in a few months when Socket 775 is the performance socket and consumers are mainly shopping for price with a ton of features.

In the end, VIA PT880, SiS655TX, and Intel 875/865 are all pretty close in performance. You can buy any of the 3 based on features if you plan to run your Pentium 4 processor at stock speeds or only mildly overclock. If you plan more serious overclocking, then you should choose an Intel 875/865 motherboard or one of the better SiS655TX boards.