Motherboards in 2002: Preview from Comdex

Final Words

The motherboard outlook for 2002 is definitely promising. With more chipsets for both Athlon and Pentium 4 platforms, the end user is bound to benefit.

For the Pentium 4 you can expect the 845 with DDR SDRAM to be the platform of choice for stability and mainstream performance. The SiS 645 will most likely assume the title of high-performing value chipset for the Pentium 4 although it seems like that majority of 645 boards won't arrive until after DDR 845 hits the streets.

For the Athlon it seems like the KT266A is still the most desirable chipset and although the nForce definitely has its own niche, VIA shouldn't be too worried about it cannibalizing their Athlon chipset sales; not yet at least. The next wave of Athlon chipsets will bring about DDR333 support however unless the Athlon gets a boost in FSB frequency, something that isn't on any AMD roadmaps we've seen, you shouldn't expect to gain any performance improvement from DDR333.

That pretty much summarizes the motherboard scene at this year's Comdex. We'll continue to provide coverage we gathered from the show as time goes on.