The AMD-750 Chipset, designed for the Athlon processor, is a popular choice for getting the most cost effective chipset available. This chipset supports bus speeds of a wild 200 MHz; nearly double the speed of all the Pentium chipsets, and supports PC100 SDRAM up to 768MB. The AMD-750 however, only supports AGP 2x, whereas most of the premium Pentium chipsets support 4x AGP. The biggest fault on this chipset is the PC100 SDRAM only compatibility. Purchasing PC133 SDRAM is on the rise due to its dropping market value, which would mean that this chipset would become obsolete. AMD's next release took care of that problem with ease, introducing DDR SDRAM to the motherboard; this chipset is known as the AMD-760.

The AMD-760 brought many improvements from the 750 model; such changes were the 266MHz system bus speed, 4x AGP support, ATA-100 hard disk controller, and oh yeah, DDR SDRAM support! Supporting speeds of PC1600 and PC2100, DDR SDRAM is the memory speed king! DDR offers twice the peak bandwidth of SDRAM, hence the name Double Data Rate SDRAM. By supporting the Athlon and Duron processors at 266MHz bus speeds this was a great improvement. With twice the speed of the top Pentium chipsets, AMD set the standard for chipsets to come.

The VIA APOLLO KT133A chipset, designed for the AMD Athlon and Duron Processors, leaves AMD users extremely happy with the quality of chipset being used. With Front Side Bus (FSB) settings at 200/266Mhz, Athlon and Duron users will be able to use this chipset with confidence. The KT133A also supports 4x AGP, just as the AMD-760 and premium Pentium chipsets do. The AGP4X interface enables the graphics controller to access the main memory at double the speed of previous platforms, which then provides high-quality 3D graphics and video performance. The KT133A chipset also supports PC133 SDRAM up to 2GB. A fine chipset for your money, but VIA soon released another chipset (KT266) that supported DDR SDRAM which put the chipset at the "top" with the other premiere chipsets.

VIA's latest creation, the KT266 is their best creation thus far. The KT266 supports the latest memory technology (DDR SDRAM) with FSB speeds of up to 266MHz. The chipset holds up to 4GB of DDR226 SDRAM and has transferring speeds that peak at 2.1GB/s. The VIA Apollo KT266 chipset is based on an original architecture with proven dependability and performance. It's a two-chip set consisting of the VT8366 North Bridge Controller and the VT8233 South Bridge Controller. Additional key features for the KT266 include support for six USB ports, AC-97 link for audio and modem, hardware monitoring, and ACPI/OnNow power management. The KT266 is again, VIA's best creation to this day. In competing with the AMD-760, there is little difference that can be found between the two. Both are magnificent chipsets, soaring over the Pentium capabilities.

Don't think that the chipset in your computer is not an important component just because you don't hear too much about it! Chipsets are in fact one of the most important parts on your computer.

Choosing a bad chipset equates to choosing a poorer performing system, simple as that. Intel and AMD both have their own benefits that stand out, and they are commended. Intel chipsets have good reliability, dual CPU support, and are compatible with RDRAM. AMD chipsets have bus speeds doubling the Pentium chipsets, DDR RAM support, and also have good reliability. Very shortly AMD will even be releasing their dual CPU supporting 760MP chipset. Regardless if you are an AMD or Intel processor owner, this guide should inform you on what chipset is right for you. Whether you seek out the "top of the line" or just the "budget-friendly" chipset when buying a motherboard, I highly suggest you choose from the list above, for they are some of the best available on the chipset market today.