Introduction
VIA P4B Ultra P4X400 Motherboard
VIA seemingly want to gain a larger foothold in the Pentium 4 motherboard market. With P4s now selling at what many may consider sane prices, and overclocking far beyond their stated speeds, the demand for the CPUs and accompanying motherboards has never been higher.
The trouble with the P4 market is that there are already two established players vying for your money. Intel, unsurprisingly, have a range of chipsets to cater for individual needs and budgets. Various Intel-based DDR motherboards, previously reviewed here at Hexus, have shown excellence in stability and performance. SiS have also earned themselves a piece of the large P4 pie by recruiting a number of first-tier manufacturers for their 64x chipset(s). Highly integrated, they offer manufacturers a chance to release a feature-packed motherboard at minimal prices.
In the face of such strong competition, VIA have taken it upon themselves to market their own P4 chipset. The P4X400 is the beating heart of today's review motherboard. The P4B Ultra is a fully featured solution boasting some novel inclusions of its own. Let's now see how it stacks up against the rather potent competition.
