Via or Intel

You are better off selecting a specific chip-set from each, or specific motherboards for a comparison.

In general:

VIA will create new chip-sets that take advantage of new technologies before Intel will.
Such was the case with DDR RAM. However, Intel did have a vested interest in a different technology (RDRAM).

Intel does have the advantage of knowing ALL the internal structure of their CPUs. So, 'technically', they can take advantage of features that VIA is not aware of.
Intel WILL be first to market with chip-sets that support it's newest CPU.

All said however, it boils down to features and the reputation of the motherboard manufacture.

As a 'general' rule, I use genuine Intel motherboards for Intel CPU based systems.I usually use VIA chip-set motherboards for my AMD CPU based systems.

Then, there is VIA's "C3" line of CPUs.
These are the latest incarnation of the "IBM / Cyrix" processors.
VIA is heavily promoting PCs based on the C3 CPU.
The main advantage is the low power dissipation of the C3 CPU.

Chas

http://www.anandtech.com/chipsets/index.html

and take a look at the specific chipset