PCSTATS     
[X]   Directory of
Guides & Reviews

Beginners Guides
Motherboards by Brand
Weekly Newsletter
Archived Newsletters

Tyan Trinity KT-A Motherboard Review
Tyan Trinity KT-A Motherboard Review - PCSTATS
Tyan have generally been known as the manufacturer of highly stable server boards. While the groundbreaking dual AMD Thunder K7 has recently propelled them into the spotlight somewhat.
 80% Rating:   
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Tyan Aug 11 2001   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > Tyan S2390B

Quake III Arena Benchmarks

Quake III Arena: Fastest demo001
Setting: FPS:
1. 10 x 100 MHz 125.4
2. 10 x 133 MHz 180.1

Quake III Arena: Fastest nv15demo
Setting: FPS:
1. 10 x 100 MHz 43.6
2. 10 x 133 MHz 52.2


There are a few interesting spots in the benchmarks here. First, in Sandra's Memory bandwidth tests, there isn't much of a difference between the two bus speeds. It's kind of odd, I purposely set the memory speed to run at the same speed as the bus, but it doesn't look like that option stuck.

The next interesting spot is on Quake III's demo001 score. For some reason it looks like processor and bus speed make a huge difference in the performance of this game. It's already known that Q3 has an appetite for high bus speeds but it looks like you also need a high speed CPU to back it up as well. Oh, I did rerun those two benchmarks to make sure it wasn't just a fluke.

Even with the stability problems I experienced, there are a few general conclusions about the board we can draw. First, the general layout of the KT-A is pretty good, the IDE and floppy drive connectors are exactly where you'd want them to be and the ATX power plug is at the top of the board and isn't going to obstruct air flow (this I like a lot).

I also like the relative small size of the KT-A's PCB. Its performance is on par with other KT133A boards that I've worked with in the past, and thanks to it's lack of extra features, the Tyan KT-A should be one of the cheapest boards around. Also, if the KT-A is even close to it's brethren in terms of reliability, it would easily rival its competitors best efforts. While this isn't something we normally comment on, I feel I must say that the instruction manual Tyan pack with this motherboard is very well done. Granted, most of us don't spend too much time reading a motherboard's instruction manual, but in this case it was nice to see a very well layed out manual full of coherent explainations (that even the first time user could understand).

As a performance user, would I recommend the KT-A? Unfortunately no. There are just too many other offerings at the moment, which while they might cost more, you would be better off with in the long run.

< Previous Page © 2023 PCSTATS.com Motherboards Reviews...»

 

Contents of Article: Tyan S2390B
 Pg 1.  Tyan Trinity KT-A Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  KT-A Spec Sheet
 Pg 3.  Notes on the KT-A layout
 Pg 4.  A BIOS built not for Overclocking
 Pg 5.  Benchmarks: WinBench 99, Content Sandra
 Pg 6.  — Quake III Arena Benchmarks

 
Hardware Sections 


 
PCSTATS Network Features Information About Us Contact
FrostyTech
PCSTATS Newsletter
Tech Glossary
Technology WebSite Listings
News Archives
(Review RSS Feed)
Site Map
PCstats Wallpaper
About Us
Privacy Policy
Advertise on PCSTATS

How's Our Driving?
© Copyright 1999-2023 www.pcstats.com All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use.