Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/516



VIA's KX133 chipset has definitely opened up the Athlon motherboard market to more faces than were present at the initial launch of the Athlon. While the simple fact that more motherboard manufacturers are supporting the Athlon platform now than just 6 months ago cannot be attributed to VIA's chipset alone, many were simply afraid of supporting an CPU that, at the time, wasn't a proven solution, and a combination of those two factors as well as a number of other influences severely limited the number of Athlon motherboards available on the market.

A company we're very familiar with, Tyan, decided toward the end of last year that they would produce an Athlon motherboard. In order to understand their motives, you have to first understand what kind of company Tyan is. Tyan started out by manufacturing products for Sun compatible systems and naturally migrated into the workstation/server PC market. Not too long ago Tyan also decided to branch out into the desktop PC market with a line of relatively unsuccessful desktop motherboards which failed to gain the same recognition and respect that Tyan's higher end products had no problems earning. So when presented with the idea of manufacturing an Athlon motherboard, Tyan's instinctual reaction was to produce a workstation/server level motherboard for the Athlon platform.

Unfortunately, due to AMD's chipset roadmap for the Athlon, it would be another year from the time Tyan wanted to produce an Athlon motherboard until AMD would actually debut the workstation/server level Athlon chipset platform that would support dual processor configurations, something Tyan really wanted to feature on their first Athlon motherboard. This is where the marketing comes into play.

Tyan could either wait and not jump on the Athlon bandwagon until the end of 2000 or maybe even the beginning of 2001 with a killer workstation level Athlon motherboard, or they could release a single processor solution now based solely on a reference board design, get their foot in the door, and save the best for much later with a high end Athlon product when the time was more appropriate. This way Tyan could profit off of the current Athlon craze, while, at the same time, not sacrificing too much of their own time on a project that they didn't want to have to do.

Tyan is a workstation/server level motherboard manufacturer. At that level, you have much more freedom (especially in terms of cost) than you do at the desktop level (and the profit margins are higher), so it's natural for Tyan to want to pursue the high end market that they're so good at developing for, but at the same time, it makes sense from a marketing standpoint to get your name out there among the motherboard manufacturers that do support the growing Athlon platform.


Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
100
Voltages Supported
1.30v - 2.05v (in 0.05v increments)
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
0 AMR Slots
1 AGP Slot
6 PCI Slots (4 Full Length)
1 ISA Slot (1 Full Length/1 Shared)
AC'97
Crystal Logic CS4297 CrystalClear SoundFusion
BIOS
AWARD BIOS v6.00PG

The Good

The S2380 is obviously based very closely on VIA's KX133 ATX reference design, joining the ranks of EPoX's 7KXA. Tyan's reasons for going with the reference design are obvious -- it minimizes the amount of research and development time required before actually producing the board, and since it is a tried and true solution, they can't really go wrong with the design. Because of the S2380's close relationship to the reference design, we immediately expected it to give us about the same experience that we received with the EPoX board we tested not too long ago.

The board is an average sized ATX motherboard based on the KX133 chipset as we mentioned above and because of its reference design heritage, it very closely resembles the EPoX 7KXA that we reviewed a while back. The chipset makes use of VIA's 371 North Bridge, which unusually enough was left uncovered on the Tyan board while every other motherboard manufacturer has placed a heatsink on the North Bridge of their KX133 designs. We have seen this from Tyan in the past where they have refrained from putting a heatsink on the North Bridge in order to cut costs on the board. While we did not experience any instability as a result of this removal , if you have a cooling setup such as Swiftech's MC2001 where there is no air being blown across the chipset, this may become an issue.

As you've heard quite a few times from previous KX133 motherboard reviews, the 371 supplies the S2380 with its 133MHz memory bus and its AGP 4X support which are the two key advantages over the older AMD 750 chipset that the first generation of Athlon motherboards used. From a performance standpoint, the 133MHz memory bus is really the only noticeable advantage the KX133 holds over the AMD 750.

The 371 North Bridge boasts support for VC100/VC133 Virtual Channel (VC) SDRAM as well as regular PC100/PC133 SDRAM. While we have managed to track down one place you can order VC133 SDRAM from (courtesy of one of our readers - http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/kepler/PartsInfo_Bod.asp?ktcpartno=KVR-VC133/128), at a price of $180, and considering the relative lack of a real world performance increase, we still can't justify taking advantage of the 371's support for VC-SDRAM.

Just like the rest of the KX133 motherboards we've reviewed, the S2380's AWARD BIOS setup allows the manual adjustment of the FSB to SDRAM clock ratio. In the event that your memory can't run at 133MHz, the chipset allows for a 3:3 ratio to be used with the FSB frequency to let your memory bus operate at 100MHz (along with your FSB at 100MHz) while still offering PC133 memory owners the option of using a 4:3 ratio thus placing the memory bus at 133MHz while the FSB still runs at 100MHz.



Since the board is based on VIA's reference design, it features the 686A South Bridge, which helps somewhat to decrease the price of the S2380. The 686A South Bridge essentially cuts costs by integrating the functions of a hardware monitoring controller, a PCI-ISA bridge, and an I/O controller into a single South Bridge. The 686A is also very flexible in that it can be used on virtually all of VIA's chipsets; for example, it can be paired with the 694X North Bridge of the Apollo Pro 133A as well as the 598AT North Bridge of the MVP4. For a motherboard manufacturer such as Tyan that has more than one VIA based motherboard in their product line, the 686A makes a lot of sense. At the same time, we have yet to see a KX133 motherboard ship with the 596B South Bridge, most likely due to the fact that VIA specifically states that the 686A should be used with the 371 North Bridge on the KX133.

The 686A also provides support for a total of 4 USB ports. Unfortunately, Tyan failed to provide an external USB header for the remaining two ports supported by the chip, which can be a problem since the external ports apparently aren't the easiest things to track down.

The biggest area in which the S2380 deviates from the reference KX133 motherboard design is that the board features a total of 6 PCI slots and a single ISA slot with no AMR slot, which for many AnandTech readers is a curse that has been cast on all new motherboards. The fact that there is no AMR slot on the motherboard allows for the presence of that sixth PCI slot that isn't present on the EPoX 7KXA. Just like in their previous 6 PCI slot motherboard designs, the S2380 does not require a PCI-PCI bridge in order to gain support for the sixth slot.

With so many PCI slots, it is always helpful to know what IRQs are shared among what slots on the board itself. The sharing pattern is actually pretty standard for any motherboard outfitted with 6 PCI slots. The AGP slot can actually share an IRQ with either the first or the second PCI slot, if the first PCI slot is occupied and the second isn't, the AGP slot will attempt to share the IRQ of the second PCI slot and visa versa. The 3rd and 6th PCI slots share an IRQ as do the 4th and 5th slots. The 4th and 5th slots also share an IRQ with the onboard USB controller. Since most PCI devices work just fine while sharing an IRQ, this shouldn't cause any trouble.

Although there is no AMR slot, the S2380 does use the Crystal Logic CS4297 CrystalClear SoundFusion AC'97 controller that provides for the on-board sound. Keep in mind that this on-board sound is driven by your CPU and isn't a hardware based solution.

From a layout perspective, the area around the Slot-A interface is much like that on the EPoX 7KXA because both boards are closely based upon VIA's reference design for a standard ATX KX133 motherboard. Tyan outfitted the board with six 2200uF and four 1500uF low ESR capacitors, as well as six more regular 1500uF caps around the Slot-A connector and the four voltage regulator heatsinks being the connector. The low ESR (equivalent series resistance) capacitors are similar to the low ESR caps used by AX6BC Pro Gold and AX6BC Pro Gold II Millennium Edition that supposedly allow for increased stability.

In terms of stability, the board was slightly more stable than the EPoX 7KXA that we reviewed although not by a great degree (the EPoX board crashed once more during the 24 hour stability testing period), but it was still not as stable as the ASUS K7V-RM.


The S2380 does feature a jumper driven CPU configuration, but since the clock multiplier on Athlon CPUs can only be modified through the use of an external overclocking device, there is no real need for any CPU settings if you want basic operation. For overclockers, there are no overclocked FSB settings such as those on the ASUS K7V-RM or the AOpen AK72, although there is the option of a 90MHz FSB setting instead of a 100MHz FSB setting. In spite of the fact that the board doesn't really have any overclocking options (which is usually the case with Tyan boards), the S2380 does allow for the manual adjustment of the processor's core voltage through a set of four jumpers that allow for 1.30v - 2.05v settings in 0.05v increments.

While our sample did not come with any written documentation, we can expect the usual user's manual and support CD to ship with the final revision of the S2380, which should be more than enough for the average AnandTech user.



The Bad

Stability is a major issue with motherboards, and from our tests, we have yet to see a KX133 based motherboard that measures up to the stability we experienced on the ASUS K7V-RM. While the S2380, like the EPoX and AOpen boards, was generally a stable solution, it provided for a noticeable difference in stability between itself and the ASUS board. The S2380 should be fine for most users, as the board is far from being horrendously unstable, but for the users that leave their systems on 24/7 and aren't used to rebooting every now and then, the ASUS board may be a better alternative. For the average gamer, SOHO user, etc..., the S2380 should do just fine.

The lack of a heatsink on the 371 North Bridge won't be a problem for most, but if you have a cooler that somehow channels the air above the CPU's heatsink without first having it flow across the surface of the North Bridge chip, you may encounter some erratic performance from a stability standpoint. Luckily, placing a heatsink/fan unit on that chip isn't a major problem if this is the case.

As we mentioned earlier, it would have been nice for Tyan to include an external USB header to take full advantage of the four USB ports supported by the 686A South Bridge. Unfortunately, finding these external ports is apparently not as easy as stumbling across something more common like Ultra ATA 66 cables, so this may be a bit of a disappointment if you were planning on setting up front USB ports on your system.

The lack of any overclocking options, such as 105/110MHz FSB settings, makes the S2380 a bit undesirable to those that want to get the most out of their systems, but with the popularity of overclocking cards, this may not be such a big disappointment. However, do keep in mind that a decent overclocking card will set you back at least $40 - $50.

Although it is normal among today's motherboards, it should be noted that PCI slots 3 & 6 share an IRQ, as do 4 & 5. Since most PCI devices work just fine while sharing an IRQ, this shouldn't cause any trouble.


USB Compatibility

  • Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

  • Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

  • USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

  • USB Keyboard Support in BIOS: Yes


Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: 1 x 128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM

SDRAM Tested: 1 x 128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM

Manufacturer: Corsair
Purchase Website: http://www.corsairmicro.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Website: http://www.mushkin.com



The Test

In recent times, choosing a motherboard cannot be completely determined by a Winstone score. Now, many boards come within one Winstone point of each other and therefore the need to benchmark boards against each other falls. Therefore you shouldn't base your decision entirely on the benchmarks you see here, but also on the technical features and advantages of this particular board, seeing as that will probably make the greatest difference in your overall experience.

Click Here to learn about AnandTech's Motherboard Testing Methodology.

Test Configuration

Processor(s):
AMD Athlon 800
RAM:
1 x 128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM
1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM
Hard Drive(s):
Western Digital 153BA Ultra ATA 66 7200 RPM
Bus Master Drivers:
VIA 4-in-1 v4.16 BMIDE Driver
Video Card(s):
NVIDIA GeForce 256 SDR
Video Drivers:
NVIDIA Detonator 3.76
Operation System(s):
Windows 98 SE
Motherboard Revision:
Tyan Trinity K7 S2380 Revision 2.0

 

Windows 98 Performance

 
Sysmark 2000
Content Creation
Winstone 2000
Tyan Trinity K7 S2380 - Athlon 800 (KX133)
153
31.3
AOpen AK72 - Athlon 800 (KX133)
148
30.4
Gigabyte GA-7IX - Athlon 800
(AMD 750 SuperBypass Enabled)
154
30.7
EPoX 7KXA - Athlon 800 (KX133)
152
30.6
ASUS K7V-RM - Athlon 800 (KX133)
152
30.6

For more benchmarks visit our KX133 Review and our Athlon 1GHz Review

The Final Decision

The S2380's major offering is the 6 PCI slots that the board holds over the competition. If you truly need that extra 6th PCI slot, then the S2380 is a perfectly fine option.

The board itself is just about on-par with the AOpen AK72 and EPoX 7KXA that we reviewed in the past while still falling behind the ASUS K7V-RM in terms of stability, so while it is above average, it's still not as stable as we would expect for a higher end system that relies on stability.

Overall, the board isn't the best, but then again, it's not going to be Tyan's flagship Athlon product for long, the real winner will be their upcoming dual board. Until then, there are better options out there.



How it Rates

AnandTech Motherboard Rating

 
Rating (x/10)

Performance

The S2380 performed just as well as the rest of the KX133 boards we've tested.

5.0

Price

Considering that the Tyan board is so closely based on the reference design, we can expect the board to feature pretty much average manufacturing costs. Since the EPoX 7KXA follows the same design very closely, we should be able to expect that the price of the Tyan is around the same of the EPoX.

The only difference being that Tyan generally prices their products slightly higher than most competitors, which is why they take the 0.5 point deduction in comparison to the EPoX.

6.0

Stability

The S2380 was midway between the AK72 and the 7KXA in terms of stability, which puts it at an average score of 5.0. This can be expected because the board is so closely based on the reference design supplied by VIA.

5.5

Quality

While the S2380 isn't up to Tyan's usual standards in terms of stability, the 1500uF/2200uF low ESR capacitors as well as the rest of the components on the board are definitely well selected and high in quality.

7.0

Features

The S2380 sports the standard feature set of the KX133 chipset, but the addition of a 6th PCI slot gives the board a boost in the features category.

Unfortunately the lack of any overclocked FSB settings takes the rating down to just above average.

5.5

Layout

The S2380's layout is virtually identical to that of the EPoX 7KXA, thus it receives the same 6.5 rating. The layout is actually very well done which can be expected considering it is VIA's reference design.

6.5

Availability

While their boards aren't always the most popular, Tyan is generally available by more vendors that some of the smaller manufacturers out there.

7.0

 

Documentation & Software Bundle

Our sample did not come with a user's manual, however we can expect the usual from Tyan when the product actually ships.

N/A
 
Overall Rating - Not an Average - Click here to find out why
6.5

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