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, Tyan have been in the business of server boards for some time now, and it shows. For instance, both Google and Yahoo servers are based on Tyan boards - if that isn't an indication of what you should expect from a motherboard I really don't know what else to say.

While the home user need not be so concerned with uptime as a commercial web site, stability is something we all look for. After all, there is nothing more aggravating than a computer which spontaneously freezes or crashes in the middle of a document, or the last level of a game. So while I had heard good things about Tyan server boards in general, I had also seen several other reviews that indicated their might be some stability issues with the motherboard we are looking at today, the Tyan Trinity KT-A.

For those of you who have never worked with a Tyan desktop board, they are a bit of a change from what we commonly see from companies like Asus, Iwill or Abit. Where many of today's motherboard companies are fighting for market share and consumer interest by including features such as IDE RAID, D-Led diagnostic systems, Microstepping BIOS adjustments, and just about anything else under the sun, the Tyan boards are quite different.

The Trinity KT-A is quite a contrast as it is basically as meat and potatoes as you could ever expect a Socket A motherboard to be. This is a nofrills 200/266MHz FSB motherboard with average performance and little in the way of eye-catching features or anything for the overclocker to sink their teeth into.

Tyan Trinity KT-A (S2390B) Motherboard
	Ships with the following: IDE ATA100 Cable FDD CABLE Driver CD-ROM Instructions Cost: $92USD MFG: Tyan

Tyan's server boards are well known - their Tiger and Thunder line of boards are so well respected that AMD currently only allows Tyan to build their 760MP boards - but the Trinity line never really caught on like they would have liked. This motherboard really only appeals to OEM manufacturers who want something that will get the job done at the lowest price.

On a side note, Athlon motherboards are notorious for being rather large, but the KT-A is easily only 2/3 the width of the Iwill KK266-R or Asus A7V133 - quite refreshing!