AOpen AX63Pro or Tyan S1854 Trinity 400 or Soyo 6VBA?

[2336]

Folks I'm getting ready to put together my first system and I've narrowed down my MoBo choices to the aforementioned three. I know they all have the dreaded VIA chipset, settle down Intel BX fans, but these three seem to have the features and stability that I'm looking for, plus I WON'T be overclocking. My question is this - are there any folks out there that have had hands-on experiences with any or all of these motherboards, good or bad? Please, let the opinions fly! I'd like to hear from as many folks as I can before I plunk down that hard-earned green stuff! Thanks everyone!

RGR

[Bleeding Edge]

These are three good choices. The Trinty is the only one with the newer Via 133A chipset. For this reason only, I'd lean towards getting the most recent revision of the board.

However....You left out one board.

The Soyo 6VCA, with the newest Via chipset. This would be the best choice. It went on sale last week. In the first shipment, each vendor received five boards each. Specialty Tech (http://www.specialtytech.com/mobo_price.htm) may have a couple left. While you're there, check the Test&Benchmark page.

-B.E.

[AuraEdge]

6VCA's OUT?!??!
ohh gotta check this out! The 6VBA was an EXCELLENT board except for the Via133nonA chipset.

Another GREAT board is the MSI 6309 Via133A Board...
lots of features, and FSB's up to 200, and VERY stable. Comes with a S370 on board, that supports Coppermine right off the bat.

Ive had the 6VBA and the Tyan Trinity 400. The 6VBA was a great board to work with, but not that great proformance wise. The Tyan was a better proformer, but was a REAL PAIN to work with.

[2336]

To AuraEdge and Bleeding Edge - Thanks folks! That's the kinda input I'm looking for. Which ones have proven to be stable AND reliable? Which ones are easier to set up and work with? This is the stuff I'm looking at because if you were to research the phrase "Not a Rocket Scientist!" all materials would probably have my photo! LOL! Seriously though, I am looking for ease of set up and very importantly RELIABILITY! I'm talking OEM, works for years without a glitch kind of reliability. Keep coming with the comments those of you that have used the boards I mentioned OR newer better VIA 133 boards, please?! And thanks for your help in advance! You folks are a fountain of info that someone at my skill level really appreciates!!!

RGR

[This message has been edited by 2336 (edited 03-08-2000).]

[2336]

Anyone else have any experiences or even opinions on some of the newer VIA 133 or 133A boards? I would certainly appreciate the input!

RGR

[AuraEdge]

The Tyan SUCKS for the clocker... Stable as a rock at base speeds, but anything else is just a pain to work with.
The 6VBA was a wonderful board to work with, but the chipset left much to be desired.


BTW the Tyan uses the 133A too...but i wouldnt recommend it..its not tweak-friendly.



[This message has been edited by AuraEdge (edited 03-08-2000).]

[2336]

AuraEdge, As I understand one of the major OEM companise recently decided on the Tyan for its line of high end systems and that is what really prompted my interest. I'm still pretty much a neophyte in the PC business so I was looking for that OEM-type reliability, overclocking is not a major consideration right now. Recently I've read some reviews of the AOpen AX63Pro that really raised my eyebrows! If I remember correctly AnandTech rated the AX63Pro higher in reliability and stability (overclocked and not) and higher in ease of use and set-up. That really tweaked my interest. What's your slant on this? What have you heard about the AX63Pro in comparison to the Tyan? I would really appreciate your opinion on this, the Senior members (and above) have yet to steer me wrong. Thanks.

RGR

[Bleeding Edge]

The excellent reviews on Aopen boards are accurate. As far as boards based on the VIA chipset are concerned, the new AX64PRO (http://english.aopen.com/products/mb/ax64pro.htm) from Aopen, or, Soyo's new 6VCA are most likely the two best choices to be had.

I haven't checked the consumer availability for the Aopen. The Soyo can be found (if still in stock) by calling or sending email to one of the online vendors listed at Soyo's site. The vendor listed in Brooklyn was one of the first to get the boards. It is not advertised on their site. Call or email.

-AuraEdge mentioned MSI. I believe Chaintech and Gigabyte have similar boards to the MSI. But your focus should stay with the new offerings from Aopen and Soyo.-



[This message has been edited by Bleeding Edge (edited 03-09-2000).]

[2336]

Bleeding Edge, thanks for the input! You've helped me to narrow down my choices considerably and take another step closer towards getting my new system up and running.

RGR

[2336]

Does anyone else out there have anything they'd like to add or perhaps a different VIA133 based MoBo that they'd like to recommend? I would really appreciate hearing from you folks! Please drop me a line and let me know about your experiences with the current crop of Via133 and Via133A MoBo's out there. I'm trying to make an intelligent decision on this and the more info/input that I receive the more likely I can makr an intelligent decision. Thanks folks!


RGR

[2336]

up

[2336]

SoCalGal,
Would you please close out this thread? Between AuraEdge and Bleeding Edge they have answered my question! Thank you!


RGR

[socalgal]

Hi 2336

We leave threads open unless there's a specific reason they need to be locked. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[AuraEdge]

I believe the MSI is the best pick at this point in time. The Tyan is perfectly stable at default speeds of 66, 100, and 133 Mhz, but anything else is compromised. Also you cant change AGP divider on the board.
The Soyo was a nice board, but the MSI seems to offer more features (MSI has a nice track record too)
Also, chaintechs 6ATA4 has the same clock generator as the BF6 and the BE6-II, remaining unique in that combination...meaning it has 1Mhz steps in OCing. Im not sure as far as stability goes for this board tho.

[johnman]

I know you probably had your question answered by the same two people over and over but I thought perhaps you would like a response from someone else.

I have had my TYAN Trinity 400 for a little over a week now and so far I am liking it better every day.

Finding all the drivers to get the speed up has taken the most time.

when I upgraded my old Box (a Pentium 200) to the new board, I also upgraded video cards as well to take advantage of the AGP 4x port.

I would suggest a card that I did not choose. I would suggest a card like a 3D Prophet SE or a NVIDA GeForce DDR as those cards really seem to boost video scores. I chose a ViperII and am happy with it for now but if I had it to do over, I would choose a different video card. I can generate a 3DMark2000 score of 3149 so far but expect it to get better as the drivers are optimized.

Yes I like my Tyan motherboard.