Tyan Tiger MPX (S2466)

I decided that for this review, I would cut the crap and get straight to the meat of it. I won't bother to expound on the history and merits of the DP AMD platform in general because it has been out and about for some time now. Instead, let's concentrate on what the Tiger MPX is, and what it brings to the table, shall we?

What? Another new chipset already?

That's right kids. Hot on the heels of the initial 760MP chipset, AMD decided to release the 760MPX. Let's look at what the MPX actually brings to the table that the MP fails to offer... 64bit 66mhz PCI, and broken USB.

Lately it seems that 64bit PCI slots are becoming commonplace. Formerly reserved for ultra high-end servers and workstations, these days everyone and their brother has a 64bit slot. What differentiates these slots is their 66mhz operating frequency. 66mhz is double the bandwidth that the regular old (aging) 32bit PCI slot offers. This can be a nice thing if you're planning on using an add-in card that can use the extra bandwidth (SCSI and RAID controllers come to mind).

In addition to the increased bandwidth that 64/66 slots offer, AMD has taken it one step further by separating the PCI busses (64/66 and 32/33) increasing bandwidth even more while alleviating a major bottleneck. Sounds great, eh? Unfortunately all this swanky new bandwidth seems to come at a price. 64bit 66mhz PCI cards run at a different voltage than their older counterparts, and while manufacturers claim backward compatibility with their slots and older PCI cards, it is not always the case. As long as your card is 3.3v capable it should work fine in the 64bit slots on an MPX board, but remember, running a 32bit/33mhz card on this bus will slow the whole thing down to regular PCI speed (AFAIK).

I didn't have access to an expansive array of PCI cards during my testing of the Tiger MPX, but from what I did use, compatibility seems to be a serious game of hit or miss. Be absolutely certain that your card runs at the correct speed and/or voltage for the slot you intend to use it in. I would venture to say that this single issue will be the cause of more disgruntled AMD MP adopters than any other single reason. Except maybe the next one :-)

Broken USB!

Yes, that's right. The 760MPX chipset seems to suffer from a broken USB controller. Early reports from Asus were that they would include an add-in USB 2.0 card to make-up for the lack of onboard USB, and it seems that Tyan and MSI are following suit. I can't comment on MSI's USB card, but I was a bit disappointed that Tyan only included a regular old USB card. Nothing fancy, no USB 2.0.

Another thing to remember about the whole add-in USB card is that you will give-up one of your regular PCI slots to have USB functionality. That wouldn't be a big deal if you don't use many PCI cards anyway, but if you do, you may find yourself making some hard choices about what to give-up. Tyan does help out a bit in this department though as the Tiger MPX seems to be the only MPX board with four normal PCI slots (MSI, Asus, and Epox all have just three). At least when you sacrifice a slot for the USB card you still have three slots left which is more than you can say for the offerings from the other guys.

But it's not all bad. Let's move on.

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