Tyan Tomcat K8E

Conclusion:

Overall, this well-put together solution definitely follows in the Tyan tradition. Some of the Tyan Tomcat K8E (S2865AG2NRF) key features are an onboard ATI RAGE XL graphics solution (which is great for server purposes), Cool ‘n’ Quiet Technology, five 4-pin fan headers (one 3-pin fan header), NvRAID SATA-II, dual gigabit Ethernet support, and nForce 4. Once we acquired the latest software updates for FedoraCore3, we encountered no problems with any of the major onboard features not functioning up to par. From a gaming and enthusiast standpoint, the overclocking wasn’t the best but at least we were able to increase the clock speed a fair amount. Even though this motherboard isn’t engineered for gaming, we had no difficulties loading up Americas Army 2.3, Cube, Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2003, and Unreal Tournament 2004. During all of our testing, the board remained completely stable. Tyan’s Tomcat K8E S2865 is a prime example of their continuing success in the workstation/server arena for motherboards. Although we haven’t found that many web-based retailers that carry the Tomcat K8E from our initial research the S2865 will probably sell in the range of $230-250 USD, which is fairly hefty for a single socket motherboard. Although this board isn’t for enthusiasts looking to overclock and break performance barriers, if you are looking for a solid workstation board, look no further than the Tyan K8E S2865.

Pros:

· nForce 4 w/ nTune support
· Six fan headers
· Cool ‘n’ Quiet support
· Onboard ATI RAGE XL
· Onboard Firewire (S2865AG2NRF model)
· SATA-II controller w/ NVRAID
· Athlon 64/FX support
· Good Performance
· Linux support
· Well laid out motherboard
· Two Gigabit LAN ports

Cons:

· Lack of overclocking support
· Passive Chipset heatsink
· Board Layout could be slightly improved
· No RPM monitoring support on all of the fans
· BIOS options could be improved
· Expensive (~ $230 USD)