Another Opteron motherboard is stealthily launched

THE INQUIRER has already reported extensively on the marketing challenges that Tyan has had to face up to. This involved positioning its Opteron-based motherboards against Intel-based solutions, while at the same time avoiding the wrath of Intel.

Tyan had a serious problem with its first Opteron motherboard. It was officially announced a week after the official launch of Opteron, even though the board was shipping to integrators for selling on.

Worse, however, was the fact that on the exact same day of Opteron's launch, Tyan chose to publish a press release - not about its shiny new Opteron motherboard, but about an Intel Xeon board instead. After the INQUIRER had published a story about this, Tyan listened up and put its house in order.

New Opteron motherboard, but no press release
Today, however, Tyan may have fallen back on bad habits. A visit to Tyan's Web site reveals a new Opteron motherboard, which has no accompanying press release. Doesn't Tyan want to tell the world about its latest Opteron creation? Maybe not, but we'll do the work of Tyan's marketing department today.

From Tyan's product overview page: "The Tomcat K8S (S2850) is the industry's first single AMD Opteron™ based server platform. Utilizing the AMD Opteron™ processor's integrated memory controller, up to two Gigabit Ethernet ports, integrated Serial ATA with multi-tier RAID support, and dual-channel DDR memory capability, the Tomcat K8S (S2850) also supports a wealth of 64-bit server applications specifically designed to take advantage of this breakthrough microarchitecture. In addition, its compact ATX form factor allows exceptional flexibility in system configurations including chassis enclosures and power supplies. Targeted for software and system developers in the value market, it is the ideal solution for rackmount and pedestal servers."

I can't argue with how Tyan has portrayed its new Opteron motherboard, as it's not underplayed like was the case with its first offering.

Being a single processor-based AMD64 system, this ATX six-layer board is very nicely laid out, which makes full use of the real estate available. Because there is no AGP graphics, only a southbridge chip is required, which is sourced from the AMD8000 core logic family. Four DIMM slots supports up to 8 GB of DDR DRAM. Six 32-bit/33 MHz PCI slots take care of peripheral needs, as the onboard ATI Rage XL graphics meets the minimal visual requirements. There are two boards to choose from; the deluxe version has the addition of a SATA controller with RAID. Tyan has put together a nice detailed spec page.

I have to say that I do like this motherboard. Anyone who doesn't need AGP's graphics performance can make good use of this board. You still have five PCI slots left over if you decide to install your own graphics card. The spec sheet says this board supports up to DDR333 ECC/non-ECC memory, which gives the end user great flexibility. An onboard 3-phase voltage regulator module (VRM) gives this product long-life electrical credentials. As for pricing, that normally comes with the press release, so we can't tell you about that today.

So what's happening at Tyan?
Is the marketing department on vacation? Has it dropped another Opteron blunder? Or is it heeding to its master's voice? Maybe someone at Tyan can bring us all up to speed on the latest Opteron happenings. We'd be all ears.

It might just be the case that Tyan is waiting for AMD to give its seal of approval before formally announcing its latest product to the world. But that didn't stop Tyan from releasing two press releases for its first Opteron motherboard - one for its formal announcement and the other for when it gained AMD approval. So why didn't Tyan do the same with its latest Opteron offering? µ

See Also
Is Tyan hamstrung by Intel pressure?
Tyan puts its house in order
Intel rumoured to use strong-arm tactics
Intel strong armed vendors at AMD launch
Intel's art of gentle AMD persuasion misfires
AMD pursues Intel antitrust case to Europe

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