Hi Donna

My comments are in between your statements.

At 07:53 3/17/99 -0700, you wrote:
> I have a dinosaur(Presario 2240) and want to gradually (very)
> upgrade, I received an add for this Tyan board.
> Tyan S1590S Trinity 100 AT (Super7) Motherboard ......$95.99

This is not an unreasonable price. It is an AT style board and if
your case is AT style, it should fit. You can check the specs at
<http://www.tyan.com/products/html/s1590s_specs.html>.

Since it will accept a K6-2/400, it should accept a K6-III 400.
You can download the manual for this motherboard from
<ftp://ftp.tyan.com/manuals/S1590/1590_130.pdf>.
If it doesn't automatically detect the K6-III, you would set
the bus speed (100 MHz), multiplier (4X), and voltage yourself.

> I would be moving 256 cache,

Don't bother thinking of transferring the cache. It wouldn't be
possible. The Tyan comes standard with 1024KB cache anyway.

> 2.1 G hd, 56k modem, floppy, 49 m ram, does this sound like a
> good deal?

I don't know if you can transfer your RAM. It depends on whether
you have standard 72 pin SIMM sticks or some kind of proprietary
memory sticks. The Tyan motherboard will work with FP or EDO SIMMs
(60ns or 70 ns) and SDRAM DIMMs (66 MHz or 100 MHz).

If you have 48 MB now, this is probably at least 4 SIMM modules.
The Tyan will only take 2 SIMM modules. Are you willing to be
limited to 32 MB of RAM? That seems very low for an upgraded
computer. The increased speed of the CPU could be somewhat offset
by the decrease in memory.

You might consider paying about $100 for 64 MB of PC100 SDRAM.
(One unbuffered PC100 168 pin SDRAM DIMM.) This faster memory
would let you take advantage of the processing speed of your
K6-III 400.

> I also have the same company offering
> AMD K6-III 400 with 3DNow! with 256KB L2 Cache ......$349.99

The price for this AMD K6-III 400 seems quite high. Go to
<http://www.pricewatch.com/>, click on "Processors PC", and then
choose "K6-III 400 3DNOW". Prices are in the $290-$300 range. Of
course you must pay for shipping. Be aware that you might also
have to buy a cooling device (a "heat-sink and attached fan")
that clips on top of the processor. (Maybe another $10 to $20.
It's very easy to install.) Check out the Tyan motherboard while
you are at Pricewatch.

You want a version of this processor that has a one year warranty
from AMD. (OEM versions may not include this.) Ask if the heat
sink and fan is included.)

Some of the people on this list like the FIC VA 503+ Super 7
motherboard. (It will accept the K6-III 400 processor.) These AT
style boards are about $68 and are very reliable and versatile.
They have 4 SIMM slots and 2 DIMM slots (but one less PCI slot
than the Tyan) and will also work (like the Tyan) with the
processor running at 4X100 MHz while RAM runs at 66 or 100 MHz.
(Your choice.) This motherboard uses the same chipset as the Tyan
you mentioned and comes with either 512KB or 1024 KB of cache.
<http://www.fic.com.tw/fic/products/mainboards/1stmain/va-503+.htm>

Regards,
Bill

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