|
Tonight on HotHardware.Com
we're going to take a look at a motherboard from
Soyo
that is powered by VIA's controversial P4X400 DDR chipset
for the Pentium 4. If you've been on top of the
hardware scene, you may know that
Intel
and VIA
have been locked in a heated battle over the legality of
VIA's P4X series of chipsets. Intel alleges that VIA
does not hold the necessary licenses to produce chipsets
for the P4, while VIA claims they obtained the licenses in
their acquisition of S3. Regardless of who is
"right", the ongoing litigation between these two
companies has turned many of the large motherboard
manufactures away from the P4X chipsets. Soyo,
however, is not one of them.
With the P4X400 DRAGON Ultra
Platinum Edition, Soyo has a very compelling motherboard
in their Socket 478 lineup, that should appease feature
hungry OEMs, and hardcore enthusiasts alike. This
board offers AGP8X, DDR333 and DDR400 memory support (at
least according to Soyo), jumper-less configuration and a
host of overclocking options. On paper, the the
P4X400 DRAGON Ultra is a clear winner, but as you all
know, paper specs mean absolutely nothing if the product
doesn't work as advertised. What do you say we get
this motherboard on the test bench and see how she
performs?
 |
| Specifications / Features of
The Soyo P4X400 DRAGON Ultra Platinum |
|
The Silver Surfer... |
|
|
CLICK ANY IMAGE FOR AN
ENLARGED VIEW
SPECIFICATIONS TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM
SOYOUSA.COM
|
|
Processor
Chipset
Type
Chipset
Description
-
VIA P4X400/8235 chipset
-
Supports 533/400 MHz FSB
Memory
Type
Memory
Description
-
Three DDR400/333/266 2.5V
DIMM sockets support up to 3 GB
-
184-pin
PC3200/PC2700/PC2100 non-ECC, unbuffered DDR SDRAM
memory
Expansion
Slots
IDE
Description
-
Four independent channels
for eight IDE devices (two for IDE-RAID)
-
Supports up to PIO Mode 5
and UDMA 66/100/133
-
Two PCI bus mastering ATA
E-IDE ports
Audio
Description
IO Port
Description
-
Two RS-232 serial ports
(16550 UART compatible)
-
One parallel printer port
(SPP/EPP/ECP mode)
-
One FDD port (Supports 3
modes, 1.2/1.44/2.88 MB FDD
-
Provides IrDA/FIR ports
with optional cable for transceiver
-
Provides 6 USB 2.0 ports
(2*rear, 4*pin header)
IO
Connection Description
-
PS/2 Mini-DIN mouse &
keyboard ports
-
Two USB ports
-
0ne RJ45 connector
-
Two D-Sub 9-pin male
serial ports
-
One D-Sub 25-pin female
printer port
-
Audio I/O: LINE-Outx1 ,
LINE-Inx1, MIC JACK x1
-
One game port
BIOS
Description
Health
Monitoring Description
-
On-board voltage monitors
for DIMM, AGP, +3.3V, +12V, and VCORE
-
CPU fan speed monitor
-
CPU temperature
monitoring through flexible thermal sensor
Dimension
Description
Certification
Compatibilities
-
WinXP
-
Win2000
-
WinNT
-
WinME
-
Win98SE
-
Linux
-
FreeBSD
Warranty
Features
-
Adjustable CPU FSB, core
voltage & multiplier via BIOS setup
-
Adjustable DIMM voltage
-
Adjustable AGP Pro
voltage
-
Advanced Management
Capabilities: Software power off control, Power-on by
keyboard, Power-on by Alarm, Modem Ring On
-
Supports ATX12V power
supply only
-
Supports on-board
Hardware Monitoring and includes Hardware Health
Utility to streamline your PC management
-
Supports WOL (Wake On
LAN) function to simplify network management
-
Suspend To RAM, Suspend
To Disk
Bonus
Inside
-
Bonus SPDIF Audio
Connector
-
Bonus Sigma Box (SB-P4SX)
featuring 4 front USB 2.0 ports
-
Bonus 8-in-1 CD including
Norton Anti-Virus 2002, Ghost 2002, Adobe ActiveShare,
Acrobat Reader, Acrobat eBook Reader, WinDVD 2000, and
trials/samples of AutoSave and Imagemore
-
Three (3) BONUS ATA-133
IDE cables
THE
BUNDLE:
The Soyo P4X400 DRAGON
Ultra Platinum had one of the most, if not the most,
impressive accessory bundles we have ever seen in the
HotHardware labs. Included with the P4X400
DRAGON Ultra, we found three 80-Wire UDMA/133 capable
IDE cables and a single floppy cable. A very
complete User's Manual was also included, along with a
Driver CD and another CD containing 8 other software
packages. The "8-in-1" CD had such programs as
Norton Ghost and Anti-Virus 2002, Adobe ActiveShare,
Acrobat Reader, Acrobat eBook Reader and a full
version of WinDVD 2000.
The P4X400 DRAGON Ultra
Platinum also shipped with an audio header that has
SPDIF (Digital Audio) In and Out jacks and an I/O
plate to accommodate all of the externally accessible
connectors. Lastly, Soyo has included something
they call the "Sigma Box". The Sigma Box mounts
in either a 3.5" or 5"25" drive bay, giving users easy
access to four front mounted USB 2.0 connectors.
|
|
|
| | The
BIOS, Layout and Quality
|
