VIA KT333 Put To The Test: 18 Motherboards Compared

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Soyo SY-KT333 Dragon Ultra: Absolutely Over The Top

Nobody can keep up with them: in the package, Soyo provides a 162-page user manual. And moreover, they use functional and environmentally-friendly packaging, which looks snazzy to boot. Included with the board are three IDE cables and one floppy cable. Those who buy this package also get an ATX bracket, a generous software bundle, a driver CD, two retention brackets to install in the PC case, a slot bracket for analog and digital (optical) audio interfaces and a USB front mount panel plus a tray for mounting, which offers four additional USB ports. The incredible thing is that Soyo even throws a tube of thermal paste into the package! The actual board has a six-channel sound chip (C3DX CMI 8738), network functionality (Realtek 8100B) and a RAID controller (Highpoint HPT 372). They've provided an active cooler for the Northbridge, which is exemplary, since it helps to prevent problems during operation. With regard to overclocking, users will have to make do with limited features: the CPU core voltage can be set to 1.85 Volt max, the memory handles up to 2.8 Volt and the AGP can be adjusted to 1.8 Volt. In performance, this motherboard lands in the middle. Our conclusion: the features and accessories are unbeatable, but this does have its price - the asking price for this maxi-pack is $199.