Soyo KT400 DRAGON Ultra Platinum Edition: Full-Featured KT400

Final Words

After running a good deal of memory stress tests and performance tests on the Soyo KT400 Ultra, we can say without a doubt that this is a very impressive motherboard (save the DDR400 "issue"). We always like to see a motherboard with lots of features, as it reduces the cost of having to purchase their PCI equivalents, drastically cuts down on case space used, and minimizes complexity in general.

Looking closely at our performance results, it becomes clear that the Soyo KT400 Ultra is the fastest DDR333 Athlon XP motherboard we've tested; it is worth noting that the performance advantage Soyo holds is negligible in real world scenarios however. Unfortunately, it seems as if the Soyo KT400 Ultra will debut for quite a high price; currently, the KT400 Ultra is available for between $175-$200 at no more than a handful of online vendors. This is quite a high price for a single processor motherboard (there are some dual processor motherboards that go for under $200). We would be happier if Soyo brought down the price to around $150, seeing as how there are other KT400 and KT333 motherboards on the market that offer roughly the same performance and feature-set for much much less. However, Soyo says they will be releasing a lower-cost version of this motherboard with fewer bells and whistles in the near future, so we may see a better price/performance board soon enough.

Having tested 3 KT400 motherboards, it's becoming clearer that DDR400 isn't meant for the Athlon platform quite yet. This can be blamed on several factors, including the VIA KT400 chipset itself (which doesn't officially support DDR400), the Athlons' starved 266MHz FSB, or motherboard makers claiming DDR400 support without properly assessing the performance advantages first. Either way you look at it, DDR400 is worthless for Athlon XP users at this time.

Until next time, we hope you enjoyed our coverage of the Soyo KT400 Ultra. Stay tuned for more KT400 reviews, and don't forget about nForce2 either…