Presentation and extras
The SOYO P4X400 DRAGON Ultra platinum edition, with the acronym DRAGON standing for what you can see above, arrives in one of the largest and heaviest motherboard boxes I've ever seen. Weighing in at 2.4KG, it makes other offering look scant in comparison. VIA, by inference, seem to claim DDR400 support for this chipset. However, SOYO clearly state that DDR400 support is completely unofficial but still offered.
The Sigma breakout box appears to do the same kind of job that ABIT's Media XP does, albeit on a smaller scale. The DRAGON P4X400 supports 6 USB2.0 ports as standard, 2 off the backplane, and another 4 connecting via the supplied cables to the Sigma box which fits into a floppy drive bay. You also receive a mounting mechanism that allows you to use a 5.25" bay. A couple of diagnostic LEDs inform you of the status of both the USB and LAN ports, a nice touch.
Supplied with the CMI 8738 on-board sound chip, SOYO have realised its potential by supplying an audio card offering S/PDIF In and Out as well as RCA connections. Centre and rear speaker outputs are also catered for.
Completing the contents are 4 ATA133 compatible IDE cables (I'd wish more manufacturers would bundle this number) and a floppy cable. A driver CD with all the requisite drivers, a custom backplane, an extremely well-written 170-page manual, and a 8-in-1 software bundle (including, amongst others, WinDVD, Norton Ghost, AntiVirus, and Acrobat) round off the package. You can't criticise SOYO for their attention to detail.
