Layout and features
SOYO certainly like to make an impression with their motherboards, this one is no exception. You can clearly see where the platinum reference comes from in this particular motherboard's name. Kind of spoiling the whole platinum outlook are the 5 purple-coloured PCI slots. Why didn't they leave these the same colour as the PCB ?.
I like the fact that you can insert and remove system memory without having to remove the larger AGP cards from the slot, which, incidentally, is of 8x AGP Pro specification. I'd have liked a locking mechanism on the AGP port, as larger cards often exert a deal of force on the slot. 3GB of system memory can reside in these slots. Two fan headers sit close by, in a good location should you wish to opt for dual fan cooling. The main IDE ports are in a decent location too.
The socket has the usual 4 mounting holes for larger cooler. There's enough space to mount coolers fairly easily on to the ZIFF socket. I had no problems in mounting or dismounting a Taisol 760. The retention bracket is a little awkwardly placed, though. I'd have liked a piece of tape or plastic just below the socket lugs to save the motherboard if your screwdriver became a little rogue whilst installing the heatsink.
The Northbridge cooler continues the stylish theme, but is there any need for it ?. We've seen larger, passive heatsinks specified on most other motherboards. This, although looking great, is perhaps unwarranted noise. I don't like the positioning of the main 21-pin power connector. It's location may cause problems for trailing wires, as they'll most likely have to go over the heatsink area. I'd have much preferred it next to the IDE ports.
The very capable Highpoint HPT372 is used to control the two IDE RAID ports that offer RAID0 (striping), RAID1 (mirroring) and RAID0+1 (striping and mirroring). The ports can be used as standalone IDE ports, too. Considering that SOYO generally specify their premium motherboards to the highest possible standard, the lack of Serial ATA (S-ATA) or Firewire (1394a) is highlighted by their absence. Although not terribly useful right now with the lack of true S-ATA drives, most manufacturers seem keen on specifying it. A further 2 fan headers are located in just the right places.
The VT8235 Southbridge, amongst other things, provides support for ATA133 operation and 6 USB2.0 ports. We see 2 on the backplane and another 4 available via the Sigma EBox. The Southbridge also handles the 10/100 Ethernet duties. Sound is catered for by the impressive CMI 8738 solution. Once you factor in the bundled add-on audio card, the sound solution is good enough for most.
You'll now recognise the layout of the backplane as it's common to most motherboards. The RJ45 LAN socket seems to be on most half-decent motherboards now, not that I'm complaining.
It's a well laid out motherboard with plenty of space to work with. Aside from a couple of small gripes, SOYO know a thing or two about maximising board real estate.
