Only after VIA made headlines after introducing their KT266A, they
are back again in the lime light with the new KT333 chipset. After
the unprecedented success of the KT266A chip, we can sure expect to
see something even more with the new KT333 chip. This is the first
VIA chipset to support DDR333 memory, which is said to give a performance
boost of around 25% from DDR 266. The KT333 offers a number of other
key features such as AGP4X, ATA-133, integrated six channel advanced
audio, six USB ports, integrated 10/100Mbps Ethernet and a few more
other cool stuff. SOYO didn't release their KT333 solution as soon
as it was released by VIA. Instead they delayed their release until
they were able to offer a board which had all the goodies the KT333
chipset could possibly offer. The SOYO dragon line series are turning
to become one of the most sort after boards in the motherboard arena
and today we bring to you their latest addition The KT333 Dragon Ultra.
Specifications and Installation
Model
KT333
DRAGON Ultra
Description
AMD Socket-A Based VIA KT333 ATX Motherboard
Processor
Support AMD Socket-A type Processor
Including Duron, Athlon,
AthlonXP
Chipset
VIA KT333/8233A chipsets
Support 200/266 MHz FSB
VIA V-link chip
interconnect (266MB/s)
System Memory
Three 184-pin DDR SDRAM 2.5V DIMM
sockets support up to 3GB (DDR 200/266/333)
Expansion Slots
Five 32-bit Bus Mastering PCI
slots (V2.2 compliant)
One Universal AGP Pro slot (support
1X/2X/4X mode)
On
Board Audio Subsystem
On board CMI 8738 Audio chip to
provide 6 channels audio solution
Support SPDIF optical and coaxial
input/output
On
Board Ultra I/O Chip
Two RS-232 serial ports (16550
UART compatible)
One parallel printer port (SPP/EPP/ECP
mode)
One FDD port (Supports 3 mode,
1.2/1.44/2.88 MB FDD
Provides IrDA port with optional
cable for transceiver
Provides 8 USB ports (2 rear,
6 Pin Header (4 for USB2.0))
Ultra DMA IDE Ports
Four independent channels for
eight IDE devices(two for raid)
Supports up to PIO Mode 5 and
UDMA 66/100/133
Two PCI bus mastering ATA E-IDE
ports
Boot-Block Flash BIOS
Award PCI BIOS with ACPI function
Supports multiple-boot from E-IDE/
SCSI/ CD-ROM/ FDD/ LS120/ ZIP
2 Mbyte Flash ROM
Board Dimensions
Four layers, 30.5 cm x 24.5 cm(12"
x 9.6")
ATX form factor
Enhanced PC Health Monitoring
On-board voltage monitors
CPU fan speed monitor
CPU temperature monitoring through
flexible thermal sensor
CPU temperature overheats protection
Double Stack Back-Panel I/O Connectors
PS/2 Mini-DIN mouse & keyboard
ports
Two USB ports
One 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
Features
Supports WOL (Wake On LAN)
function to simplify network management
Support Smart Card Reader connector
On board 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
function
SOYO Wizard On Hand III Function
: CPU core voltage & FSB & multiplier & DIMM/AGP
voltage could be adjusted via BIOS setup.
Embedded Hipoint IDE RAID chip, provide ATA133 IDE-RAID 0,1,0+1
Suspend to RAM, Suspend To Disk
DIMM voltage adjustable
AGP Pro voltage
adjustable
Supports High-speed
USB 2.0 ports (4 ports)
Free Σ BOX included.
(Provide 4 * front USB1.1/2.0 port
Block Diagram of the KT333 Chipset
Installation
We did not come across any issues while installing the board at all.
Following up on the tradition of the dragon series, SOYO has once
more included a very detailed manual to sort things out if you're
having trouble. Remember that this board comes with the "Fan
Off Control" system as well, so make sure you attach your CPU
cooling fan to the appropriate fan header. Other than that there were
no issues at all, so I would assume none of you would have any problem
either.
