Soltek Purple Ray or Soyo Dragon+?

[GDog]

Both boards have good reviews and I see alot more comments about the Soyo but im wondering about the Soltek. Its 45 bucks cheaper which dosen't matter and I don't neccesarily need all the options of the Soyo, i have network card and decent sound, im just wondering about the most stable and I might overclock a little. I've read the tomshardware guide review but i would like some real world revies from people who have used either or both. Thanks

 

[DonaldC]

Since no board owners have stepped forward: I think from the reviews that both are good. If you don't need the extras of the Soyo then do like me and get the Soltek.

 

[Jackbike]

The dragon plus can accomodate the Alpha 8045 cooler, but the soltek cannot, so if you want to get this highly rated (anand) cooler, soyo is the way.

I have the same dilemma as you, as within a day I'm going to get a motherboard. But, I want a cooler that I can use a slower (quieter) fan with but still which will give me OK cooling with moderate overclocking, so I am going with the Alpha and let the rest fall where it may.

Any other board suggestions? Intend to get XP 1700 at same time.

 

[v4mofo]

Unfortunatally, I'm at this crossing aswell.... I can't seem to find fault with either board (been digging around for a few days now) and I think it's really coming down to my future need/want for a Raid controler. I certainly don't need any of the other 'extras' the Soyo puts in the box (I'd have to paint the stuff for my black SX1040 anyway) and it makes the $45 for just Raid a little hard to swallow (not that money's an issue at this point). Heck, the only other thing that I like about the Soyo board was the 4 fan connectors - but I think I'm going with a DigitalDoc to take care of that issue (damn case already has 6 fans, and that's with nothing installed..)


Brian

-------------------------------------------
Pieces:
Antec sx1040b
Lite-on 16x DVD
Lite-on 24x CD-RW
Sony 3.5 fdd
8500 all-in-wonder
2x Maxtor 7200rpm 60Gb

Need:
MB
Memory (Cruical)
CPU (AMD 1600~1700 XP)

 

[MoFunk]

To me, I would not want to run my CPU without my Alpha! I would go with the Dragon for just that reason!

 

[Mavrick007]

I have finally gone with a mobo, I bought the Soltek SL-75DRV4. It has a new southbridge which allows you to use ATA-133 and it's the Purple Ray model too. I haven't put my machine together yet cause it's still in shipping but I think I made the right choice cause..
-if I want raid, I will get a separate raid card and be able to use it again in the future with a new board,
-if I want a nic, I have several 3-com and some other cards so I would just use that,
-if I want sound, I'll either put in my SB Live! or I'll probably end up getting an Audigy.

I will probably upgrade again within a year, so I would rather save some money and get a good overclocker right now. If something goes on an integrated board, you will have to end up getting a card anyway.

These are just my ideas on it. This way I can buy a better cpu now too.