Packaging and presentation
Even Crucial's given up on pure OEM packaging. The box appearance is midway between white-box and monster-laden artwork. All the pertinent information is contained on the cover. The contents are well packaged and secured, too.
Here's where Crucial's overall package has looked weak in comparison with the competition's in the past. The accompanying bundles have contained the bare necessities and precious little else. That goes for the 800 PRO, which ships with a Sapphire-branded Powered software player, an installation CD that will inevitably contain out-of-date drivers and an CD-based manual, and various cables. There's also the ubiquitous DVI dongle. It's telling that Sapphire's name appears on a Crucial package. It's an open secret that Crucial's ATI-based cards are manufactured by Sapphire. Does it matter if Sapphire or Crucial's name is on the card if it works flawlessly?. The majority, including myself, would argue that it doesn't.
Another problem that's plagued Crucial's packages has been a distinct lack of bundled games. That's the case here. At the time of writing, Crucial's X800 PRO was priced at £316.06. It's possible to get a number of branded X800 PROs for <£300, games included, so Crucial's ommission looks all the more troubling. In the face of hostile competition, Crucial's bundle just doesn't cut it, I'm afraid.
