Presentation, Bundle and Manual
The box presentation, and a big hello to all you naysayers that wonder why we show you this stuff, is MSI's usual style. That style means shiny, some man or woman wearing armour and a bunch of stickers telling you the main features.
Click for a larger version
Yummy, two of MSI's mid-range flagships ready for some SLI lovin' in our benchmarks. Things get a little hilarious when you look closer at the box though, MSI's art department making something of an embarassing mistake in terms of the technology behind 6600 GT. It's fair to say that a lot of people would rather forget GeForce FX, and focus on GeForce 6, but MSI seem intent on keeping the memory alive.
Click for a larger version
"Power and performance, the two elements every gamer craves, are the heart and soul of the GeForceTM FX". Ahem. Amusing box detailing aside, the packaging does its best to convey what's inside waiting for you, should you purchase.
Click for a larger version
Bundle and Manual
If you remember my review of MSI's Radeon X800 XTs recently, you'll have seen that I postured that MSI were all about the bundle. They are, and the bundle they provide for those boards also shows up here with the 6600 GT TD128-E.
Click for a larger version
15 CDs (yes, there's only 14 in the picture, I'm stupid) provide a wide range of software, mostly games, to help you get the most out of your purchase without having to spend more money.
The UbiSoft partnership that MSI have means you get Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, XIII, the latest Prince of Persia and Uru as the full games. Then there's a 14-in-1 games demo CD, MSI's Media Center Deluxe II, Photoshop Album SE, VirtualDrive and RestoreIt, WinDVD 5.1, MSI 3D Desktop and the driver CD.
As far as extra hardware and documentation goes, you get the following.
Click for a larger version
A manual gets joined by a DVI-to-VGA adaptor, an S-Video extender cable and an output breakout box that lets you connect the board to S-Video, composite video and YPbPr.
It's not something you see on common or garden video cards, so it's nice to see MSI make the effort with this mid-range board. It can't cost more than a couple of dollars for them in volume, so spending that cash and chucking it in the box appeals to this reviewer.
What about the cards?
