Bundle and presentation
One facet in which LANPARTY boards always do well is with the bundle. The LANPARTY name has become synonymous with extras beyond the call of duty.
It's big, it's over 2kg, and it's expensive to post. The box's depth and height makes it probably the largest motherboard package currently available. Bundles are mere afterthoughts for some manufacturers. It seems as if DFI designs the LANPARTY line from the bundle up. This shot shows the internals with the motherboard box taken out. Kitchen and sink come to mind.
DFI's a little light on documentation. A couple of manuals provide reference support for both hardware and software aspects, yet the main motherboard manual only devotes 24 pages to the English section. ASUS, on the other hand, provides an excellent 100-page reference guide. A colourful quick setup guide does make up a little for the manuals' shortcomings. The utility CD is intuitive and easy to use. A one-touch complete setup would have been nice, though. InterVideo is everywhere. Here the company pops up with a WinCinema package, comprising of WinDVD 4 and WinRip 2.1. DFI sensibly includes a pamphlet highlighting exactly what CMOS Reloaded is and how it works. A couple of floppy disks are required when installing an OS via SATA drives.
Cables galore. The LANPARTY line is also marked out by the use of UV-reactive cabling and ports. Rounded IDE cables are thin, but they can't compete with the sleeker, newer SATA range. DFI's been thoughtful enough to include a sachet of thermal goo for your CPU. SATA power support comes in the way of a molex connector hooked up to two SATA plugs. A custom back panel shield is a necessity, too.
And you thought that was all. DFI uses FrontX's 5.25" box to further add immediate connectivity. Various ports can be added to the modular design, and DFI ships it with 2x USB 2.0 ports (far right) and headphone and microphone jacks. Shuttle needs to take a lesson from FrontX here, as you can cover the ports by the dropdown cover. There's also 4 LEDs that serve as a basic POSTing reference. A nice touch overall. We're not finished yet. There's also a PC TRANSPO carrying case.
An excellent bundle, once again. Now just where did DFI put the kitchen sink?.
