The front of the box
Being the first Inno3D card to enter our “labs” (my room), it was pleasant to be met by a visually striking packaging whose size is understated to the bundle that comes included. On initial impressions, the front of the packaging appears very busy with information dispersed all around. Nonetheless, it is still an appealing design that balances substance with style. Apart from the model name, the most notable feature is the inclusion of a mouse mat and a StarCraft II trial key. Other features we can expect from the card are the standard PhysX, CUDA and 3D Vision Surround support.
The back of the box
The back of the box is rich in information detailing the benefits of the features the Nvidia card supports. Illustrations of DirectX 11, surround gaming and 3D are shown to depict what users can expect. The features are also listed in 9 languages, showcasing Inno3D’s global presense.
Overclocked
As mentioned already, the Inno3D graphics card comes overclocked out of the box although the specific speeds aren’t listed. The overclock is fairly substantial but the graphics card still retains the reference cooler and PCB design as we will see later on. No overclocking utility is bundled but users can always rely on third party applications to further tweak their cards.
The inside of the box
Inside the main outer packaging is a standard brown card board box housing the graphics card is yet another one closed off with foam at the end. Next to it is another thinner box containing the mouse mat and the accessories. All the relevant documentations and discs can be found at the bottom. Upon opening the box, users will be immediately attracted to the yellow bag in which the graphics card is wrapped and this shouldn’t be overlooked.
The bundle
Bundled with the graphics card are:
- 1 x Dual Molex to 6 Pin power adapter,
- 1 x DVI to VGA adaptor
- 1 x Application Disc containing the advanced version of 3DMark 11
- 1 x Driver Disc
- The Mousemat (30cm x 22.5cm)
- The StarCraft II Trial Key
The bundle is certainly a very healthy one, unlike many of the recent graphics cards we have seen so it makes for a welcoming change. The mouse mat is a high quality cloth mat with smooth and glide friendly upper surface, and gripping lower surface, making it ideal for gaming. In fact, it proves to be favourable against my own Razer Goliathus mouse mat. It has been branded with the iChill gaming logo, a sub-division of Inno3D focussed on high performance and targeting enthusiast gamers. The mouse mat is a brilliant addition to the bundle.
The graphics card wrapped up
It is always important to heed warnings printed on packaging, especially when it comes in the form of a big yellow sticker with a “ATTENTION” boldly printed across the top. The warning is to ensure that users plug in the appropriate power connectors prior to booting the PC and it also warns against touching the graphics card when it is being used for thermal reasons. Most importantly, the anti-static bag is sealed with a warning stating that Power Virus applications will cause abnormal vdroop and instability. Damages attributed to loading programs such as Furmark will not be covered by warranty. Such programs have plagued both AMD and Nvidia in the past so both have implemented power saving features that throttle the graphics cards under heavy load. I would personally recommend testing overclock stability in games rather than stress testing using these other applications.