Bundle and presentation
It stands to reason that X700 PRO retail cards from two manufacturers will benchmark at around the same level if core and memory speeds are untouched. Then how does one differentiate between competing brands?. The obvious method is price; go for the cheapest X700 PRO that you can find. A second method is to look at the overall package and evaluate who offers you more. Bigger graphics card manufacturers usually have a tie-in with certain software houses that give them the edge. They don't come much bigger than MSI.
The box says it all. No less than 14 CDs in this gargantuan package, 20 utilities and obviously the card itself. I've made mention before that MSI rarely does things like other manufacturers. Here's a case in point.
The first part of the bundle centres around adding functionality to the card's hardware. There's no VIVO here so the 6-foot S-Video cable is purely for video-out. MSI, like everyone else, adds in a DVI-to-VGA dongle that allows for 2 monitors to be setup in tandem. The instruction manual covers every card in MSI's RX (Radeon-based) range. The first section is devoted to physical installation and explanation of each RX card and a leafy second section highlights the software side. Another manual, multi-language in nature, offers briefer instruction for users au fait with modern graphics cards.
14 CDs in all their glory. Gaming-wise, four of the CDs belong to Ubisoft's XIII (13). Another 2 CDs are taken up by the better Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time, another Ubisoft title. Then there's URU: Ages Beyond Myst, which, as you probably have gathered, is another Ubisoft title. MSI's buying leverage at work!. InterVideo cashes in with WinDVD Creator Plus and WinDVD 5.1 playback software. There's a further collection of demos and MSI's Media Center Deluxe II that's good at all things multimedia.
Another comprehensive package from MSI that should tickle every gamer's buds. Hell, even if you don't like any of the bundled applications 14 'free' coasters isn't bad, is it?.
