Package and Contents

Getting stuck right into it, we start off on the package that the board comes to us in and what you're getting for your dollar. The box has a blood red coloured background with white writing of the model number and series on the front. No other pertinent info is on the front of the box.

The back is also sparsely populated with info; only basic marketing propaganda is found here. One thing we did notice is that the box states Crossfire ready, but this is rather misleading as the board lacks a second PCI Express x16 slot and can confuse some less informed people. It's not nice to advertise what the board doesn't do.

DFI's user manual is extremely helpful with a lot of information on the board as well as step by step setup to mount the board inside your case and get you up and running. The driver CD contains XP and Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) drivers, but no Linux support out of the box so you're going to need to hunt around for drivers for this board if you're a Linux user.

The cable bundle is also a bit lacking. Out of a total of six SATA ports on the board, only one power and one DATA cable is provided. If you're going to run more drives you have to purchase the cables separately. The IDE and FDD cables that we are accustomed to are included along with a rear I/O shield.