Package and Contents

The box that the Marshal comes in...well... I have to say it is a little cheesy. When I first saw it I thought of Star Trek the Next Generation and the Crystal Entity. But then I thought about the line-up name and my thoughts flitted to images of the actual Big Bang (ones from the Discovery Channel). I can tell you that this was a short lived thought as my eyes quickly wandered to the 3DMark 11 sticker on the front. When you pick up this board you also get a copy of 3DMark 11 Advanced Edition.

Of course, what would a high performance motherboard be without a front flap to give you a look at the product underneath. The MSI Big Bang Marshal has that. We pull that flap open to find some good marketing fodder along with some actual information that just might entice someone to pick this up (if they had not already heard about it).

As always, the back of the box seems to be the part that has the most information. We have noticed this on more than one occasion. You can get a lot of hype going in, but when it comes to getting decent info, flip the package over and you will get real information and detail that might actually make you want to buy this.

MSI has really chosen to load you up with some good stuff once you get inside, though. You get two USB 3.0 extenders that can run to the back of your case (and take up a peripheral slot). These are along with an extra eSATA port and a ton of cables. In addition to these, you also get an OC Dashboard (it is the thing that looks like a garage door remote). Multiple SLI bridges, some extender headers (for USB, Front panel etc), some voltage read cables, and lots of documentation round out the accessories.

Some of the documentation appears to be just for the press. It shows what someone was able to get with this actual board. It bodes well for me, but does make me wonder if this is common with all of the boards on the market.