I'm a fan of box art and package designs. What's on the inside is what really counts though. However, a slick design/build quality in the packaging and attention to detail can reveal important things about the manufacturer. There's nothing really earth-shattering about the box itself. It's your typical cardboard cover, but the artwork is nice, clean, and not over the top or wacky with unicorns sporting head-mounted lasers and whatnot. It's got this crazy guy on there or maybe it's a college student in a darkened library stressed about finals.

Could it be? I don't think so :)

In my last review, I glossed over the packaging because it was the typical cardboard box. The BFG packaging is a bit different though and I thought pretty neat and protective. As you can see, it's obviously not cardboard. BFG uses a single piece of molded plastic that folds around the card and locks in place securing the card inside. I thought this was slick and effective in keeping the product protected.

The remaining contents are: the BFG CD, Ulead's Video Studio 7 SE DVD CD, Quick Install manual, case sticker, VIVO cable, DVI-VGA adapter, and Molex y-splitter cable.

• BFG CD - This CD contains the following notable items:
   
  • NVIDIA Detonator Driver version 44.03
     
  • NVDVD 2.0: This is the full version which normally retails for around $40 (USD)
    
    
     
  • BFG Asylum and NVIDIA WindowBlinds skins: This is a nice touch for those of you that use Stardock's WindowBlinds.
    You can see the NVIDIA skin here and the two BFG skins here (about half way down the page).
     
  • Microsoft DirectX 9
     
  • GeForceFX (DirectX 9) demos: Dawn and Ogre
     
  • GeForce4 (DirectX 8) demos: Wolfman and Squid
     
  • Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of manual
   
• Ulead Video Studio 7 SE DVD - This is a popular video editing software package.
   
• S-Video VIVO (Video-In, Video-Out) Cable - These cables (below left) aren't as flexible or as long as the red Gainward cables (below right) by comparison. They are labeled clearly though and appear to be quality cables otherwise.

  BFG's VIVO Cable	Gainward's VIVO Cable

   
• DVI-to-VGA Adapter - One of the required pieces nowadays, it's what it is and it's black.
   
• BFG Logo Case Badge Sticker - It's not the thick, "puffy" kind but it'll do.
   
• Paperback Manual/Installation Guide - The PDF version is also available on the BFG CD.
   
• Molex Y-Adapter Cable - You can never have too many of these and since these cards need the extra juice it's a nice touch to include this.
   
   
• Games - None. And you know what, I could care less. Too many reviews bet the bank based on the software/game bundle in my opinion. For entry-level and mid-range products a software bundle is fine. However, when you're talking about a top of the line card like the 5900 Ultra those extras actually come at a cost. Following is a Q&A exchange between myself and John Malley, Director, Marketing and PR:

Q:

Why was the decision made to not include any games with this product?

A:

"We've debated the inclusion of games in our products and ultimately decided that most gamers either already have the games that would be bundled, or want the freedom of choosing the games they want. Our profit margins are pretty slim to begin with and until or unless we can find a great game that shows off the newest DX9 technology at an affordable price, we wouldn't want to drive our price up. Many people don't realize that the manufacturers who include many games in their boxes can afford to do so by using "cost down" components on their graphics cards. That means to give you games you may or may not use, they have used lower quality components on the card. BFG doesn't do this and so the cost for us to build the card with the highest quality components means we have less cash to spend on bundles. We believe most consumers would rather have a high quality graphics card with no games rather than a lower quality board with mostly older games."