Packaging

The EVGA Z87 Stinger arrived at my doorstep in a shrink-wrapped box, which made taking pictures without glare impossible, so I tore the plastic off before snapping a couple. Both the front and the back of the box are covered in pretty basic new-age designs that get the point across effectively.


As if the shrink wrap was not enough, stickers also seal the outer box up tight so securely that opening it was actually a bit annoying. When I finally got it open, the side of the box revealed a little sticker asking you not take the product back to the store if you have problems, and to contact EVGA directly first. You might want to put on some gloves at this point since what is inside the box is going to get your fingers dirty. The black-dyed interior of the box is heavily inked, and in a way that rubs the ink off easily, as you can see by the flap of the box pictured above.


The goodies inside the black-as-night box are at the top, under the manual. Like a NASA-packed TV dinner, the board's accessories come in silvery packages. Pretty impressive, really. Once I took the accessories out of the box, I found the board below. Not only bubble-wrapped, I could also see an anti-static bag underneath. The board was inside the box upside down, which I didn't like.

Contents

Freed from their metalized-plastic prisons, there is actually not a lot EVGA included with the EVGA Z87 Stinger. A few papers, a couple cables, blah, blah, blah. The case badge actually fell out and onto my toe, its heavy all-metal design leaving a dent in my sock-covered foot.


There is also a cover for the rear I/O towers. A swanky black-anodized aluminum piece that completes the look of the board when installed into a windowed case, it covers the slivery top of every I/O tower completely. EVGA also made a point of labeling the backplate for those I/O towers fairly well. A full list of all the goodies is below:

• 1 x Quick Installation Guide
• 1 x User Manual
• 1 x Support CD
• 1 x I/O shield
• 4 x SATA data cables
• 1 x EVGA Case badge