Tom's Overclocking Competition Begins!

This weekend commences the start of Tom’s Hardware’s Overdrive competition, in which teams of enthusiasts compete for the position of reigning world champion.

The contestants will compete to deliver ground breaking CPU and graphics performance by applying custom modifications and optimizations to processors and graphic components. Generally, these customizations push components beyond factory specifications. Liquid nitrogen will be used to chill critical components down to deathly temperatures and in some cases, even be used on the entire motherboard itself.

Some competitors will be using liquid nitrogen CPU pots, others will even bring their own air conditioning units to chill not just the CPU and graphics card, but everything. Still, others will coat their motherboards with silicone sealant, to avoid the possibility of condensation ruining a record breaking attempt. Lest there be any doubt, users will be pushing their hardware to intense levels.

Five teams of up to three people each per country compete in preliminary trials starting tomorrow. Each team will get a chance to setup their stations today. 
The winning team from each country will be flown to the finals to be held in Paris, France.

The contest features many perks and prizes for both participants and winners. The grand prize includes a $5,000 gift certificate to the online shopping site of the winning team’s choice.

“For the preliminary trials, contestants will be using the Intel Core 2 Duo Desktop Processor E8600 and for the finals, the next-generation Core i7 micro architecture from Intel,” said Patrick Schmid, Worldwide Editor-in-Chief of Tom’s Hardware.

“This will be one of the first worldwide overclocking contests where the Intel Core i7 processor, Extreme Edition, will be used," said Schmid.

We’re really excited to watch what the teams can do with their hardware, and even more excited to see where they can take Intel’s Core i7. We already know that Core i7 has enormous potential, as we reported here in our Core i7 Overclocking report. Everyone’s eager to get started, and all teams are vying for that championship spot.

Check back regularly for updates and live reports!

The official sponsors of the Overdrive Overclocking Championship by Tom’s Hardware are Micro-Star International Corporation (MSI) (TSEC: MSI, 2377), Kingston Technology Company, Samsung Electronics (KS: 005930), FSP Group and Logitech International (SIX: LOGN, NASDAQ: LOGI).

  • ilovebarny
    Hope they dont Over volt the ram with the core i7. LOL! that would be kinda funny if someone melted a memory controller. Well at least they didnt have to pay for the processor.
    Reply
  • CerianK
    I recommend to instead use 'silicone' sealant to coat the motherboard, as 'silicon' sealant is many orders of magnitude harder to apply.

    All jokes aside, silicon sealant does describe the function.
    Reply
  • p4 mobile 3.33 at 8.94 ghz http://drzepsuj.wrzuta.pl/
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    ^I seriously doubt that.
    The grand prize includes a $5,000 gift certificate to the online shopping site of the winning team’s choice.
    droolll.......

    Would have entered my self, but alas I'm only 16.
    Reply
  • 00101010
    It will be curious to see how long they will be able to hold a stable O.C., not just hitting the mark and then toasting their system.

    Can't wait to see the results!
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    Sweet!
    Reply
  • randomizer
    The closest one is Taiwan :(
    Reply
  • troll
    Well, no offense to our beloved French team. But you know...the Taiwanese are Asian. This gives them like a 10% performance boost.
    Reply
  • Luscious
    Who needs that $5000 gift certificate when you've got an unlimited supply of R404A at your disposal...
    Reply
  • Movieman420
    Not 100% sure if I have the same model PSU...mine is the PC P&C S61EPS 610W and looks identical with the same specs as well.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

    With this in the description: The Silencer 610 EPS12V provides 610 W of continuous power supply and a peak supply of 670 W. It incorporates a unique ultra-quiet cooling design, with no obstruction at the fan inlet and a noise suppression air gap. Dunno if it's the same as the 'silencer' or not. Either way I can say I never hear my psu over my case and cpu fans (all 120mm Scythe Slipstreams). I'm a bit let down that the internal components and build quality weren't taken into account. No matter, I'm very content nonetheless. I bought mine from newegg about a month ago for $68 after 20% off promo code from an email and a MIR as well...that plus free shipping to boot, it was an easy decision. On a side note I could really care less about a few % difference in efficiency, I'm more interested in internal build quality and long term reliability. ;)
    Reply