Greetings to all the intrepid PC enthusiasts in the country! If you’ve been wondering what else you can get out of your uber-clocked PC other than higher FPS and better general performance, then wonder no more. MSI and many more sponsors, plus the HardwareZone network, is bringing you the chance to show off the performance of your overclocked creations, display your build, overclock, and tweaking skills, and also the chance to win great prizes in the Iron Tech 2008 competition!

The previous paragraph sounded very much like a marketing blurb, but the gist of it is the chance to participate in a geek-centric, tech-terrific event that’s regional in nature and positively universal in practice. I mean, who hasn’t ever gone into the registry to tweak startup options and whatnot? (ok, a lot of people hasn’t) Then again, getting the most out of the stuff that you own, especially computers, is pretty much a given, so if you’re one of those people who likes to tinker around with their PC, then this is THE event to join.

                                             Taking inspiration from the grueling ironman competition, Iron Tech will also require multiple disciplines from its participants.

That’s not the only reason to join the event, as it is divided into multiple stages which will concentrate on the different. The qualifying segment is where your overclocking, optimization and tweaking skills are tested – the contest requires you to submit “before and after” screenshots and benchmark results of your rig at stock (factory) clocked and overclocked conditions. CPU-Z and GPU-Z, as well as system properties and Date and Time properties must be included in your screenshot, along with numbers for PCMark05 and 3DMark05 running on windows XP. There was no mention of it on the microsite (http://sites.hardwarezone.com/sg/irontech/en/register.php), but I assume scoring takes into account your starting hardware and resulting performance deltas, in addition to raw overclocking results. This way all levels of hardware except the very low (a Pentium III won’t cut it) and the very high ( high-end parts tend to approach the performance ceiling of hardware releases, especially relevant to the processor) will be able to be used to participate in this qualification round. Do note that although multiple entries can be submitted, only the last one will be counted. Other small details can be found in the above link.

                                             Running is but one discipline in the triathlon, just as overclocking is but a part of the overall scoring for Iron Tech.

Moving on, the Regional Semi-finals is exactly what it sounds like, but is a totally different beast from the qualifying stage. Six best entries from the previous stage are pitted against each other in a public competition that combines the best of the previous MSI sponsored “Fastest Geek” competition and mixes it up with the tweaking from the qualifying round. The best time for assembly is but a sub-score contributing to the final score – benchmark scores, tweaking and a surprise benchmark will also be considered during scoring. More details in the microsite, and here’s a link to the guidelines: http://sites.hardwarezone.com/sg/irontech/en/competition-guidelines.php . The way I look at it, at this stage it’s a test of skill and probably long years of experience in working with computers, perhaps for a living, but more often as a hobby. This is apparent as the guidelines state that Iron Tech is based on the participant’s current skills and capabilities, not just how dexterously you handle a screwdriver. The best two contestants will move on to the Grand Finals.

                                             Prizes, prizes and more prizes! Sign up for a chance at these beauties!

Here’s the clincher: a trip to Singapore to attend the Grand Finals, three days and two nights paid accommodation and all before you even start assembling a rig for the contest! There will be a total of 10 finalists (2 each from the five participating countries). In keeping with the contest dynamics, no details have been released on the hardware available for the finals, but there will be a choice of different components that the contestants can choose from, conforming to the price versus performance criteria. This and other special benchmarks, in addition to build-time will factor into the scoring, with the exact weight of each scoring component not revealed until after the competition. Thus the final competition will consist of picking your parts with an eye towards price, performance, power efficiency, and easy setup, as well as time required to finish assembly. This way the whole range of PC tech skills will factor into the contest scoring. Anyone itching for a smart battle of PC geekery is in for a wild ride.

                                             Just some of the sponsors for this event.

What’s at stake is even more exciting than the contest itself – motherboards and videocards, processors and cash prizes await the winners in addition to the aforementioned trip to Singapore for the Grand finals. Do point your mice here: http://sites.hardwarezone.com/sg/irontech/en/index.php for more information of the prizes. Interested? Registration closes on August 24, 2008, and slots are very limited, so perform some of your geek skills and click your mouse as fast as you can, so that you can join this gathering of skilled PC gurus from all around the region and get a chance of snagging one of the prizes at stake.

As mentioned above, this is not your typical slap-together-your-PC-parts-as-quickly-as-possible type of contest, and the skills in configuring your PC and making the best use of your settings during overclocking will only get your foot between the door and the door-jamb.  What follows is a practical application of your tech knowledge, smart judgment for balancing one factor against another, and a current understanding of the PC market as applied to a PC enthusiast. This whole array of skills will contribute to the task of choosing the rightful carrier of the name Iron Tech – in a showdown of geek skills to rival its triathlon equivalent.