it was in the early days and what
it meant to be an overclocker and
so forth. That however, isn’t an
objective way in which to look at all
of this. We engaged in overclocking
purely from the interest we had in
it. An interest which we generated
within ourselves and found out
we shared with other like-minded
individuals. Once in a while it is
worth it to sit back and see what is
right with it instead of where it all
falls short.
Consider that in many sporting
disciplines, there are constant
changes taking place which are
all an attempt to even the playing
field in a way that does not hamper
progress or cause an undesired
affect in the quality of competition.
This happens in F1 racing, in Rugby,
in Football, in Basketball, in Chess,
Cricket etc. There is at one point or
another a dialogue (in sports it is
constant) which deals with rectifying
the shortcomings of the structures
at present and an attempt is made
to fix those shortcomings going
forward. Believe it or not, this
is an indication of a competitive
landscape that is evolving. It is near
impossible to have everyone within
any competitive sport happy and
content about the state of affairs.
Take for instance in F1, we
herald the Golden age of F1 racing
where Artyon Senna was battling
Alain Prost. We go even farther
back to the days of Jim Clarke etc.
Throughout all those eras there
were controversies and those who
were competing before expressed
how much better it was in the “old days”. So it is
no surprise that the veteran and most competitive
overclockers are going to lock horns about one or
more issues regarding the state of overclocking. It is
inevitable and the temptation to say that “but this time
it’s different” is understandable. Sadly it is misplaced,
because at every turn, in all the sporting codes
mentioned before and in others, individuals uttered
the same words with the exact same level of conviction
and passion.
What is important is that we must embrace just how
far this landscape has changed and how many more
people it includes compared years gone by. This is
despite hardware costing more than before and the
level of competition at its highest. There was a time
when the most competitive overclockers hailed largely
from one or two countries, today it is from the entire
world. Literally, surprise scores can come from all over
the world and the level of participation and passion in
the Americas for example (not forgetting Indonesia as
well) dwarfs all other regions combined. It is staggering
seeing this kind of uptake, enthusiasm and accelerated
participation of this niche hobby.
It is inevitable that as overclocking grows and reaches
higher levels (with increasing competition purses
for example), opinions will diverge at a greater rate
and many will find themselves at odds. However, it is
competition and it is the nature of competition that will
cause those differences within individuals. Ultimately
overclocking, believe it or not is in a better position now
than it has been in before. The numbers speak as much
and it is with numbers we must measure the success
and failures of the path competitive overclocking has
forged for itself.
In closing, we are doing alright. In fact we are doing
more than alright. We have better hardware, more
competitive overclockers, more participants and better
vendor support. From where I stand, that is a pretty good
position to be in. It is far from ideal, but we certainly are
moving in the right direction. The future awaits and it is
bright if we are willing to light the path.
[ The Overclocker ]
“What is important is that we
must embrace just how far this
landscape has changed and how
many more people it includes
compared years gone by.
Issue 34 | 2015 The OverClocker 19