Cambridge we went, but that was
pretty much the last time fortune
smiled on us as organisers. When
we got to Cambridge we were told by
the venue management that a large
party of 170 people had booked the
venue we were using for a party that
night. No chance to set up, but worse
was when we did a count of the boxes
that UPS had delivered to the event
for TeamGB and MSI, only 31 of 32
boxes had been delivered. One box
was missing, whereabouts unknown.
Nothing else to do but have a drink
and try to enjoy the calm before the
storm that would be Friday.
Early the next morning we got to the
venue and started to set up. The tables
we needed had not been delivered, but
we got on with things. Bench stations
were set up and the hard work of
setting up a very complex system of
cameras and capture cards to bring a
whole new level of viewer involvement
to the streaming audience was
begun. Nine HD cameras, eight
AverMedia capture devices, special
powered hubs and active cables had
been trailed and tested to ensure
a streaming experience like never
before… Except all the cameras,
capture devices, special cables and
hubs were in the missing box that
UPS had not delivered. So had our
GSkill DDR3 RAM needed for the
singles competition death matches,
and the two trophies that TeamGB was
presenting at the awards dinner the
next night - all had been in the one box
that had been lost.
One word sums this up. Fucked. And
we really were. The whole purpose
of the meet was to pilot a broadcast
method that we had hoped would
change how meets in the UK where
held in the future, but it was down the
toilet. There were a few other odds
and sods, mainly high value items
that are key for an overclocking event
- CPUs for example. Fortunately I
had some spare processors in my
backpack so the show could at least
go on.
Onwards and upwards there was
no other option, we just got on with
things. We finished the setting up
and made frantic phone calls to
folks whose generosity made the
continuation of the event possible.
Tom of Box.co.uk was incredible and
arranged miracles, AVerMedia UK
were great and tried their best to help
us out too, but it was the benchers
themselves who must take the bulk
of the credit. They just shrugged
shoulders and made stuff happen.
Respect to all you guys.
8pack and de8aur, OverclockerTV,
and representatives of HWBOT in
the form of Massman joined us all in
Cambridge and the event got going
at last.
The first day had been divided into
two sections. The introductory course
for those who were first timers,
and the start of the death match
singles for the more experienced
LN2 benchers. The stream in a very
limited format went live and benching
happened. The fun started.
Below are the participants at the
meet.
Bonnah, HiVizMan, driftingforlife,
ObscureParadox, Bramey, Gregster,
kimandsally, nickolp1974, Admiral
Huddy, kitfit1, 8pack, debauer,
massman, topdog, rbby258,
Jumper118, Bulldog239, RawZ,
gavbon and borandi made up the
list of participants. We had the guys
from OverclockTV there, and a good
representation of the UK based
vendors who were supporting the
event. Check out the interviews and
after event video that Tim and Isaïe
have posted up on their website and on
YouTube.
The death match competition proved
to be a huge hit, and the guys really
got into the spirit of the competition.
One hour to compete benching man
vs man with no place to hide really
showed the guys what it is like to
bench under pressure. Some of the big
names fell to the wayside in the first
round, with two notable causalities
being Massman and topdog.
Competition always throws up
Issue 35 | 2015 The OverClocker 19