competition is fierce. Those that
partake in it are as dedicated as
other competitors are in their
various sporting codes. They are
engaged in competition and seek
to outperform each other and
claim the number one spot. There
is no difference between E-sports
and any other sport in what it is
expressing within us, and that is our
competitive spirit.
Overclocking, comes exactly (and
I mean exactly) out of this same
desire for pushing the limits and
competition. How overclockers
compete isn’t in the way that
gamers do of course. That being
said, the structure, the dedication,
the resources required, and
everything else for that matter
speak to the same desire and what
follows from there is largely similar.
Overclocking had to structure itself,
willingly or otherwise, into having
a formalised body with rules and
regulations. Rankings, competitions,
seasons, milestones, records,
achievements, different disciplines,
and recognition by peers.
These things exist in any other
competitive environment and they
are necessary for any industry
or undertaking to move forward.
That competitive nature in us is
what drives us in all these spheres
and what leads us to new places.
Overclocking for PC DIY represents
this very idea.
Can we say objectively that any
one motherboard or graphics card,
SSD, CPU, DRAM or PSU makes
for a better gamer? The answer
is no. If you present any one
person with two visually identical
computers, each with a GeForce
GTX 1080 Ti, 16GB of DDR4 3200,
a 512GB SSD and a 7700K CPU,
there is no way of knowing which
one has components from GALAX,
or MSI. There is no way for you
to objectively and materially tell
between the GIGABYTE powered
machine and the ASUS powered
one. You simply can’t because
that’s not where the competition
is in competitive gaming. These
machines will perform identically in
as far as gaming is concerned.
That isn’t to say that they are the
same though. In the same way that
in general when one uses a ride
sharing application. Chances are
what picks you up is an automobile
with four wheels, doors, an engine
and seats. It’s a car and as such you
may get a Toyota, a VW, a Nissan,
Chevrolet, or almost anything else.
That they will all take you to your
chosen destination via the same
route and in general the same
amount of time doesn’t at any point
cause anyone to say that these
cars are the same.
Now if you’re with me consider
the following.
To the person only concerned
with the ride sharing application of
cars, these vehicles may as well be
the same. Imagine if all of them have
the AC set to the same temperature
with the same driver taking the
same route in the same amount
of time and you’re sitting on the
same black Napa leather. For their
purposes these cars are the same.
Yet if you ask this individual,
“Given that your only relationship
with cars is defined
by how it affects your ride
sharing experience, is motorsport
pointless?” They’d likely say "No,
of course not. "They may tell you
they find it boring, have no interest
in it or what have you, but they
are unlikely to say it’s pointless
and shouldn’t exist or be given any
thought.
Yet, this is exactly what happens
with overclocking.
Those that are only appreciative
of PCs in as far as it serves their
gaming interests or specific needs
literally say that overclocking is
pointless, because it doesn’t change
their gaming in any relevant way.
They are saying, in other words,
that motorsport doesn’t matter
because it has no bearing to them in
“There is no difference between
E-sports and any other sport in
what it is expressing within us...”
14 The OverClocker Issue 41 | 2017