If there is one event we would’t have missed out on at any costs this year, the AOCT by Jagat Review is definitely one of these. When we heard about this event series last year already it was a no-brainer that we should go. But truth is, last year, we failed. We couldn’t make it and missed out on the opportunity.
But this year is different. This year we’ve booked our schedule way ahead to make sure that we could be part of it. So what’s so special with this event in Indonesia?
What makes AOCT so special?
The AOCT stands for the Amateur OverClocking Tournament. As its name states, this is a competition for amateurs. Yes – and amateurs only! We are used to travel all around the world and report throughout the years from all those prestigious OC events. But it seems that we’ve lost in the process the early spirit of overclocking. The local taste of it. From the times when we could meet up with guys that share the same passion and challenge each other in small local challenges.
For the AOCT, the Amateur definition is very strict. To make things simple, an Amateur according to these rules is someone that is pretty much just a rookie. Someone that almost never benched before and didn’t got involved in any low or high-profile OC competitions ever. In other words, real newbies – and this is cool.
So the Jagat Review publication is big, something we would compare to Tom’s Hardware over here in the western hemisphere. The enthusiasts community in Indonesia is massive too – sure slightly lower ended due to budget, but still – it is one the pationated kind. In a country of over 200M people, guess how many amateur overclockers are going to participate? 70!
Yup – And this is why we want to be there. To be a privilege witness the birth of a new generation of overclockers on such a scale.
AOCT Competition Structure & Logistics
So if you deal with such a scale, running a competition isn’t that easy. The guys from Jagat review crafted a quite intricate selection process which for each step grants to extra teams seats that will eventually lead to the finals.
This is what the plan looks like:
To reach the Finals, contestants will have to pass through the Mobo Challenge. This Challenge is a three days long competition in which 20 qualified teams (40 overclockers) will have to compete on three different motherboards. Each day of the challenge is assigned to a different motherboard manufacturer.
But of course, to get to the Mobo Challenge, you need to first qualify, and this what the Training day is here for. Don’t forget we are talking about amateurs. But how do you get to the “Training day” – Well 2 options
- Silver Pass: either you are in one of 7 teams that made it through one of the jagat-review local city auditions,
- Audition: or you can audition for your Training spot straight at the venue in the morning of the Training day.
During the Training days, Overclockers will be instructed on the basics of OverClocking. Motherboard functionalities, memory specs and characteristics and enlightened to a few tips and tricks of OC.
Now, you will pass a test, if you pass – you move on to Mobo Challenge, etc etc.
This intricate process will eventually clear off among the 70 contenders and open the doors of the finals that will take place on the last day with 12 teams (24 overclockers). Again battling during a full day on each of the three competition platforms.
Trust us, by then – these guys are no amateurs anymore!
Hardware and Benchmarks
We know that each motherboard featured in this competition will be a Z-series board (socket LGA1150), there will be: the Asus Maximus VII Gene, the Gigabyte Z97M-D3H and the MSI Z97 MPower. As far the Mobo challenge & the Final Battle go, order will be first MSI, second ASUS and third Gigabyte.
But to spice up the competition, some details are being kept secret until the last moment and that is the case for the CPU model and memory kits. But it is fairly safe to assume that the competitors will be competing on Intel Devil’s Canyon CPUs (no external VGA – integrated graphics will be used) and they will be using DDR3 memory (obviously) – again we only know the brand (Silicon Power) no details on model or specs.
Finally PSUs will be provided by Corsair with the PSU RM750 model.
Now benchmarks. What benchmark can you pitch to someone that is starting OC? Well, the guys at Jagat-Review don’t go soft on the new guys and the selection of benchmark is pretty similar to what we’ve seen in many major OC competitions this year:
- Mobo Challenge Day 1
- SuperPi 32M
- CPUz Max Validation
- Mobo Challenge Day 2
- Cinebench R15
- SupePi 1M
- Mobo Challenge Day 3
- 3DMark 11
- 3DMark Ice Storm
- Final Battle Day 1
- SuperPi 32M
- XTU
- 3DMark Fire Strike
Tuff program, especially since you have to keep in mind that even for the 3D benchmarks, everything will be run off the Integrated Graphics. This is going to be very interesting!
OCTV Coverage
This event is going to be intense. Myself, Xyala, never got the change yet to participate to an event of this scale and I can tell you, I’m extremely excited about it. Meeting old friends and meeting potentially 70 new ones or more!
Thanks to Jagat-Review and their sponsors (Intel, Asus, Gigabyte & MSI) we will be there to share with you all the crispy bits and pieces of it, so make sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page.
We are also going to arrange a small livestream. Nothing overkill since we will be quite limited in terms of available internet – but this should be just enough for you guys to be able to have a look at what it is like. We will basically setup a few webcams, and have the various angles rotate with music during the days. Eventually – depending of the viewership, we will be able to update you live.
Keep pushing it!
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