Tom's OC Competition: LN2 Craziness

Status
Not open for further replies.

DFGum

Distinguished
Sep 8, 2008
71
0
18,630
I dont mean to offend or anything, but im curious what the point of OCing like this is. Considering its not something the general public can do to improve preformance or anything. Has there ever been something found that brings something new to the computer world?

OC'ing with home doable setups i understand tho. Even if its rigging it up something extreme, its still doable at home.
 

afrobacon

Distinguished
Feb 20, 2008
396
0
18,790
@DFGum probably the same point drag racing has... or for that matter sports in general.
its competition, fun to do, fun to watch, fun to say "look what i can do"
 

wavebossa

Distinguished
Sep 25, 2008
127
0
18,680
The point is to see the limit of the hardware... DUH!

I don't mean to offend or anything, but the answer is obvious. Whats the point of putting a jet engine on a land-based vehicle? To see the limit of land travel. No one every said this scale of OCing is pertinent to all DIYers...

Wouldn't you like to know the limit of your $1000+ system even if you never intend to reach that limit? Wouldn't you like to know the limit of your $12,000+ car even if you never intend to push it that far?
 

DFGum

Distinguished
Sep 8, 2008
71
0
18,630
Drag racing does bring things tho. Tire people make new types of tires. Same with rock crawling, that brings new grippier tires.
For wavebossa, there has to be a point where you say what does this get me? a car is something you can use, you cannot use these computers like this.
Nasa isnt going to launch a marble into outerspace costing billions just because its cool. There needs to be something..
I just want to know what OC'ing like this something is.
 

feraltoad

Distinguished
Jan 3, 2008
11
0
18,510
I agree with DFGUM that the addition of LN removes the excitement of this sort of competition for me too. All the setups look like they belong in the shopping cart of a homeless guy. I do like seeing what PC parts will do with LN, but 10 PCs with LN is less exciting than 1 PC w/LN for me. Especially if the cooling setup on that one PC doesn't look like it was scavenged from the average corporate break room. I guess I don't watch drag racing either! To each his own!
 

zodiacfml

Distinguished
Oct 2, 2008
1,228
26
19,310
nah, true drag and racing cars are illegal in the street.
i know people involved had fun, its just that we're not involved. we don't get to watch how it is done and such which make it seem pointless.
tom's might want to show benchmarks in games/applications of some winning LN systems so we get something to talk about because booting the system only to bios at the highest clock frequency is not interesting. :)
 

neiroatopelcc

Distinguished
Oct 3, 2006
3,078
0
20,810
@ DFGum : The point is competition. What's the purpose of TrustSSC except for breaking the land speed record? There is none. It's purposebuilt to do something which has no practical value for the general public. Just like any sports is. While nascar might've by accident made goodyear produce better tires it wasn't the purpose of the sport (if driving in circles like a granny can be considered a sport).
Who knows if using nitrogen as computer cooling would inspire loctite to invent an adhesive that could somehow be used shield from condensation, or could make thermaltake produce a chassis that is based on a refrigurator. If they do it might be good, but it wasn't the purpose of the competition. The purpose is competition. To excell at something, even if it doesn't cure cancer.
 

surf2di4

Distinguished
Dec 9, 2005
78
0
18,630
I don't understand why no one uses a drybox to avoid condensation. They are simple to purchase or construct, and eliminate the issue completely.

karl
 

cangelini

Contributing Editor
Editor
Jul 4, 2008
1,878
9
19,795
[citation][nom]WyomingKnott[/nom]Is that a blowtorch I see before me?[/citation]

Yeah, they were using the torch to bring temps down after hitting the cold bug on each processor, rather than wait for it to naturally defrost.
 

bornking

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2006
393
0
18,780
I have to agree with DFGum. This is more of a marketing stunt (stint?) than a hardware 'testing' competition. If you want real data on the 'limits' of hardware then you need to get a 'representative sample', and several teams from a few countries just doesn't cut it. This is NOT a representative sample of the specific hardware being used, plus the fact that liquid nitrogen is "necessary" just means that it is unreasonable. A jet engine on a land vehicle and overclocking a CPU (and ram etc.) is night and day difference so don't make that cmparison please, it is a GREAT dishonour to the land speed racing teams.

This is just marketing at its finest. I am NOT AGAINST IT, but let's be realistic here.
 

DiabloG1

Distinguished
Oct 2, 2008
2
0
18,510
"which evaporates quickly, causing the cloud". I find this quite funny. As liquid nitrogen evaporates, it forms nitrogen gas, which makes up 80% of air around us. Do you see clouds of "nitrogen" around you? The clouds are condensing water vapour (like breathing out on a cold morning). Just thought I'd mention for completeness sake.
 
G

Guest

Guest
I hope none of those geeks go blind from splashing LN in their eyes, or get burns from it. Seems risky for such a foolish hobby.
 

Luscious

Distinguished
Apr 5, 2006
525
0
18,980
@DFGum
As others here have also said, LN is for extreme OCing where your objective is to find the limit your hardware can do, since LN is pretty much the limit when it comes to cooling ability. It's not about having it look nice, or for a permanent home install.

Ever heard of phase-change? If you wanna do a home setup you might want to look into that. There's a couple of systems that have been around a few years that work well with your average "box". Be prepared for a lengthy installation though, as you'll still need to insulate your components! Some vendors even sell custom configured.
 

cesthree

Distinguished
Aug 1, 2008
31
0
18,530
In Drag racing I am sure that the accomplishment is awesome with a good engine build, and feeling yourself pressed against the seat when you accelerate.

Racing, I can see the precision required to turn fast lap times. With any kind of activity that is just "to see if I can do it", at least with any kind of racing or flying, you can get your heart rate up a bit. You know that adrenaline thing you don't get when your sandwiched between the monitor, keyboard, and chair?

I enjoy Autocross and SCCA, tons of fun. Benching 320lbs. on my Bowflex (and yes, my legs are developed too! LOL). Getting out of the house is a great idea as well. My son and I love to go skateboarding, find a new set of stairs or a smooth manny pad.

The difference is that when your done your not just sitting and looking at a number on the screen that says 600.3Ghz CPU speed with the words "You are teh L33t35t Overclocker in teh world!!!!" flashing all over the place. Well, I bet they wished that happened anyway.

Crazy OC's on LN2 have to be extremely boring considering what you can actually do with the rig when you get done. 4 separate temp probes, expensive LN2 tubes, and having to handle a liquid that will destroy you and your equipment.

You stressed components, that's it. Made some key presses in the BIOS and tried to boot. Got a screen shot. Is that it? Oh yeah ran some benchmarks and posted a score. Wow, I can hardly contain myself.

Well I'll settle for a Level-Headed OC any day, that way I can spend hours playing a game, watching a movie, listening to music, hacking into and stealing your Mom's private pictures, or just shutting the PC off when I'm done without having a workstation that looks like PC parts just fell into some LN2.

Like the other guy said though, to each his own.

P.S. your mom is SOOOOO hot! J/K guys, ease up.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Except it's not a sport because it's not fair ground and only up to the players' skill. There is alot of random variation in hardware making either blind luck, or shot-gunning loads of money at dozens of the same part until you find one that's better than the others. No skill or prowess whatsoever.

"look what I can do" has nothing to do with it. That's like me having an inflated basket ball and you with a deflated one and saying "look what I can do".
 

PSYCHoHoLiC

Distinguished
Oct 10, 2006
246
0
18,680
"You stressed components, that's it. Made some key presses in the BIOS and tried to boot. Got a screen shot. Is that it? Oh yeah ran some benchmarks and posted a score. Wow, I can hardly contain myself.
"

LOL, i wish it was that easy bud.. trust me there's alot more to it than that; thats like saying you get in a top fuel drag car and press the gas... not going to work like that.

Its not something you can explain to someone who isnt into it though, so i wont go into it here. I'm just wondering why those that arent into it are looking at this article.
 
G

Guest

Guest
I hope those geeks are smart enough to be checking oxygen levels when they are doing this experiment. Outside is fine, but that view of the fog indoors suggests not enought ventilation.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.