HW GURUS win the ROG OC Showdown Team Edition 2
After 10 weeks of intense competition, the second incarnation of the ROG OC Showdown Team Edition has come to an end. A total of 89 teams from around the world pushed their hardware to the limit in pursuit of bragging rights and $6,000 USD in prizes. HW GURUS finished on top of the overall team rankings followed by Alza OC.
Overall team rankings
To earn points toward the overall ranking, teams competed in five distinct stages. Each one had specific rules and limitations, forcing teams to adapt to different conditions to reach the podium.
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark | XTU - 5GHz | Geekbench3 - multi |
wPrime 32M | Max CPU Frequency |
3DMark Vantage Performance |
| Hardware Limitation | 4 x cores | 4 x cores | No X299/HDET/X399 | No Limitation | 8 x cores max Single GPU No TitanX/XP/1080ti |
| League Limitation | Rookies Novices |
Rookies / Novices Enthusiasts |
Rookies / Novices Enthusiasts / Apprentice |
Rookies / Novices Enthusiasts / Apprentice Extreme |
Rookies / Novices Enthusiasts / Apprentice Extreme / Elite |
| Cooling Limitation | Air / Water Above 60ºC during bench |
Air / Water 25ºC IDLE + temp monitor |
No limitations | No limitations | No limitations |
| Average scoring / team |
Top 3 scores / team |
Top 5 scores / team |
Top 3 scores / team |
Top 3 scores / team |
Top 2 scores / team |
|
Unique Hardware |
CPUs model | CPUs model | CPUs model | CPU socket | GPUs model |
| Points repartition | 50-48-46-44-42-40... | 50-46-44-42-40-38... | 50-46-44-42-40-38... | 50-46-44-42-40-38... | 50-46-44-42-40-38.. |
The rankings kept changing until the last minute of the competition. HW GURUS was one of the last teams to enter, waiting until the final week to start submitting their scores. They dominated the average team score for stage 1, 3, and 5 and took second place in stage 2 and 4. Here's how the teams stacked up in the end:
The top two teams took home the following prizes:
| Team name | Prizes | |
|---|---|---|
| Winning team | HW GURUS |
|
| Runner-up | Alza OC |
|
Most valuable player - StratosCZ from Alza OC
Part of the enthusiast league, StratosCZ was the most valuable player in this second round of the ROG OC Showdown Team Edition. StratosCZ participated in four of the five stages; due to league limitations, he couldn't submit scores for the first one. Going from the Maximus IX Hero to the Rampage V Extreme and Crosshair VI Extreme, he used three different systems to bring the most points to team Alza OC. A custom loop cooled the Rampage V Extreme rig, while the others had AIO liquid cooling. As most valuable player, StratosCZ won a Maximus X Apex motherboard and exclusive ROG goodies.
Stage winners
Prizes were also awarded for the top individual scores in each stage. Unlike in the first edition, the top scores in each stage came exclusively from the top-two teams.
| Stage | Winner | Score | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 - XTU | Nemanja (HW GURUS) | 1812 marks | EK-Kit L240 |
| Stage 2 - Geekbench3 | PKBO (Alza OC) | 24688 | Seasonic PRIME 1000W |
| Stage 3 - wPrime 32M | J4net (Alza OC) | 2sec 435ms | ROG Maximus IX Apex |
| Stage 4 - CPU Frequency | nikolas61 (HW GURUS) | 8,047.4MHz | ROG Crosshair VI Hero |
| Stage 5 - 3DMark Vantage Performance | d0minat0r (HW GURUS) | 91738 marks | G.skill DDR4 TridentZ 4000MHz |
For more details about the results, visit the official competition page and the winners announcement on oc-esports.io.
Bonus - The best system pictures from the competition
Overclockers are cooling geniuses, so we've added a bonus section with a look at how competitors cooled their rigs.
If you've always wondered what dry ice looks like, check out the system used by J4net from team Alza OC. He mounted a copper LN2 pot to collect ice on the Crosshair VI Hero, allowing him to hit a higher CPU frequency and voltage.
Not cool enough? PKBO found the right solution in a country where nights are getting cooler: move your entire system outside the window.
For the Geekbench3 stage, Mykolayzack went back in time with the ROG Striker II Extreme motherboard from the Core 2 Duo era.
