![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , August 19, 2003
- Author:
- Sean Pelletier
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
QuakeCon 2003
A peek into the world of QuakeCon 2003.
Vendor Expo
Walking into the main area of the second floor, people could opt to turn right and head into the BYOC area or head straight into the vendor exhibits. Here, there was a variety of major vendors who were showcasing their latest and greatest products. Make no mistake; the expo at QuakeCon was nowhere near the scale of the dedicated shows like Computex. However, the show did provide an excellent opportunity to see and hold the latest items which the community has been buzzing about.
NVIDIA
Positioned at the front of the expo, NVIDIA had an impressive setup. At the forefront of their area was a dedicated gaming area which would be used for some tournament duties. Moving along the side of the booth, we found some of the latest laptop products from HP which were using the GeForce FX Go series of graphics cards. In addition, there were plenty of systems which were out showcasing the desktop GeForce FX product line. The back section of NVIDIA’s space was reserved for a series of contests. Here, everything from case mods to overclocking results were judged for prizes by the NVIDIA crew. Although the cases were certainly impressive to see, the most impressive thing we found here was NVIDIA’s own overclocked system which was running a Barton-cored AMD processor on the verge of 2.9GHz with an astounding synchronous FSB of 500MHz! There were some other impressive things seen by the NVIDIA booth, though we believe those pictures plainly speak for themselves.
AMD
As one might imagine, AMD was pushing the upcoming Athlon64 platform hard at this event. Nearly everywhere you turned, the Athlon64 could be found. At the front of AMD’s booth, some of the gamers were being given fake-tattoos sporting the logo. Directly behind this area, several Athlon64-based systems were up and running the latest crop of games. Interestingly enough, there was a Athlon 64 Mobile CPU making the rounds at this event. Fortunately, we snapped a picture or two of the processor to drool over until its official launch date arrives. Despite the mobile designation, you’re looking at an Athlon64 in all its glory, minus the heat-spreader in order to work on the mobile platform.
ABIT
Moving over to ABIT’s booth, we found the usual over-the-top hardware which seems to be specifically made for the [H]ardcore crowd here at QuakeCon. From the intricate heatsink assembly of the latest OTES graphics card products to the new ABIT IC7 MAX3 motherboard, the products are made to push the envelope just a bit further. The new MAX3 board looks especially promising for the overclocking community as it has a new cooling assembly which is made to keep temperatures for the power circuitry under control, eliminating an Achilles’ heel of lofty overclocking goals. For those who claimed that this was nothing more than another clever marketing ploy, ABIT had setup a dedicated system using a 2.4GHz P4 and the MAX3 which was overclocked to 3.36 GHz using an incredible 280MHz FSB! Resting on the opposite end of the table was an equally impressive SFF system. Although it appeared to be slightly larger than the Shuttle SFF systems, the new platform had a ton of functionality which seems to lend itself especially well towards the living room application. With a clean, high-tech appearance and the features to back it up, this will likely be a popular system in the coming months.
No Case Cases
Continuing down the hall of exhibits, we came across a table full of unusual PC’s. Although we’re inclined to call these case mods, no components were truly encased. Instead, every component was in the open with no regard for aesthetics. Despite the rather crude appearance, the “cases” did seem to make life easier for those who are always opening their cases to access components. Evidently, there are people out there who like these rigs although they failed to do much for this editor. Fortunately, MSI was next in line and they had a table full of their latest eye-candy. In addition to the usual array of motherboard, they had their MEGA series of SFF systems on display. Much like the new system from ABIT, these boxes have a very professional look to them and they are equipped with all the functionality you need to make it a perfect home theater PC.
Shuttle
Speaking of home theaters, Shuttle opted to bring the gaming environment to the gamer with their display. With a comfortable couch and a large display setup as a backdrop, Shuttle displayed their latest product line of SFF systems. In addition to the usual group of AMD and Intel-platform systems which have been reviewed here, Shuttle was showing a glimpse of their upcoming Athlon64 based system. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to open the box to peak at the internals of this new rig. As a result, we are left waiting for Athlon64 to launch to learn more on this interesting new system.
VIA
Armed with a new FSB license for the P4 platform, VIA was making their presence known at this event. Although they did have some impressive displays showcasing their EPIA micro-ATX based systems (as well as some impressive assistants), the most interesting products being shown were targeting the Intel platform. On one hand, the company was showing their new PT800 board which should compete directly with Intel’s Springdale and Canterwood chipsets. However on the other hand, we saw the upcoming PT880 which looks to be an absolute monster in terms of performance. Without question, this is certainly a product to watch over the coming weeks as it offer dual channel memory.
DOOM3 & Others
Positioned at the end of the hallway were two gorgeous software titles. The first title was Call of Duty which was accompanied by a slick booth complete with a Jeep gaming setup and plasma monitor. Taking a glimpse at the game, it looks as though it will be a welcomed addition to the growing list of war-themed titles. Although this game did offer some excellent graphics, it could not be expected to hold a candle to the Doom3 booths next door.
For the first time, the public was allowed to play a multiplayer component of Doom3. Walking into a closed booth with four stations, you battled three other gamers for roughly ten minutes in what is easily the most jaw-dropping title we have ever played. Anyone who played the game will assure you that the graphics certainly lived up to the hype which has been building over the years. Running on the fastest hardware money can buy right now (as well as a few components you can’t quite find yet), the gameplay was noticeably choppy when it got very busy. Granted, we were not seeing a slideshow by any means though that is a distinct possibility for those who would try to run the title as it stands on lesser hardware. One thing is for sure, the title will definitely need a killer gaming rig to be played the way developers intended. If nothing else, this demo was a reminder to start saving pennies for the upgrades when the title ships.