# TPU WCG February Challenge planning thread



## Peter1986C (Jan 17, 2014)

It is about time to start planning our WCG February Challenge, so I started this thread. I presume it will be a "points" challenge, for all projects?


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## Norton (Jan 17, 2014)

Thanks for starting this up! 

How about Feb. 16th thru 22nd for the Challenge period?

Let's see some ideas Team!


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## Nordic (Jan 17, 2014)

What kind of ideas are you looking for?


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## Peter1986C (Jan 17, 2014)

Prize pots, particular themes, team strategies, etc.
The selected period should be okay, although I doubt people feel like doing prize donations so soon after Christmas. So shall we keep it prizeless?


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## Nordic (Jan 17, 2014)

Prize: Prizeless seems good for the time of year. Science has its own rewards.
Theme: Something cold. With half the USA under a sheet of ice... ya know. That and February is a cold month typically based on location.
Strats: Would this be a good strat to build up bulk WU's and release them on the opening day of the challenge?

For myself I should have my heavy hitters hitting heavily again by then. I have had some linux problems and odd little things going wrong everywhere so I am rearranging stuff.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 17, 2014)

My numbers have been lacking as of late cause the only thing pumping out numbers is my Celeron 1156 chip. The I7 at work needed a break due to the heat in the building being kicked on full blast and the H50 could not keep up with the heat and it was bumping the 90's. I am going to start bionic back up after they turn the heat down some. Its sad that you have to use a box fan in your desk cube at work to be comfortable.

I will jump in this challenge either way cause the celeron never gives up!


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## manofthem (Jan 17, 2014)

I'm always up for a challenge, count me in! 

Prizes are good, I think we should keep the prizes.  Nothing need be extravagant but it's always nice to share a little something with the team.  Since is a cold time of year, I'm sure people would think a little awesome win would be awesome and much appreciated!  


Anything specific for this challenge, any special projects?


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## Norton (Jan 17, 2014)

manofthem said:


> I'm always up for a challenge, count me in!
> 
> Prizes are good, I think we should keep the prizes.  Nothing need be extravagant but it's always nice to share a little something with the team.  Since is a cold time of year, I'm sure people would think a little awesome win would be awesome and much appreciated!
> 
> ...



I'm thinking points/all projects for the challenge criteria and agree that a small prize pool would be good too.

I'll donate at least a small paypal gift and maybe a hardware item. Funds are a little tight for me to donate a rig but I will offer a Source 210 case w/fans if there is interest in rounding up parts for rig build


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## Nordic (Jan 17, 2014)

I have a few oddball games I could throw into a game giveaway.

...eyes manofthem...


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## t_ski (Jan 17, 2014)

subbed


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## manofthem (Jan 17, 2014)

james888 said:


> I have a few oddball games I could throw into a game giveaway.
> 
> ...eyes manofthem...



I'd be happy to host a game giveaway, but if anyone wants to give it a go, of course I'd be willing to let someone else throw it, and I'd throw in a few donations 

It's all about sharing the wealth 




The last challenge, we had a lot of TPU members join up, so our goal should be to get those ones to start crunching again, perhaps only for the challenge. Anything would be better than nothing. There's a lot of good we can do, and hopefully we can encourage others on participate.


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## stinger608 (Jan 17, 2014)

You know me, I am always in for a challenge.


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## Arjai (Jan 17, 2014)

I have some indie games on my Humble Bundle library  that I cannot play, either too much for my HD4000 or because of time constraints...work, work and more work seems to be the theme lately. Minus all overtime, BTW. The corporate heads seem to find it amusing to torture us for no reason. Apparently, the Yacht's needs some upgrades.  

Anyways, I am in and willing to give out some Steam Keys. Give me a couple days to sort through them and pick a few for give-a-ways!


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## AlienIsGOD (Jan 17, 2014)

subbed as well


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## Peter1986C (Jan 17, 2014)

@Arjai: At least they pay higher hourly rates for overtime, I hope.


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## Arjai (Jan 18, 2014)

Chevalr1c said:


> @Arjai: At least they pay higher hourly rates for overtime, I hope.


They do, but none of us are allowed to have any, due to the new evil rules. To be honest, it is the customer's that suffer. Blah, Blah, Blah.


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## manofthem (Jan 18, 2014)

So Feb 16-22 are the official dates? That works for me!  

If it's a straight points contest, I'll need to know which project yields the most points so we can put the smack down.  I'm currently running mostly FAaH; I'll change projects if need be 

This weekend I'll take a gander at what I have and see what I can contribute prize-wise.

I think a new challenge is due


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## Norton (Jan 18, 2014)

manofthem said:


> So Feb 16-22 are the official dates? That works for me!
> 
> If it's a straight points contest, I'll need to know which project yields the most points so we can put the smack down.  I'm currently running mostly FAaH; I'll change projects if need be
> 
> ...



The date is a suggestion and not set in stone just yet- want to see some feedback on it first as well as check the upcoming challenge schedule at WCG 

As far as point yields, I think any project selection other than straight CEP2 will be close to equal.

Prizes? Any donation is welcome!


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## manofthem (Jan 18, 2014)

As far as the dates go, i'm up for whatever, but the dates mentioned are good for me.  Hopefully the dates mentioned are good for all.

Would it be worth running CEP2 for this challenge to try to bring in a few extra points?  It really doesn't matter to me much, but if it's worth a little extra ppd, I'd be willing to give CEP2 another go.

And for prizes, I can  offer up a game or 3 but I don't know if I have much in the way of hardware this time around.  But of course, I will check inventory and see what I can do.


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## Norton (Jan 22, 2014)

OK Team

Unless there are any other thoughts or objections I will pkan on opening the challenge up on WCG for 2/16 thru 2/22 (challenge criteria- points/All projects)

Next Steps:
- Comments/Final decision on date(s), criteria.
- Prize ideas/donations (rig build, game giveaway?)
- Recruiting ideas/getting the word out
- Other thoughts

I will target 1/31 for completion of planning/opening the main Challenge thread which will give us about 2 weeks to get us ready for the start.

In the meantime, let's see your ideas


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## Peter1986C (Jan 22, 2014)

- *Comments/Final decision on date(s), criteria. *I am fine with those dates we have now. Criteria will depend on prizes.
- *Prize ideas/donations (rig build, game giveaway?)* Arjai had Amnesia? MoT would do a game GA again?
- *Recruiting ideas/getting the word out* Since we do not have a focus on any cause here, this will be harder. I will try to sleep on it.
- *Other thoughts *I am tempted to let the spare parts (which used to be Asgard-AMD) run for the duration of the challenge but it means running it case-less and with a spoofed MAC serial. I am not sure whether I will do that, but it would mean 2 cores + those 2 I normally keep sitting idle + 2 from the spare parts = 6 cores warming the room/sciencing.


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## sneekypeet (Jan 22, 2014)

Norton said:


> Prizes? Any donation is welcome!


you know where I am


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## xvi (Jan 22, 2014)

sneekypeet said:


> you know where I am


Come to think of it, I haven't checked your FS thread in a whiOH GOD I WANT EVERYTHING.


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## Norton (Jan 22, 2014)

sneekypeet said:


> you know where I am



Always a great contributor sir!


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## manofthem (Jan 22, 2014)

I'll get a little list of some games I can throw into a giveaway pot should that be decided on. 

As for hardware, I will look and see what I have around here, if anything.  If I have nothing here and there's the possibility of a rig up for grabs, perhaps I could pick up something in the BST forum and send it to whomever happens to be throwing it together, maybe Norton.... 

Either way, I'll be updating shortly.


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## Nordic (Jan 22, 2014)

xvi said:


> Come to think of it, I haven't checked your FS thread in a whiOH GOD I WANT EVERYTHING.


I know right! I kinda have a thing for cpu coolers but don't have enough cpu's to cool. His thread is full of them and I wantz all of them.


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## Norton (Jan 25, 2014)

UPDATE!

CRUNCHER RIG FOR CHALLENGE

I got an i3-530 and some other items FF in our FS thread so we're going to move forward with a donation rig! 

What we have:
- NZXT Source 210 (White)- Norton
- 5x120mm fans- Norton
- NZXT Sentry Mesh fan controller- Norton
- ASUS P7H55-M PRO motherboard- Brandonwh64
- i3-530 chip w/stock cooler- TheGrapist
- 3GB DDR3- TheGrapist
- 8400GS GPU- TheGrapist
- Radeon 5850 GPU- the54thvoid
- 500GB HDD (2.5"- 7,200rpm)- yotano211
- NZXT Hale N 550w psu- BarbaricSoul
- Windows 7 Pro- james888

What we need:
all set!

Please let us know if you have anything to assist with or any comments- Thanks!


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## Nordic (Jan 25, 2014)

Nice snag on that i3 530.

I could donate the win 7 key I got from ion last challenge. I never did actually use it like I planned.


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## librin.so.1 (Jan 25, 2014)

Norton said:


> How about *Feb. 16th* thru 22nd for the Challenge period?
> 
> Let's see some ideas Team!



Holy Carp Fish! That's *My country's Independence Day! *


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## manofthem (Jan 26, 2014)

I hope that when we rock this challenge, Ion is back to full swing and bringing his usual monstrous ppd!


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## Nordic (Jan 26, 2014)

Vinska said:


> Holy Carp Fish! That's *My country's Independence Day! *


As an American I forget their are other independence days besides july first. Thanks for the bit of worldliness.


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## manofthem (Jan 26, 2014)

I just remembered something: I need to get my brother's pc crunching before this challenge.  His pc is now done, just have to help him hook it up to the TV. I think he could do it, just may need to help with any possible issues, possibly in AMD CCC since he'll be using HDMI.

Anyway I'll try to get him signed up ASAP; I think he'll do it.  It'll be another 4670k added to the team if all goes well.


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## Peter1986C (Jan 26, 2014)

james888 said:


> As an American I forget their are other independence days besides july first. Thanks for the bit of worldliness.


Isn't it July the 4th?


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## yotano211 (Jan 26, 2014)

Norton said:


> UPDATE!
> 
> CRUNCHER RIG FOR CHALLENGE
> 
> ...



I have a spare 320gb drive but its from a laptop. 
And perfect timing, I just got a new  i7 3920xm overclocked to 4.5ghz on my gaming laptop that needs to flex its muscles.


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## Norton (Jan 26, 2014)

yotano211 said:


> I have a spare 320gb drive but its from a laptop.
> And perfect timing, I just got a new  i7 3920xm overclocked to 4.5ghz on my gaming laptop that needs to flex its muscles.


 
Awesome on both counts! 

Laptop drives run just fine in crunchers.... I have used them in 2 or 3 of my rigs with no issues. I'll send you a PM later today to discuss- Thanks!


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## yotano211 (Jan 26, 2014)

Norton said:


> Awesome on both counts!
> 
> Laptop drives run just fine in crunchers.... I have used them in 2 or 3 of my rigs with no issues. I'll send you a PM later today to discuss- Thanks!


ok sounds good. Since I have not messed with desktops for 5 years now, I didn't know if laptops can go into a desktop without a proper SATA cable converter.


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## Norton (Jan 26, 2014)

yotano211 said:


> ok sounds good. Since I have not messed with desktops for 5 years now, I didn't know if laptops can go into a desktop without a proper SATA cable converter.


 
SATA connections are the same- the only issue is whether or not your case is friendly to 2.5" drives or not (most newer cases are)


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## yotano211 (Jan 26, 2014)

Its a 2.5 inch 9.5mm HD. I will fit most normal laptop spaces.


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## Peter1986C (Jan 26, 2014)

There are metal bits available that e-tailers sell as "adapters" or as "brackets". They go for $ 5ish: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=HDD bracket&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

Some fit two 2.5" drives, others just one (although the latter are generally a bit easier to use).


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## Nordic (Jan 26, 2014)

Chevalr1c said:


> Isn't it July the 4th?


Not sure if typo or brainfart. 4 is next to one, or maybe it was because it was around midnight when I posted right before bed.


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## Peter1986C (Jan 26, 2014)

It's alright, I was actually slightly confused hence my question, lol.


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## Norton (Jan 27, 2014)

Posted in the Crunchers Helping Crunchers thread and opened a WTB in the BST section for a mobo and psu... hopefully we can find something decent to finish up the giveaway rig.

Update on other prizes:
- I'll be donating 2x$25 Paypal gifts minimum plus the parts I've got into the giveaway rig
- Will discuss sneekypete's donation(s) with him this evening and will post his items soon
- Still working on a couple of other items

If anyone wants to help out/donate any items... please post here and/or PM me to discuss.

Thanks for all of the help so far!


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## Bow (Jan 27, 2014)

Count me in!
I will donate a PP for $20.00


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## xvi (Jan 27, 2014)

I have an OCZ 2.5" to 3.5" adapter that's basically NIB. Pulled it out, realized it didn't fit my NZXT drive rails, put it back in the box. Might help make picking a case easier.


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## BUCK NASTY (Jan 27, 2014)

Guys, is this an internal competition or are we running against other teams?


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## Norton (Jan 27, 2014)

BUCK NASTY said:


> Guys, is this an internal competition or are we running against other teams?



Yes

Translation- Will be an official WCG challenge- prizes will be for WCG-TPU Team members only

*Note- Got a few nibbles on my WTB thread but nothing solid yet on a mobo and psu


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 28, 2014)

And if all goes well I will be back in full swing for this challenge.  I am adding to my fleet now.


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## Arjai (Jan 28, 2014)

ThE_MaD_ShOt said:


> And if all goes well I will be back in full swing for this challenge.  I am adding to my fleet now.


Good Luck buddy!!


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## Peter1986C (Jan 28, 2014)

Norton said:


> Posted in the Crunchers Helping Crunchers thread and opened a WTB in the BST section for a mobo and psu... hopefully we can find something decent to finish up the giveaway rig.
> 
> Update on other prizes:
> - I'll be donating 2x$25 Paypal gifts minimum plus the parts I've got into the giveaway rig
> ...



In the BST forum section, there is someone selling an OCZ unit of 600watts.


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## manofthem (Jan 28, 2014)

Chevalr1c said:


> In the BST forum section, there is someone selling an OCZ unit of 600watts.



Friends don't let friends buy OCZ 

J/K, I saw that little saying posted somewhere a while back and thought it was funny.


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## Norton (Jan 28, 2014)

Challenge is live- link below:

http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/team/challenge/viewTeamChallenge.do?challengeId=6497

I will be starting the Challenge thread here next week- in the meantime...... we'll continue with the planning. 

I should have 2 more rigs up and running for this and hopefully the 2 that I sold recently will also be contributing


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jan 28, 2014)

Oh and also I will be taking my top spot back by force lol. Another rig will be added to my fleet


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## stinger608 (Jan 28, 2014)

manofthem said:


> Friends don't let friends buy OCZ



Yea, you got that right!!!!!!!! Out of six I purchased a couple years ago for some new rigs I built, I had to RMA five of them!!! I ended up sending all six back and getting some Corsair units.


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## Bow (Jan 28, 2014)

I restarted the new cruncher for the first time Sunday.


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## Peter1986C (Jan 28, 2014)

Two I had have lasted a bunch of years (1 (built by Channel Well) has been sold, one (built by Sirtec) is in use for the Edison spare rig that is up and running for the heat/challenge. They have changed OEM at least once though, in the last decade.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913-8.html


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## n3rdf1ght3r (Jan 28, 2014)

stinger608 said:


> Yea, you got that right!!!!!!!! Out of six I purchased a couple years ago for some new rigs I built, I had to RMA five of them!!! I ended up sending all six back and getting some Corsair units.



I'm doing 2 6950s on my 600w ocz and it still hasn't exploded yet... Surprisingly. I think they went bankrupt though to rma will be close to impossible now. 

I also might have some old unredeemed humble bundle games I could throw in. My friend has some old ssds he has no use for so iI'll try to see if I can buy them off him


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## Arjai (Jan 31, 2014)

OK, I am gonna gift this weeks Humble Bundle, for the Challenge. EDIT* I saw on the site that these are all Steam Games and can only be redeemed all at once. So, if true? One big prize!

Along with a couple of other games in my Library there. Including, but not only, Amnesia: Dark Descent Steam Key.

I might add more, or save them for a future contest. I have games in my Humble library that are more than this laptop can handle.


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## manofthem (Jan 31, 2014)

Arjai said:


> OK, I am gonna gift this weeks Humble Bundle, for the Challenge. EDIT* I saw on the site that these are all Steam Games and can only be redeemed all at once. So, if true? One big prize!
> 
> Along with a couple of other games in my Library there. Including, but not only, Amnesia: Dark Descent Steam Key.
> 
> I might add more, or save them for a future contest. I have games in my Humble library that are more than this laptop can handle.



The Bundles can still be parted out, though it takes a little more now: you can gift a game using a gift url, activate-able using email address and linking it to the recipient's Steam.   

I grabbed a bundle too for the giveaway. Also I went through some old Bundles with leftover games to figure out what to throw into the game giveaway. 

Also, Amnesia DD is an awesome game!! Thanks for throwing it in


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## Arjai (Jan 31, 2014)

Picture of the Humble Bundle Prize...


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## Arjai (Jan 31, 2014)

manofthem said:


> The Bundles can still be parted out, though it takes a little more now: you can gift a game using a gift url, activate-able using email address and linking it to the recipient's Steam.
> 
> I grabbed a bundle too for the giveaway. Also I went through some old Bundles with leftover games to figure out what to throw into the game giveaway.
> 
> Also, Amnesia DD is an awesome game!! Thanks for throwing it in


I used the "Gift" button. It sent me a link to all the games, with only one place for a recipients e-mail. I suppose I might be able to receive them myself and possibly part them out. But, if that doesn't work....So, may as well be one big one!! What's the catch?


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## TRWOV (Jan 31, 2014)

Ready for the challenge. Will fire up my HTPC and maybe the QX6800 too.


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## manofthem (Jan 31, 2014)

Arjai said:


> I used the "Gift" button. It sent me a link to all the games, with only one place for a recipients e-mail. I suppose I might be able to receive them myself and possibly part them out. But, if that doesn't work....So, may as well be one big one!! What's the catch?



I PM'd you so we can try to figure it out more


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## Irony (Jan 31, 2014)

I'm finally kind of finished moving, 8350 and my little athlon quad ready to crunch

 I can donate a couple games, BF3 for sure and probly a couple more.


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## BarbaricSoul (Jan 31, 2014)

Hey Norton, I just replied to your WTB thread, but I'll post here also. Find a PSU, new or used, preferably under $50, but if a little more is needed, it's ok, and I'll buy it and have it shipped to you.


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## stinger608 (Jan 31, 2014)

BarbaricSoul said:


> Hey Norton, I just replied to your WTB thread, but I'll post here also. Find a PSU, new or used, preferably under $50, but if a little more is needed, it's ok, and I'll buy it and have it shipped to you.




That is very awesome of you Barbaric!!!!!


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## Norton (Jan 31, 2014)

BarbaricSoul said:


> Hey Norton, I just replied to your WTB thread, but I'll post here also. Find a PSU, new or used, preferably under $50, but if a little more is needed, it's ok, and I'll buy it and have it shipped to you.



very awesome of you Bud! 

*Note- we have nearly all of the parts in- will do an update this evening


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## Norton (Feb 1, 2014)

Update on the challenge rig- *the54thvoid* has pledged a *Radeon 5850* for it! -

Looks like we have all of the pieces coming for a pretty nice cruncher for the winner!



Rig specs here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...ge-planning-thread.196939/page-2#post-3054799

*Update #2*
I'm going to add a *NZXT Sentry Mesh* fan controller to the build


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## yotano211 (Feb 1, 2014)

Pretty nice specs, the 5850 is a nice card.


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## Norton (Feb 2, 2014)

Message copied over here 



mjkmike said:


> just pm the captain. Good luck all my friends
> sorry still not comfy with the way.



PM received! 

Standby for some really nice additions to the prize pool... watch this thread later today


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## manofthem (Feb 2, 2014)

sounds like a big  is in order for *mjkmike*!!!! 


Also, *LiNKiN* donated a code for our game giveaway for Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Assassin's Creed IV: Blackflag, which was very baller of him


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## Norton (Feb 3, 2014)

Not feeling well so the challenge thread startup will need to wait a day or two 

I do feel ok enough to post a prize status update, so here goes:

Courtesy of* sneekypete*:


Spoiler



- Naos 7000 mouse
- Topre Type Heaven keyboard
- Sapphire VaporX cpu cooler
Thanks again for your generous donation 



Courtesy of *mjkmike*:


Spoiler



- 3930K cpu
- Asus P9X79 Deluxe motherboard
Thanks again for your generous donation 




Pretty cool eh?


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## Nordic (Feb 3, 2014)

Ooh what a prize selection. @manofthem, do I need to pm you with my games


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## Norton (Feb 3, 2014)

james888 said:


> Ooh what a prize selection. @manofthem, do I need to pm you with my games



That's just what was pledged over tha last couple of days- we still have the items previously donated, the challenge rig, and a great game giveaway taking shape (hosted by manofthem)


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## manofthem (Feb 3, 2014)

Pretty outstanding contributions!  Thanks mjkmike and sneekypeet, as well as the others that are donating all the various prizes!    



james888 said:


> Ooh what a prize selection. @manofthem, do I need to pm you with my games



Please do so.  I've got a running list so far from the several members that are donating games, and I've love to get as accurate a list as possible.
Thanks 


Also, let's get our head in the challenge mode, crunching crunching crunching.  According to Norton's link posted earlier, there are 18 teams signed up so far.  Hopefully we will all be bringing out A-Game and put up a terrific fight


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## Irony (Feb 3, 2014)

I've got a couple games I can throw in


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## manofthem (Feb 3, 2014)

Irony said:


> I've got a couple games I can throw in



PM'd you about it 

Edit:  Thanks for the game contributions!!! 

The game giveaway should be pretty great


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## xvi (Feb 3, 2014)

Norton said:


> - Naos 7000 mouse



Hey! I wanted that! I guess I'll just have to win it now.


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## Norton (Feb 3, 2014)

xvi said:


> Hey! I wanted that! I guess I'll just have to win it now.


 
Buy it from sneeky and we'll see if he'll replace with another item


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## xvi (Feb 3, 2014)

Looking now, Sneeky's FS thread had a Naos 8200. Sounds like this mouse is a different (albeit similar) one. (Sneeky basically does reviews on stuff, right?)

Do we have a date planned yet? Are we still thinking mid-Feb?


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## Peter1986C (Feb 3, 2014)

Yeah, we will stick to the dates since the challenge is already up @WCG.


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## manofthem (Feb 3, 2014)

xvi said:


> Looking now, Sneeky's FS thread had a Naos 8200. Sounds like this mouse is a different (albeit similar) one. (Sneeky basically does reviews on stuff, right?)
> 
> Do we have a date planned yet? Are we still thinking mid-Feb?



Yeah sneekypeet reviews stuff, and I like his reviews alot. I always go to his reviews for stuff he's selling too to get an honest opinion about it. 

Dates should be 2/15-2/22, which will be coming up soon, so we need to get our rigs in line and see if we can get anyone else to join us.


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## t_ski (Feb 4, 2014)

Those are some awesome prizes.  Thanks a ton to those who've donated!


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## Arjai (Feb 4, 2014)

In my best Cartman voice, "God dammit! You let the Frenchies in?!?!"


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## Norton (Feb 4, 2014)

We didn't let the whole country in  just a WCG Team called France 

Challenge thread has launched:

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...4-join-us-make-a-difference-win-stuff.197528/


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## xvi (Feb 4, 2014)

Arjai said:


> You let the Frenchies in?!?!"


They didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to eat our dust.


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## stinger608 (Feb 6, 2014)

Holy crap!!!!!!! That is sooooooooooooooooooo awesome of you Mike!!! Very nice pair of prizes for sure. I am assuming these will both go out as a package prize? 

And, as always, Sneeky is sooooooo generous.  This is working up to be a sweet contest!


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