Winner here folks, wooooohoooooo!!!
At least what I can say is that I'm nothing more and nothing less but blown away with this prize, still can't believe this is true! In all this long lasting GPU crysis, when many of us gamers are in fear for the future of PC gaming, to get a graphics card like this is like a giant cloud pouring rain on a dead-dry desert, it feels so good and it gives me hope PC gaming is still moving forward and one day it will outlive me.
Been a long time lurker here on TPU, no doubt great community made by very helpful members. Sadly but (always those excuses), way too much occupied by my job past more than few years, almost gave up gaming on PC because of lack of free time and never had enough time to register on TPU and give my contribution to this community. I say almost gave up on PC gaming but that's not completely true: made myself, OK, with a "bit" of a help of my lady
, 3 kids, boy + girl + boy, for years now all of them true PC gamers, since they were tall enough to climb up on chair and sit next to me while I was actively gaming on PC years ago, just to watch me while gaming and not many years had passed before we were playing all together. Now I'm the one responsible for maintenance and upgrade of their gaming PCs. All three of them now with way better skills, reflexes and gaming PCs than their (their words, must admit not far away from truth) "rusty gamer dad" has atm. But nevermid that, it never gets boring for me once in a while to sit down next to them while they're competing with other PC gamers online... and just enjoy their skills, honestly can't remember I was ever that fast and these words are coming from a mouth of former Quake 3 Arena player, but as someone said: blood is not water...
Few years close to 50, gamer since I was a poor kid in local arcades back in early 80s, here and there older kids there would gave me to to play few minutes on some of popular arcades and it was a blast for me. Few years later, mid 80s, parents bought my younger brother and me the best present in the world backthen one kid could imagine to have: Commodore 64, can't thank them enouh for that, that "grey fatty" changed our lifes forever. First PC was bough to us by our uncle from L.A. back in 1995, can't thank him enough for that too... and since then the rest what happened tied me forever for PC. Older son this year went to IT college, younger son also has its plan for secondary IT school next year, guess they'll follow my path, can't complain...
Sorry for this wall of text as my first post here but I feel overwhelmed, just had to write all this. No way I'll just write: thank you! ...and just walk away. From now on, at least for a weekend when I have a bit of a free time, I'll try to contribute community on TPU as much as I can with those few decades of PC experience on my back.
This graphics card would be put to a good use, I can assure you that, and I don't want to hear that word that starts with min... that word is forbidden in our home, we're a gamers... Grandkids can't come soon enough for me, once they come it'll be: VR here we come!
Huge thanks to TechPowerUp, Asetek and Asus for this monster card, also many thanks to Shawn Sanders from Asetek who was the first one to inform me by e-mail and send congratz about this amazing prize.
Thank you TPU and see you guys on forum, cheers!
Igor