Revision 6: Series and Divisions, OC Competitions.

Attentive forum viewers may have seen the revision 6 sub-forum around for a while, but never a thread. That changes today. As tradition dictates, every year at the end of the year we plan a new revision. This is not any different in 2013. We planned, and have already begun development of the sixth revision of HWBOT for a couple of months now. Starting from the original ideas, to discussing with key partners and community members, to precisely writing down the things we want to do, to composing this thread. We are still a couple of months away from production-ready code, but the development has advanced far enough to initiate the public discussion.

The Plan - Intro.

First - everything you see and know today at HWBOT remains as it is. There are no changes to the points, no changes to the leagues, and apart from a couple of minor visual enhancements no changes to the interface. The Overclockers League, Enthusiast League, Teams League, Hardware Masters, and others will continue to exist in its current form and place on the site.

In 2014, next year, we will release a new overclocking competition format at HWBOT. In broad terms, you could say we apply the same ideas of the Pro OC change to the Overclockers League. However, of course, there are a couple of differences. Based on the data we gather on competition activity as well as the tripled traffic ratings of the Pro OC pages, we will take the foundations of the Overclockers League and apply them to a Round-based competition structure suited for all amateur overclockers.

Those who browsed for coverage of the ASRock overclocking event in Guangzhou, China will have probably seen this picture pop up. In a presentation for a couple of extreme overclockers from China, we announced the plans for next year already.

So what is the deal?

The Plan - Real deal.

Next year introduce a season based competition series called "Challenger Series.” The series consist of seven divisions. Each division has its own hardware requirements. Each season lasts for exactly three rounds of 3 months, and each round consists of five stages. Overclockers compete on their own, not in teams as in Pro OC. Of course, we will keep track of how well team's members are doing across the various divisions.

As said, the divisions differentiate by hardware requirements. As you can see in the above picture, the hardware for each division is very different. Division 1 obviously requires the most high-end hardware components to compete for the #1 spot. The lower you go in division, the lower the cost of the hardware. We have two leagues specifically for the AMD users, and even one dedicated to legacy hardware. The hardware requirements are fixed per round, meaning at the beginning of each round you will know exactly what hardware is eligible for competition. With new hardware releases, the requirements may change in between rounds. However, the competition in the rounds is unaffected by new hardware.

A season consists of three rounds of each five stages. That equals to fifteen stages. Each round will feature different benchmarks, so the competition emphasis might changes from 2D to 3D and back in between rounds. At the end of a season, the winner is the overclocker who has gathered the most points across the fifteen stages. He will be crowned division champion, and will be marked as such in his user profile.

It is possible to change divisions every round. However, it is not possible to join or leave a division if a round is on going. Similar to the Pro OC, you need to register up front to compete in a specific division. If you switch divisions during a season, you are ranked in the last division you were active in at the end of the season. In other words, it is not possible to be ranked in two divisions at the same time.

The Plan - Outro.

We are currently in the process of developing this new competition structure. We start this thread to inform the community of the plans, and initiate a first public discussion about the concept and maybe the division requirements. As development progresses, we will keep you updated on the whys and how’s of the new competition series. We will explain the exact motives of this new competition format, which include our mission to make overclocking affordable and for everyone. Not everything is set in stone; feedback regarding the timeframe, length, hardware requirements, benchmarks, and more is of course very welcome.

To end with, two slides of the presentation we did last month.

buckle up! Im all for something new

I like the new stuff aswell! Looking forward to the Divisions

good luck with the rev 6!

That's awesome idea

Since everything as far as leagues stays the same and those who don't want to participate will still have a ranking system, I welcome the addition of this new competition format.

I think that 3 month rounds is a bit too long, but I suppose it gives plenty of time to run 5 benches.

I think that 3 month rounds is a bit too long, but I suppose it gives plenty of time to run 5 benches.

In the blueprint we also have this,

• Week 1-6: registration, preparation, and qualification (top-50)
  
• Week 7-8: benchmark 1+2
  
• Week 9-10: benchmark 3
  
• Week 11: benchmark 4, top10 continues
  
• Week 12: benchmark 5, final round
  

So the first cut is after a month and a half. After two months, benchmark 1 and 2 are closed. After two and a half months benchmark 3 is closed, after eleven weeks benchmark 4 is closed and only the top-10 continues for the final week with benchmark 5.

So it would not be 3 months for everyone.

Interesting concept, I'll be waiting to see how things end up.

Didn't understand the main idea )) I couldn't understand it for Pro OC League, so I can't understand it now.

First, what does the competition give for community(OC League, enthusiast), what does it give to me personally? Try to explain:

I do test when it possible, with hardware that I could find(buy, take for rent etc), Benchmarking it's not my work, so if I have a time and good hardware I do test them, if not - I don't test, pretty simply. I test what I want: 2D or 3D doesn't really matter.

If you will provide new rules I have to do test that you write down in rules, right? So it will restrict my freedom in my hwbot activity IMHO.

Sorry for my bad English, it's hard to explain my point of view.

didn't understand the main idea )) i couldn't understand it for pro oc league, so i can't understand it now.

First, what does the competition give for community(oc league, enthusiast), what does it give to me personally? Try to explain:

I do test when it possible, with hardware that i could find(buy, take for rent etc), benchmarking it's not my work, so if i have a time and good hardware i do test them, if not - i don't test, pretty simply. I test what i want: 2d or 3d doesn't really matter.

If you will provide new rules i have to do test that you write down in rules, right? So it will restrict my freedom in my hwbot activity imho.

Sorry for my bad english, it's hard to explain my point of view.

+100500

This sounds interesting, I didn't like how Pro OC was introduced with people being forced into it or a limbo of sorts but I do like how this is being brought out. I'm all for trying something new now, but I know some people do like the freestyle format a lot more.

The changes for Pro OC have similar motives as the rev6 competition format, but also additional ones. Just to name one, I think it's quite clear that the XOC League is much more balanced and challenging from an overclocker's perspective because of the inclusion of the hardware points. XOC is indeed much more "freestyle" because it requires/allows for a wider range of hardware.

@Maj0r, the main idea is to offer people who do not have the financial capability or desire to buy, 'clock, and wreck Core i7's and GTX 780s. If you look at the XOC and even Enthusiast League today, all the top spots are taken by people with Core i7 + latest high-end graphics card. If your budget allows for Core i5 and GTX 770/HD 7950, it's going to be very difficult to be competitive. The same goes for people who prefer to use AMD hardware - no way to be competitive.

The format is similar to Pro OC, but the motives are quite different. Apart from the structure, it is best not to compare them to each other.

I believe for people such as yourself, who are already very competitive at the upper regions of the XOC League, this new format does not have a lot of added value. Most of top-30 would opt for division 1 anyway, and leave the other divisions for what they are. Thanks for the feedback, though. I am working on a longer article on rev6 to explain the motives for this in more detail. I will address your questions in this too!

Thanks Massman, but I don't think that if you add six new categories it'll give a chance to save our money. Will see how it be.

Nobody has to compete in these divisions. It's just an additional feature for those who want to do more than just the league

How do we explain this to non-overclockers/ non-benchmarkers?

There is:

Pro League

Xtreme League

Enthusiast League

Country Cup

On-site Vendor competitions

SEVEN DIVISIONS of Challenger Cup

"I won Stage 3 of Challenger Cup Division 4 and I am doing quite well in the Extreme League" (example statement)

It sounds to me like there is too much going on. As long as Challenger Cup points DO NOT contribute to Enthusiast League or Extreme League ranking, it might be ok. Country cup + vendor competition + Challenger cup + normal league benching does NOT make this hobby more accessible to people, no matter what the hardware requirements are.

How do we explain this to non-overclockers/ non-benchmarkers?

 

There is:

 

Pro League

Xtreme League

Enthusiast League

 

Country Cup

On-site Vendor competitions

 

SEVEN DIVISIONS of Challenger Cup

 

"I won Stage 3 of Challenger Cup Division 4 and I am doing quite well in the Extreme League" (example statement)

 

It sounds to me like there is too much going on. As long as Challenger Cup points DO NOT contribute to Enthusiast League or Extreme League ranking, it might be ok. Country cup + vendor competition + Challenger cup + normal league benching does NOT make this hobby more accessible to people, no matter what the hardware requirements are.

I think that pretty much sums it up. Competitions are fun but they take alot of time and with a life outside overclocking sometimes you have no time and/or money for computers. As long as it doesn't affect the rankings it's ok but if you lose places just beacause you can't compete for months at a time it takes the fun out of it.

How do we explain this to non-overclockers/ non-benchmarkers?

 

There is:

 

Pro League

Xtreme League

Enthusiast League

 

Country Cup

On-site Vendor competitions

 

SEVEN DIVISIONS of Challenger Cup

 

"I won Stage 3 of Challenger Cup Division 4 and I am doing quite well in the Extreme League" (example statement)

 

It sounds to me like there is too much going on. As long as Challenger Cup points DO NOT contribute to Enthusiast League or Extreme League ranking, it might be ok. Country cup + vendor competition + Challenger cup + normal league benching does NOT make this hobby more accessible to people, no matter what the hardware requirements are.

We are building a dedicated "competitive overclocking" sub-site, which will be very different from the current site visually. On that sub-site, you will only see the overclocking competitions, not the XOC, EL, or other leagues. So, anyone who refers to the competitions will refer to something that is not linked directly to the leagues.

It's a bit hard to explain without examples, but we don't have the examples yet .

Challenger points will not contribute to the XOC/EL. At least not in a different way than regular competitions do now (maybe not at all). We will mention the division in the user profile. So an example sentence could be: "I am active in Division II (top-5) and #149 in XOC".

We are building a dedicated "competitive overclocking" sub-site, which will be very different from the current site visually. On that sub-site, you will only see the overclocking competitions, not the XOC, EL, or other leagues. So, anyone who refers to the competitions will refer to something that is not linked directly to the leagues.

 

It's a bit hard to explain without examples, but we don't have the examples yet .

 

Challenger points will not contribute to the XOC/EL. At least not in a different way than regular competitions do now (maybe not at all). We will mention the division in the user profile. So an example sentence could be: "I am active in Division II (top-5) and #149 in XOC".

Splitting off the "fun" from the "competitive" sounds alright

One can choose division as one wants, right? As long as you're in the XOL to begin with.

Everyone can choose any division, XOC or EL.

I like the idea of this, a lot of good features. Its very good that you don't have to leave a league to join the Series like you do in Pro-OC. Its also nice to get those guys who aren't in Top-100 involved and this looks like a good way to do it. Its also very good to see a little personal/individual recognition instead of the over emphasis (my opinion) of team based play at HWBOT. Excited to see how this all comes together.

This phrase:

"the winner is the overclocker who has gathered the most points across the fifteen stages"

Why don't let the overclockers win one stage and be the winner?

Will be easier and more attractive.

And mayb e you can do the same to the Pro League...

Since I don't want to bench AMD or Mainstream.... and others want... why don't let people compete to separate stages and be the winner?... also is easier and more atractive... further.... more freedon to overclockers choose what they want.

Just my 2 cents.

That sounds like a good idea. We can make achievements for stage (15), round (3), and championship (1) wins.