Introduction
Since we first started going along to Insomnia it has really exploded into an enormous event, drawing the creme-de-la-creme of gamers along to test their mettle against each other.
As always we are at the current one, the i45 Spring Event, and we're going to give you a taste of the things you're missing by not being there yourself. The main event room has a large countdown for the beginning of the event. The anticipation grew with every passing second, and when the timer hit zero the electricity was palpable.
Once the introductions are out of the way and gaming commences, the big teams entertain the crowd with individual monitors showing each player, and the large screens showing the best of the current action.
The Gaming Hall
The majority of players are in the gaming hall, and it's everything you would expect it to be. If there is one thing that really emphasises how enormous Insomnia has become, it's the bottom right picture of this quartet. People and monitors as far as the eye can see. This is no "ten people in a shed" event.
If you're in the electricity business, or someone who sells CAT6 cabling, then this is manna from heaven. Even the quiet areas of the show are heaving with gamers and tech-heads.
Of course gamers run on two things, caffeine and carbohydrates. Kick Energy were there to give all the liquid energy that heavy gaming sessions require, and the local pizza parlour ensured nobody went hungry. It's a bit of a stereotypical photo, but there isn't time to prepare poached salmon so we make the best of things.
CCL
Of course where there are gamers, there are companies touting their wares. CCL have been at every event and always provide us with entertaining chat and some great systems. As well as a bevy of systems they have combined with Gigabyte to bring an Eyefinity system along running Codemasters F1 game and it proved extremely popular.
The queue for a go on the Eyefinity F1 rig was always lengthy. Although the guy who chose to race Monaco in the rain was certainly not afraid of a challenge.
QuietPC
The other big company who have always worked close with us to help make our show visits a possibility are QuietPC. As well as an array of the very finest products to keep the noise from your system under control, they also had a variety of games for people who were desperate for something that didn't involve a first-person shooter. The irony of QuietPC having a drum kit was too good to not share.
CoolMiester XSPC Dual-CPU Red System
There are always some gorgeous systems around to feast your eyes upon and take inspiration from, and i45 is no exception. We'll highlight a couple of our favourites from the TCL stand, stuffed full of XSPC parts.
This is an absolute behemoth, based around the EVGA SR2 and including both a 360 and a 480 radiator. A picture tells a thousand words so the saying goes, so we'll let you just stop and drool. We're particular fans of the LED highlights around the CPU blocks.
CoolMiester TCM Twin-Loop
If you're not a fan of the all red look on the previous page, then take a gander at this beauty. Twin loops always make our adrenaline coarse a little harder than usual, and the blue and white here really sets our heart aflutter. A Skulltrail motherboard and a GTX580 are stuffed in to the stunning Cosmos 2.
If you think it looks good in pictures, it's even more beautiful in the flesh. The front-bay reservoir is a particular highlight.
To borrow a phrase from a well known newspaper, Phew what a scorcher! Very attractive indeed, and I think we'd all like something like this on our desk at home.
CoolMiester X79 Cosmos
The final of the three systems built by our good friend CoolMiester will look very familiar to anyone who follows the modding scene. In fact it's probably one of the most famous systems around and with good reason. Cosmos S, X79, i7-3930X and a GTX590, what's not to like.
If you want to see more about these three setups, then pop into our forums and have a towel handy.
Wherever you look there are people punishing silicon. The guy on the "two chair" arrangement made us chuckle. 'I laugh at RSI and tweak the nose of ergonomics'.
Demonstrating that we never stop working hard to bring you the hottest content at lightning speed, even the videos are rendered as we go. Yes we work harder than a one-lipped girl in a kissing booth here at OC3D.
Cooler Master
Between the CM Storm Trooper, Cosmos 2 and Xornet mouse, Cooler Master were definitely on our shortlist for company of the year last year. They can almost do no wrong right now.
Other Stuff
If you fancy some natty threads to go along with the experience there are plenty of vendors around to supply you. Or maybe the combination of extreme systems and booth girls has led to you dribbling too much down your front. Either way you're only a short walk from something clean and cool.
Alternative Gaming
Tired of running around as a squad? Slide over to the retro area and you can play on a selection of timeless pinball machines. We don't mind admitting we're big fans here at OC3D and it was tough to keep us away.
There are plenty of other things to be getting along with, from the most bizarre version of Tetris we've seen, via Afterburner Climax, to Konami GTI Club.
Anyone who had a Dreamcast will remember how enjoyable F355 Challenge was, and the arcade version is even better.
Finally if you're in the mood to find out how flexible you are, or in our case aren't, CCL brought along a BATAK Frame. MUCH harder than you think it's going to be.
If you want to discuss the event or see if TTL has finally recovered from LAN Fever then head over to the OC3D forums.