LAPTOP Out for Glory, Sleep at the “Build Your Own PC” Contest in Vegas

Gadget greedy readers might envy the media workforce for their access to the modern tech phantasmagoria that is the Consumer Electronics Show, but for the journalists  who endure back-to-back 20+ hour days spent interviewing product managers, hunting down manufacturers’ booths and sneaking pictures of embargoed products, CES is an effort of Herculean proportions.

That’s why attendees who have the stamina and the strength of character to keep competing after all the notebooks and cameras are packed away, who can find the digital warrior within, well, those guys deserve something more.

That’s why tonight at 6:30 PM PST, on the soft carpet-y “turf” of the Wynn Las Vegas Resort, TigerDirect and COMPUSA will be hosting the 12th Annual Build Your Own PC Race for the weary-but-fired-up magazine writers, editors, columnists and analysts looking to win a little industry cred and have a $10,000 prize donated to the charity of their choice.

This year’s competition marks LAPTOP Magazine’s entrance into the fray.  Online editor, and one-man PC assembly line, Avram Piltch will be competing for Computers for Youth, a non-profit with the charge of providing home computers to children and families who need them.

What does Avram “The Machinator” Piltch have to say for himself less than an hour before the race begins? “I got two hours of sleep last night. I’m too tired to be worried about losing. ”

Ah, such is the challenge of CES and the Build Your Own PC Race. Good luck, Avram! We’ll be watching from the bar!*

You can watch too, readers.  Check out the live stream below. Remember, the start gun sounds at 6:30 PST.

UPDATE: Though the fight (and the pregame) was long,  Avram “The Machinator” Piltch had too little juice to bring home the W.

Al Hernandez, tech and consumer reporter for Fox Morning News won the first place prize by building his PC just beneath the six minute mark, a strong finish considering that last years winner won the competition in 10 minutes. Hernanzdez’s charity, Challenged Athletes Foundation, gets the $10,000 prize.

Coming in a close (3 seconds) second place was Chris Ramseyer of TweakTown.com for whom practice proved to be the secret to near success. “I build three of these a day,” he said when asked about his strategy.

As for LAPTOP Mag, the official placement isn’t in yet, but word on the street is we came in 21st place. We’ll get ‘em next year.

*Bar = our cubicles.