LAPTOP Out for Glory, Sleep at the “Build Your Own PC” Contest in Vegas
January 8th, 2009 by Kenneth Butler
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.
Our Related Content
- Overview: The Phones of CES
- Best Netbooks of CES: What Does 2009 Hold for Mini-Notebooks?
- CES Phones: Worth the Wait?
From Other Sites
- GBM InkShow: Thomasin is Addicted to the HP Mini 1000 (GottaBeMobile)
- Warner and Ian Dixon Talk Netbooks on The Media Center Show (GottaBeMobile)
- HP Mini 1000 6-cell Now Available - for $154! (GottaBeMobile)
Related Deals
- MSI A6005-201US Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz 16in Laptop (4GB/320GB/ATI 4330/Win 7) $599.99 at TigerDirect
- Rosewill minifit XL Aluminum Netbook Cooling Pad (Fits up to 15in) $14.99 Free Shipping at Newegg
- Lenovo ThinkPad T500 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz 15.4in Laptop (Win 7) $662.15 Free Shipping at lenovo
- Dell Latitude E5400 Business Laptop 14.1in Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 2GB/250GB + Dock $609 at Dell Small Business
| Powered by: |
3 Responses to “LAPTOP Out for Glory, Sleep at the “Build Your Own PC” Contest in Vegas”
Leave a Reply
Featured Sponsors |
|||
|
|
|
|
|

Dell Laptops Starting at $449
January 9th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
So – How’d he do?
January 9th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Official tally isn’t in yet, but we’re pretty sure we clinched 21st place.
January 10th, 2009 at 3:29 am
Ok, it’s Avram. I came in 21st out of 30, “building” the system in a little over 16 minutes. However, let me say this: the computer chassis we used wasn’t the best. We had to use this weird kind of rail instead of screws to fasten the hard drive to the case. Well, it has a plastic dial that locked into place, but the dial kept popping out on my rail, which was clearly defective. So I must have spent several of the 16 minutes on that alone. Every contestant I talked to, even the winner, complained about the case and the rails.
That said, I was really glad just to participate in the race and represent my wonderful colleagues at LAPTOP. I didn’t really care about winning; I just wanted to get a chance to hang out with the other contestants, many of whom I’ve known through their work for a long time. I was, however, very disappointed that last year’s champion, Will Smith of Maximum PC, didn’t make it to this year’s race in time. He is an idol of mine and I was looking forward to meeting and competing against him. Oh well, maybe next year!
And, for what it is worth, 8 out of the 30 contestants didn’t finish.