PCs participating in LAN tournaments
PCs participating in LAN tournaments
The issue lies in the lack of detailed specifications. Most monitors are from brands like BenQ, Eizo, Asus ROG, or Samsung, depending on sponsorship. IEM also lists sponsors such as Intel, Gigabyte, and HyperX. Recently, a machine was built for a local LAN tournament by the same company that supplies machines for Assembly LAN events, including Asus ROG tournaments in Finland: Intel i5-6600K 3.5GHz, Asus Z170-PRO GAMING, Asus nVidia GTX960 OC Turbo 2Gt GDDR5, Kingston HyperX Fury 2x4Gt DDR4 2133MHz, Kingston HyperX Savage 240Gt SSD, Thermalright TS 90M, Asus DVD+- RW, Cooler Master Silencio kotelo + 600W PSU, and Windows 8.1. If you wonder why it doesn’t have a better GPU, it’s because professional gamers seldom play at full resolution or high graphics settings. Reducing shadow quality can provide a slight edge in fast-paced games.
Really, I'm in agreement about the settings for res and video. In competitive games, the more efficient you are and the faster you play, the better your chances against others. Even with 960 frames per second, you can still face tough situations. My PC is a 4670k with 4.5GHz and a GTX760. When I play CS:GO from a passive position and wait for enemies to drop flashes and smoke, my FPS drops to around 160. That’s not too bad. I’d say it’s fine. I wouldn’t recommend going lower than the monitor’s refresh rate, or you’ll experience noticeable lag and shaking. Even at 160, it’s still higher than the refresh rate, so the issue remains. I think sticking with a 970 would be better—it works smoothly without problems.
Back then, some experienced CS1.6 developers noticed LAN PCs performed better than their home setups. High frame rates seemed odd and confusing.