ASUS Republic of Gamers Convention: Part 1

[PAGETITLE=Introduction] There are two major events going on right now, and this one doesn't take place in Beijing. If you're a gamer in the Dallas, Texas area, one event to take note of is the Republic of Gamers Convention, held by ASUS. If you have been paying attention, then this weekend was also a lucky one for you, as Kyle from Hard|OCP bought up every seat in the house, making it free for everyone. Whoever bought their ticket will be reimbursed. Making the deal even sweeter, there are stations from each of the different sponsors, including Kingston, ATI, BenQ and of course, Intel. Located in the Marsalis Ballrooms of the Hyatt Regency, attendees are first greeted by the registration table, manned by a few helpful staffers and one worn out security guard. This is where the guests will sign in, pick up their name badges, score a bit of swag and enter in to setup their machines. This is primarily a BYOC event, but there are machines setup everywhere, allowing those interested to try out the latest gear from ASUS. RoG Con is a literally tour de force of ASUS hardware. Armed with hardware we know quite well at Techgage and a few products we haven't seen before, the LAN is a great way to get everything ASUS out, and in front of gamers on a large scale. Showing off their new G50 widescreen notebook, these mobile PCs are, according to ASUS, the world's first true widescreen notebook. We'll be sure to get one in our labs and take it for a spin soon. It seems ASUS' bread and butter lineup, their motherboards, have also made the trip to Dallas. On display are the latest RoG boards, as well as their other enthusiast (non RoG) motherboards. Of particular interest is their Rampage Extreme motherboard (far left). Using the X48 chipset, the board has a waterblock on-board to help keep the chipset cool. In talking to our friends at the company, we found out that the top of this block can be removed if the chipset isn't intended to be included in your water loop. Also making an appearance is ASUS' Xonar audio card lineup. Having reviews of almost every current model, we can certainly attest to the overall quality of this lineup, and the proof is in the fact that a handful of TG staff own personal copies of the Xonar D2 and D2X. Taking a quick walk around the event we see a pair of projection screen, currently looping media pics of the latest ASUS gear and various gaming stations that also include the racing sim that we have come to love from Intel. Hoping into one of the four available "cars", we can give an rFactor track a go and see how our times compare to those others have recorded. Also setup is a 360 station with Soul Caliber IV up and running. Continuing around the venue brings us to the ATI booth. Here, the guys are showing off some of their latest hardware and even have a Wii station. With the Wii being one of the few bright spots for AMD in the past year or so, a welcoming bean bag provides the perfect seat to take in some Wii goodness. Making our way to the BenQ booth, we pass quite a few displays, showing off even more ASUS gear, including their stellar Radeon EAH4850 and also their P5E-VM housed in a personal small box favorite of mine, the Falcon Northwest FragBox. Once at the BenQ station, we are impressed by their DLP projectors setup with both a Wii and a 360. All around the LAN, we can see their new 24-inch monitors set up on the presentation stations. At the end of each table are signs reminding us of their $499 MSRP and also the deal presented to anyone attending the event, $299, a real steal. For those needing a new monitor and happen to be attending RoG Con, this is a fantastic deal on what BenQ claims is the thinnest 24-inch on the planet. [PAGEBREAK][PAGETITLE=Eee Stick, Modded Rigs] Over the past few weeks, there has been lots of rumors and news of a PC equivalent to the popular Wiimote. Well luckily ASUS had these things on display, and unlike the showing at Computex, we could actually use them. In my hand, the Eee Stick (original isn't it?) feels much like my Wiimote but subtle differences are evident. The Eee stick feels a bit thicker than its Nintendo counterpart, but the overall experience is quite similar. Fortunately for everyone involved, ASUS has been able to take the experience of the Wiimote and paste it into the Eee stick. This included the need to check ones dignity at the door as demonstrated in the following picture. Another product shown off at RoG Con is the Eee Box nettop PC. Just launched a few days ago, the small (and I mean SMALL) Intel Atom-powered box is smaller than even the Wii and just as stylish. In talking with ASUS, the power-draw of these machines are as small as the box itself, usually using less power than the monitor attached... phenomenal. PC Mods. One of the best surprises so far has been that our forum favorite Tech-Daddy has shown up for the LAN as well. As great as it was to finally meet the modder extraordinaire, it was almost just as great to see his latest project "Deuce" up close and personal. Though still a work in progress, Deuce is almost complete and far along enough in development that he could bring it out to show it off. Craig, T-D's real name, is a mountain of a man, standing well above my 6'3" frame, and his modding skills have landed him on the cover of multiple magazines across the globe. Here we see him playing Supreme Commander. Another mod seen around the LAN is the now-famous 'Grill PC'. First seen by me at QuakeCON via Gizmodo, I was excited to see the mod here at RoG Con. Snapping a few pics and briefly speaking with the creator, it's a mod that only seems to make sense considering the functionality of the grill lid is exactly like that of a notebook. Next to the Grill PC was a PC in a cooler. Not as cool (pun intended) as the Grill PC, the cooler mod did offer a contrasting feel when placed next to its HOT counterpart. That's it from me for now, but I look forward to the remaining portion of the conference and all that it could potentially bring. Check back soon as I'll have the follow-up posted soon. I'm off to 'enjoy' this tragically hot weather that Dallas has given me... Discuss in our forums! If you have a comment you wish to make on this article, feel free to head on into our forums! There is no need to register in order to reply to such threads.

ASUS Republic of Gamers Convention: Part 1

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