Gamers take note: The Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition banishes complacency and injects a heady shot of pure rocket fuel into the cylinders of high-end gaming machines. At the wheel, keenly aware of the thrumming of the high-performance processing engine under his control, Alex Garfield, executive director of Team Evil Geniuses (Team EG 1), was ready to take the highly anticipated gaming machine through its paces.
The moment was electric as Alex sat down in front of the Bloomfield system at a recent tournament in Montreal, Canada. "I am one of the lucky few, I am told, who has had a chance to play games on a Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition based desktop," Alex said.
"When I got my hands on the new Intel Core i7 system," he continued, "the first game I tried was Crytek's Crysis*. Crysis is a game that's notorious for murdering systems—it'll make your box explode if you try to tweak everything up. With Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition, I cranked up the resolution, all of the textures, everything as high as possible. With any other system, you wouldn't even be able to start the game. But, Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition actually ran Crysis—and ran it with a reasonable fps (frames per second) rate and with good game play. Unbelievable!"
Intel Redefines Extreme Gaming Performance
Widely heralded as the reigning champion in the ruthless processor performance arena, the Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition escalates parallelism to dizzying levels—with four cores and four additional threads available (through Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology). The result? A brute of a system, delivering an incredible breakthrough in gaming, and a milestone advance in multi-threading technology that can accelerate performance to match workload demands.
This lofty plateau on the upper levels of gaming performance is a place that Alex is very familiar with—both from his leadership role in Team EG and his long-standing passion for extreme gaming. To stay competitive in multiplayer venues, pro gamers have become accustomed to dialing back graphics and textures to keep the fps rates as high as possible (around 100 fps is the desired target). The game then runs fast, but looks terrible. "The best part of Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition," Alex observed, "is that you don't have to choose anymore. You are able to maintain appearance and performance at the same time."
Highly threaded games benefit substantially from Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition architecture. Demanding tasks—including artificial intelligence, physics, and rendering—can be distributed across eight threads. Silky smooth gameplay, greater responsiveness, and enhanced graphic realism result from performing processor-intensive operations concurrently.
If I were going to give advice to a gamer today, I would just say: ‘Don't compromise. Go for a processor like the Intel ®Core™ i7 Extreme Edition.' This Intel Core i7 is easily the best desktop processor I've ever used.
—Alex Garfield, Executive Director, Team EG
To the Future and Beyond
"We're now in an era of computer gaming where the processor is the most important part of the computer," Alex said, "whereas, five or ten years ago people were obsessing over their video cards. Now, the way things are made, the processor is the key to the overall experience."
To serve as a catalyst for innovation and to keep the performance wheels turning in the gaming sector, the Intel® Visual Adrenaline program equips developers, students, researchers, and industry influencers with resources to understand, master, and apply the latest visual computing advances from Intel.
Alex firmly believes that Intel® technology will continue its leading role in the pro-gaming experience. "Intel is spearheading the evolution of this technology and allowing game developers to push the envelope, while also providing the user with a fun game play experience," he said.
"The performance is just unbelievable."
Well said, Alex.
Game developers must always be ready to strike a balance between their ambitions for creating the perfect game—with scorching performance and stunning graphic realism—and the stark realities of the available platform technologies. The ultimate gamer—in the mold of Alex Garfield—is the person who keeps competitiveness in the forefront when configuring a system. As Alex discovered in his first foray into extreme gaming Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition style, he can maintain the competitive edge without seriously sacrificing game realism. The opportunity to sample the finest of Intel's gaming wares while playing a role in the successes of Team Evil Geniuses (Team EG) has been a twin blessing.
As executive director of Team EG, Alex Garfield has a unique behind-the-scenes understanding of the stresses competitive gamers face. Alex began managing Team EG in his sophomore year of college and has grown the team into a professional gaming brand, expanding the roster from six members to 50 in just two years. "Starting in 2006, I got some really great help from the folks at Intel," Alex said. "This is just about as wonderful a job as I could ask for. I really enjoy working with the players, as well as working closely with Intel."
Alex has been playing games since his early teens. "I started with unorganized, random game play and then got into online leagues and organized gaming. I'm a Counter-Strike* kid," he said. In high school, Alex focused on music over sports. He practiced violin at least three hours a day, achieving a high level of mastery. "There was no element of competition or team interaction in the music, and gaming filled that void," he said. Alex obviously thrives on the added competition.
Today, Team EG is one of the longest-standing eSports teams in North America. Established some nine years ago, its players travel worldwide to participate in the highest levels of competitive gaming leagues and tournaments. Based on press rankings and cumulative tournament placements for 2007–2008, Team EG is the top professional gaming organization in North America. Six of their eight divisions placed first in North America, one placed first in Canada, and one placed second in North America.
Alex has pointed advice for potential pro gamers: "First of all, it's a tremendous amount of hard work. The pros pour hours and hours into play, and most play for years before they have a chance to be pro," he said.
And second? "Keep your life balanced," Alex said. "Most pro gamers don't fit the mainstream stereotypes of obesity or social awkwardness. They work hard on nutrition, active social lives, and keeping in shape."
Alex knows all about balance. A recent graduate of Pomona College in southern California, his musical pursuits and his work with Team EG are just some of the activities he juggles. Add to that his future aspiration for business or law school, as well as his desire to professionally compose music and record an album, and it's easy to understand why Alex values a balanced lifestyle. "The mind/body connection is important," he said.
With all that Alex has before him—a newly earned degree, a strong interest and talent in music, and a job that serves his passion for gaming—his future looks bright. "I'll stick with pro gaming for at least a few more years," said Alex. "Pro gaming—either through tournaments or just the casual pick-up game—is part of my life. My current efforts with Team EG and Intel aren't going away anytime soon. Pro gaming is part of my life and always will be," he said.
