HELSINKI, FINLAND - DECEMBER 16, 2011 - Futuremark® today announced the Operation Overclock competition sponsored by MSI. This worldwide competition challenges contestants to submit the highest 3DMark 11 Physics Test score by overclocking their CPU. The contest starts December 19, runs until January 16, and is open to overclockers with MSI brand motherboards and Intel Sandy Bridge and Sandy Bridge-E CPUs. Prizes include MSI motherboards and graphics cards, Kingston memory, Enermax power supplies and COUGAR cases and fans. Full prize details and rules can be found online: http://www.3dmark.com/competitions/MSI-OpOc/

During each week of the contest the three best scores will win these great prizes:

1st place prize:

MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) Motherboard

MSI N560GTX Twin Frozr II/OC Graphics Card

2nd place prize:

Kingston Genesis quad-channel memory kit

Enermax Platimax 1000W Power Supply

3rd place prize:

COUGAR Evolution Case

COUGAR Vortex HDB Fans

Zona Lin, the Manager of MSI Component Marketing Department at MSI, says,

"Intel's new X79 chipset and Sandy Bridge-E series CPU's take consumer level performance to a new level. The flagship Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor is the fastest CPU available today. MSI are proud to highlight these recent advances in CPU technology by sponsoring this first-of-its-kind overclocking competition."

Ann Bai, DRAM Memory Sales Director, APAC Region at Kingston, says,

"We are pleasant to sponsor the Operation Overclock Competition with our latest HyperX products. Kingston HyperX Genesis quad-channel kits are specifically made to maximize performance in Intel's new Core i7-3960X or 3930K processors and also can scale new overclocking heights for extreme gamers, benchmarkers, content creators and enthusiasts."

3DMark is known for bringing graphics cards to their knees, but 3DMark 11 measures more than the performance of your GPU. The dedicated Physics Test uses intensive rigid-body physics simulation to measure your computer's processing power too. The Physics Test score is linked to the speed and number of cores in your processor. PCs with fast, multi-core processors score well while overclocking your CPU can boost your score even higher.

FUTUREMARK OPERATION OVERCLOCK CONTEST - DEC 19 - JAN 16

http://www.3dmark.com/competitions/MSI-OpOc/

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PRIZE INFORMATION FOR EDITORS

MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) Motherboard:

http://event.msi.com/mb/x79/thermaltake

MSI N560GTX Twin Frozr II/OC Graphics Card:

http://www.msi.com/product/vga/N560GTX-Twin-Frozr-II-OC.html

Kingston Genesis quad-channel memory kit:

http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/blu.asp

Enermax Platimax 1000W Power Supply:

http://www.enermax.com/home.php?fn=eng/product_a1_1_1&lv0=1&lv1=52&no=184

COUGAR Evolution Case

http://www.cougar-world.de/en/products/case/evolution.html

COUGAR Vortex HDB fans

http://www.cougar-world.de/en/products/479/vortex-hdb.html

Check out COUGAR on FaceBook for additional freebies: https://www.facebook.com/cougarworld

ABOUT 3DMARK®

3DMark® is the world's most popular benchmark and PC test. 3DMark uses specifically designed tests featuring high-end real-time graphics to accurately and consistently measure PC gaming performance. Futuremark currently offers 3DMark06 for Windows XP, 3DMark Vantage for Windows Vista, and 3DMark 11 for Windows 7. New versions of 3DMark for Windows 8 and for Android are currently in development and are expected to be released in 2012. Find out more and download 3DMark 11 Basic Edition for free from http://www.3dmark.com

ABOUT FUTUREMARK®

Futuremark® Corporation creates the world's most popular benchmarks and PC performance tests. Futuremark's free 3DMark®, PCMark® and Peacekeeper™ tests have helped millions of people measure and improve their PCs' performance for games, media, applications and the web. Futuremark Games Studio creates original games with new and entertaining gameplay. The studio is currently developing Unstoppable Gorg for PC, Xbox LIVE® Arcade and iPad®. Futuremark has offices in Saratoga, California and Helsinki, Finland. http://www.futuremark.com