Another Year, Another Massive LAN Event!
Every year in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, a fun little event happens. It attracts men (and some women) young and old to a city that will only see summer for another couple months. But these people aren’t concerned about the weather, because they’ll be spending most of their time inside. The reason for that is that this fun little event also happens to be the largest LAN party in Canada. With almost 1,000 participants and a history spanning back more then a decade, Fragapalooza has become a staple of the Edmonton gaming scene and has made quite a name for itself across Canada and some parts of the US.
Taking place this year at the Northlands Sportex from August 7 to 10, this huge LAN will be host to over 65,000 square feet of BYOC goodness. There will also be competitive tournaments, fun contests, and the self-imposed challenge of staying up as much as possible during the entire four days so you don’t miss a single thing.
I know I’m rather excited to be attending as this is my 6th year, and it never gets boring. I did write a huge article outlining the day to day goings-on for The Tech Zone in 2006. This year is going to be different, as I’ll be shooting for daily updates on this blog and one final review over at Futurelooks. I also get to take on the role of tech philanthropist, as I will be giving away many Futurelooks sponsored prizes at random an in some fun contests. Overall, this is going to be my best year at Fraga yet.
As for the gear I’ll be using at this year’s Fragapalooza, I though I give a quick preview here. This isn’t just a hardware showcase though, as this should serve as a decent guide to what to take to any LAN.
First and foremost, for a LAN party you’ll need a computer and monitor. This may seem obvious to many, but in events past many have brought with them gaming grade laptops instead of full blown desktops. Some have even been much more daring in recent years, and have eschewed computers altogether in favour of their preferred gaming console. I still prefer the versatility of a desktop system, and here’s the specs for the rig following me to Fraga this year.
- AMD Phenom 9850 2.5GHz Quad Core CPU
- Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi-AP 790FX Motherboard
- OCZ Platinum XTC REV.2 PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 Memory Kit
- ZOTAC GeForce GTX 260 AMP! Edition Video Card
- Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000rpm SATA2 Hard Drive
- Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB 7200rpm SATA2 Hard Drive
- NZXT Tempest Midtower ATX Case
- Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
- Thermaltake Toughpower 1000W Power Supply
- Samsung SyncMaster 225BW 22" LCD Monitor
As for powering these devices, the rules vary with each LAN party. Fragapalooza allows participants to plug in two devices; usually a tower and a monitor. However they still recommend bringing a good surge protector to keep you devices from being zapped is a power spike. I’ll be sporting some gear from ZeroSurge this year. Now if you wish to bring an uninterruptable power supply, make sure to clear it with the administrators of your LAN. The guys at Fraga don’t really like UPSes because when charging they can place excess drain on a circuit, blowing breakers and cutting short the gaming time for all those in your row. And you don’t want 25 gamer-geeks angry at you. Remember they’re trained killers thanks to the thousands of man hours spent playing various FPS games.
As for peripherals I’m bringing with me a mixture of new gear that I’ll be using for this first time at a LAN, and old school devices that have been with me for years. One such device is my trusty Logitech MouseMan Dual Optical. I reviewed this back in 2002! Some may be asking why I don’t use the Microsoft Sidewinder I reviewed a few months back. Well the simple answer is that the Sidewinder is so abysmally uncomfortable that I couldn’t imagine using it for four days worth of gaming. So I brought the MouseMan Dual Optical out of retirement, replaced it’s long missing feet, and found that it tracks just as well or better then most wired gaming mice I’ve used.
In addition to that mouse I’ll be using the Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard, which I’ve found is great for all sorts of tasks that don’t just include gaming. I’ve also brought along a Logitech game pad, which will be necessary for some games as well as any emulators that may suddenly pop up.
When it comes to the stability of your system, you can never be too sure as to if and when it’s going to go belly up. The worst time can be when you are attending a LAN party. So it’s recommended that you have a CD binder with you containing your OS, drivers CDs, and game installation discs. This can also be a blessing for your neighbours, as you can be their personal saviour should they be the ones unfortunate enough to have Windows vomit all over their hardware, or be in desperate need of a particular game disk with their copy 1000 kilometres away.
If you want to go one step further in protecting your neighbour’s sanity, I would strongly suggest bringing a set of headphones. This way they don’t have to endure any horrible MP3s you may have in your collection, or listen to every highlight of every headshot you manage to achieve. Many larger LAN parties have rules specifically outlawing the use of powered speakers at their events; Fragapalooza is one such event. But even if it isn’t expressly stated in the rules of whatever event you are attending, please show consideration for those around you and bring some sort of personal listening device. I myself am bringing both a Logitech headset, and a large set of booming headphones, to suit whatever mode of gaming I’m interested in.
Finally we come across the add-ons. This group of hardware is specific to the person going, and can include personal media devices, console gaming accessories, or in this case a kit of tools and a camera. Since I am a hardware monkey, I always have my toolkit with me at a LAN party. This way I can quickly and easily install any upgrades I may want to do onsite, fix most problems, and help out my fellow not-so-propeller-headed gamers with their hardware woes. As you can see by the stickers on the outside, my toolkit has been with me for nearly a decade. It’s like my trusty LAN sidekick.
As for the wire-snips and zap straps, those are used for cable management at my station. Should I need to pull a new network cable to replace a dead drop, I can rope it out of the way so no one is getting tangled in their feet. I would bring along a set of Cat5 crimpers, but I don’t want to get stuck crimping cable at any point in any LAN event. The camera and cable should be self-explanatory. The Canon S3 IS I’ll be bringing with me will be there to capture photos and video for this event. As for carrying all this gear, I managed to stuff it all into the Dust-Off Keyboard Quiver LAN Bag I reviewed a few months back.
Well that about wraps up this little LAN guide, and should give you a quick preview of what will be going on at Fragapalooza. Check back to see what else is going on at the largest LAN party in Canada, or subscribe to my RSS feed so you don’t miss an update.
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