Kings of the Overclockers - a ViperJohn Interview
Contents1. Introduction and General Questions2. Questions about Modding 3. Views on the PC Industry 4. Last Questions John Hillig – aka ViperJohn – is a veteran of the overclocking scene. Starting with early ATI Radeon graphics cards, ViperJohn has developed some of the most respected video card hardware modifications. Performance junkies and extreme benchmarkers the world over contact John when they're looking to eek every iota of performance from a graphics card. From an overvolted ATI Radeon 2900XT card to an overclocked 8800GTX Ultra with insulated water block for sub-ambient cooling, ViperJohn's signature modifications are a testament to his trademark attention to detail. A ViperJohn-modded card is a work of art capable of the highest level of performance. We contacted ViperJohn to learn some more about the man himself, his methods, and his thoughts on the current state of the video card industry. General Questions to start things offYouGamers: Most of us know ViperJohn for his hardware graphics card modifications, so let's start things off with the obligatory "A little bit about yourself" questions. What's your name (real name or nick, or both - whatever you're comfortable sharing), where do you reside, what do you do in to pay the bills in real life? Do you frequent any hardware forums? Have any hobbies outside computers? Feel free to offer as little or as much information as you're comfortable with! ViperJohn: John Hillig - I use my real name in my email addy; age 56 (come 9/30/07); Santa Ana, CA; more or less retired; Saving, Interest and Card Modding pays the bills (which are fairly low thank God!). Years ago, I used to spend 20-30 days a year on Long Range boats out of San Diego and I built/flew radio control model planes for many years - both of those are history now.
YouGamers: A certain degree of technical acumen is required for the work you do. Do you have any formal electrical engineering or computer engineering training or education? What in your background - education, job experience - supports your hardware modding work? VP: Electrical Engineering and I was a Certified Plant/Facilities Engineer. There is a lot here that I am not allowed to get into.
IBM PC XT YouGamers: Some of us have been around computers for years - I'll always remember my first C64. When did you get started with computers? Was it as a hobby or in a professional capacity? VJ: First computer was a $10,000 IBM XT running a whopping 4.7Mhz 8088 CPU, a massive 640K of very expensive and "fast" 180ns memory, a huge capacity 10MB 2" tall hard drive and 13" or 14" CGA graphics color monitor. The was around 1985 or '86 in my early years with Emerson and it was the first personal-type computer in what was the Industrial Controls division at that time.
YouGamers: When did you begin crafting hardware modifications for video cards? And what possessed you to first take a soldering iron to a graphics card? VJ: Around 2001-2002 or is when I really got going (for more than just me anyway). Mostly for something to do and to keep my skills up. I caring for my elderly parents full time 24/7 (Alzheimers and/or Senile Dementia) and I needed something to do to keep from going nuts from boredom LOL.
YouGamers: Your finished products are used by some of the worlds top overclockers and benchmarkers. Do you do any benchmarking yourself? VJ: Not any more. To be really competitive there you need top end cascade phase or LN2 cooled test rigs just to put the card(s) in for starters and that just wasn't in my bag or budget. I concentrate on real world 24/7 performance and not suicide numbers from test setup only a handful of people have.
YouGamers: Aside from intellectual expertise, what hardware and software do you use to perform your mods. What are ViperJohn's modding "tools of the trade"? VJ: A CAD program and a milling machine. Would be dead in the water without either one. Of course, a good soldering station, thermal desoldering tweezers and test instruments go without saying.
YouGamers: You have a variety of customers. What does a cross-section of your customer base look like; is it mainly enthusiasts looking for extreme performance, or is it competitive benchmarkers who want to eek out every last frame per second? VJ: Mostly Joe Enthusiast looking to get the most out of their card and stay cool doing it with a super clean install. There are some benchmarkers and Pro Game players plus one system integrator (MainGear) I have done cards for.
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