I spotted this Wired article at Slashdot, in some sort of follow-up to the post below regarding Intel's tweaking utility, another story today stressing the importance and recent efforts from big manufacturers to capture the attention of enthusiasts and gamers alike: "Gamers are the most loyal customers," said Hits Naik, Intel's European marketing manager. "They see the performance benefits of what we do. They are hungry for power, and they are the people who buy our products long before anyone else."

Nvidia, which makes graphics processors, ponied up $125,000 for QuakeCon, $30,000 for the Cyberathlete Professional League's Unreal Tournament competition and $350,000 for the winners of the Make Something Unreal game-design competition. Advanced Micro Devices spent more than $300,000 on this year's QuakeCon.