Insomnia & BYOC Guide

Not quite sure what goes on at Insomnia or how on earth you could take a PC to your first in-person LAN event? Have a gander at our guide for the BUEC Spring Finals weekend at Insomnia!

NSE Zone

This year students will have the ability to come join NSE at the Insomnia Gaming Festival in our very own dedicated area where we have an astonishing 120 seats reserved just for university students! As well as the BYOC seats, we’ll also have the BUEC Finals stage, a spectator area for those who want to watch and an NSE partner area where there will be a range of activities throughout the weekend. 

Getting A Ticket

There are several different ticket types, for more information on which tickets you can get, as well as how NSE can get you a discount on your tickets, visit our previous insomnia article here.

Taking Your PC/Setup To LAN

• First of all you will need to make sure there are no loose parts in your PC which could rattle around in your case and damage the rest of your PC when transporting it. One thing to keep in mind as well, if there's going to be lots of vigorous movement during transport you want to make sure that your graphics card isn't going anywhere, if possible transport it lying down or wedge your PC in place. If not, you want to either remove your graphics card or pack underneath it with anti-static packaging to fill the gap.
   
• One method is to pack your PC in the box which it came in (or the case box). If you are travelling via car, it's easy enough to carry your PC to and from the venue.
   
• If you have one big enough, many attendees will often take the majority of their setup in a suitcase, this usually is big enough to carry the entire PC and all the peripherals you need. A suitcase offers the ability to wheel your setup which is much easier than directly carrying it.
   
• If you opt for the suitcase method (most do) you also need to take your monitor, if travelling by car, make sure to wrap your monitor in some soft spongy material, a blanket or towel usually works quite well.
   
• Peripherals can also easily be carried in backpacks or bags, tending to be a little more harder-wearing, they usually transport quite safely.
   
• If you are thinking of taking public transport, I would suggest using a suitcase for your PC/peripherals, a big IKEA bag or equivalent for your monitor and a backpack for all your other bits and bobs.
   
• Also regarding security, there will be a barrier surrounding the NSE BYOC area, but you can walk freely from the NSE BYOC to Insomnia BYOC, there is separate security at the NSE area to keep an eye on everyone's hardware, it may also be worth looking into Kensington locks for added security.

Renting A PC

Free PC Rental Powered By Intel - Always wanted to attend Insomnia BYOC but don't have a PC or can't figure out how to haul your setup to Birmingham? Intel are lending out 20 PCs to the NSE community who are attending BYOC! Find out more info here.

• V8 Essentials (£110*) - This includes a speedy gaming PC and 1080p 165Hz monitor.
• V8 Full (£125*) - This includes the V8 Essentials package, keyboard, mouse and headset.
• V10 Essentials (£135*) - This includes a superfast gaming PC and 1440p 165Hz monitor.
• V10 Full (£155*) - This includes the V10 Essentials package, keyboard, mouse and headset.
• Monitor Only (£38*) - ASUS 24” 1080p 165Hz monitor.

What else is on?

As well as the amazing BUEC finals there are plenty of other activities to take part in at Insomnia expo:

• Esports Tournaments:
  • BYOC Tournaments - Compete to be the best of the best and win huge cash prizes in Insomnia's BYOC Open tournaments. Featuring the some of the biggest names in esports, with tournaments for every type of player. CS:GO, League of Legends, Valorant and Overwatch! Find the full details here.
  • Battle Royale Zone - Face-off against your friends and anyone else at Insomnia in the Battle Royale zone with the biggest and best battle royale games.
  • Daily Tournament Zone - If you didn't get the chance to grab a BYOC ticket but still want to scratch that competitive itch then look no further than the Daily Tournament Zone! Some of the best competitive games will be available for you to test your skills against other guests at Insomnia. This runs all weekend, sign-ups will be available on the day!

• Pub Quiz - Enjoy rounds of general knowledge, gaming trivia, gaming music and more in this adults-only fun-filled evening of community antics. Get your team ready and remember, winners don’t use phones. - SOLD OUT

• Dark Room - The Dark Room is the world’s only live-action text adventure comedy show. Expect violence, crap cosplay, the world’s largest game of Minesweeper, The Bean Tsunami, and the wild anarchy of comedian John Robertson for a show that’s all gaming, all heavy metal, part pro wrestling, part sadistic psychological experiment, and all interactive. (Book ticket here)

• Marketplace - The marketplace offers a unique shopping experience at insomnia where you can find anything relating to gaming culture.

• Gaming Zones - The Gaming Zone at Insomnia offers several different opportunities to play the latest and greatest games:
  • Community VS Zone - This is a free-to-play area where anyone can sit down and play games with the rest of the community! 
    
  • NewGen Zone - A place where everyone can get their hands on the latest consoles, the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series One X. Games to be confirmed.
  • Virtual Reality - The latest VR experiences are available to try at insomnia, play great games such as Beat Saber, Superhot and many more.
  • Tabletop Zone - Sometimes you just want to sit down and chill out, at the Tabletop Zone you can do exactly that and play some board/card games with your friends.
  • Minecraft - Play, build and create at Insomnia.
  • Call of Duty - Drop into Warzone, play with friends and the wider community.

• Cosplay - From the sublime to the intentionally ridiculous, Insomnia will be welcoming cosplayers of any level to take part in the cosplay masquerade. With top prizes on offer for those who showcase their creativity. Don't fancy dressing up? There will be plenty of seats for those who simply want to watch the show.

BUEC Finals Insomnia Schedule

 Got questions about the event in general? Take a look at Insomnia FAQs here

FOLLOW NSE

Twitter - Instagram - Facebook​