Extreme preparation
You can't get record-setting benchmark scores with basic gear, so contestants brought along plenty of their own goodies.

Team Singapore used a spray-on clearcoat to waterproof the back of the motherboard...

The first task teams undertook was to prepare their fresh hardware for the harsh conditions of below-freezing temperatures by waterproofing any piece of electrically conductive material with whatever means available.

...while a few teams used nail polish

A huge range of methods were employed, including spray-on aerosols, self-adhesive rubber foams, Vaseline and silicone grease, nail polish, and even putties and poster tack.

A couple of teams used putty for waterproofing the front...

Care had to be taken not to disrupt components that have to remain clear of insulation for the system to operate, and some teams came better prepared than others for a quicker dressing of their hardware. Among my favorites was team USA-1's technique of bringing a pre-fitted foam sheet with cutouts for each large motherboard component.

...and one busted out good 'ole petroleum jelly

Putty seemed to take the most time to apply, and while the pre-fitted foam sheet was generally the fastest method used, most teams did alright with one of the grease solutions or a combination of techniques.

Most teams started dressing the GPUs before they even booted their system...

The Radeons were given just as much attention, with similar materials used to shield the area around the GPU socket while keeping the core and memory clear for contact with the graphics cooler.

...but a couple booted everything on air to check their components out

In a move that I found safe but smart, some teams assembled their system as quickly as possible since time was such an issue, checking the hardware for any duds. Gigabyte allowed each team a single swap for each component in their system.

Behold, the copper tower of power

If there was a key component element to competition besides the hardware provided, it was the heatsink tube used to cool the processor. Every team used a tower (normally copper) to hold liquid nitrogen and transfer heat away from the processor to the frigid metal.

Team Hong Kong had a particularly large copper tower, pre-insulated to protect against excessive frost buildup

Masking tape evidently makes a decent masking material

To prepare chips for the insane heatsinks, insulation had to be carefully applied to maximize core contact while ensuring that condensation didn't short the electronics.

I enjoyed the sheer size of the industrial-looking mounting systems.

You can't hold a few pounds of copper to a motherboard safely with a standard retention mechanism, so each tower came with its own customized mounting hardware, ranging from six-inch bolts to woodworking bar clamps.

When bolts just won't cut it—time to get out the bar clamp.

Teams weren't as picky as you might expect when it came to thermal interface compounds. When asked why they weren't using a well-known product such as Arctic Silver, most said that at these temperatures, the one-to-two degree advantage provided by more exotic compounds isn't worth the additional cost considering just how much compound teams go through in an average overclocking session. That makes sense to me.

A good number of teams used run-of-the-mill ceramic compound for processor paste.

It's a brute-force approach to cooling, but one can't deny the results that can be obtained by almost directly exposing a processor to an extremely cool liquid.

Surprisingly few people took off the stock chipset cooler

As for cooling the north bridge chip, I was surprised to see that most teams left the stock cooler in place and just directed huge amounts of air at it. When asked about this, most contestants informed me that the cooling effect of liquid nitrogen on the CPU tends to keep the north bridge relatively cool as well. That wasn't good enough for some teams, though.

Team USA-2 used a substantial water cooling kit just to cool their chipset

While the majority of teams left the stock water block on the motherboard and just directed a fan or two at it, a couple put the stock cooler to use and hooked up a dedicated water cooling system. A few even removed the barbs completely and positioned their own liquid nitrogen-ready towers over the north bridge chip.

The Australians had LN2 on both their CPU and their north bridge chip