Gigabyte’s Hidden Gems competition unearths decades-old boards

We’re always hearing about the unreliability of computer components and the trend of changing your PC every couple of years or so to keep up with new technology. But for a handful of users who entered Gigabyte’s Hidden Gems competition it seems neither of those ever happened.

The first placed contestant Victoria Chudinova, showed off her working GA-586T2 by running a Windows 98 install and playing a racing game. This motherboard was first release back in 1996 and by my maths that makes it 16 years old. Her video entry can be found below. Luckily for her, her prize was a G1. Sniper M3 meaning she no longer has to live in the dark ages.

In second place, awarded to the best “team effort” was to Sergey Erofeev who built a case entirely out of old Gigabyte motherboards before housing a 2002 GA-7VA-C motherboard inside it. His prize is the Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H motherboard.

Finally the third place winner, for the most deserving of an upgrade, was Dmitriy Stadnik of the Ukraine. He submitted the oldest motherboard from the competition – a Gigabyte 386UM motherboard from 1991 making it a healthy 21 years old. His video shows the PC still in good working order after all that time – and his superfast CPU with 1 core clocked at 20MHz, aka 0.02GHZ!! His prize is the modest Gigabyte B75M-D3H motherboard.

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