"That would of course be the rational thing to do, but since when was this obsolete office machines hoarding hobby rational in any way at all?"
This actually got me laughing out loud 😀)))
Yes, it does seem pretty pointless, and almost irational, as there are a lot of other better, mobos out there... But that's the thing: I never held it in my hand, never even saw it!! Don't even actually know the specs except for maybe the chipset. There are things that i'd like to know more, about my first computer, and that box, that motherboard holds the answers.
All the other components I saw later, as they were ported to the next PC, which I had the tenacity to open without ripping the warranty seal 😜
Also there was one other thing about this motherboard... : it was sooo shit, that the first year or so of me owning a PC, I was plagued with daily crashes, freezez, and reboots... even after upgrading to a Voodoo3 in the first year. I remember taking the computer back almost every 1-2 months, and the firm saying they fixed it, and then it would happen again as soon as i got home... until they replaced the motherboard with another model (without actually telling us), only a few months before the upgrade to an Athlon.
But I figured out they switched it, as the POST didn't say ALI Aladdin any more, and the AT keyboard connector looked slightly different.. But by then, a year had already passed, and the Athlon upgrade was soon to come.
So I have some unfinished business with this motherboard, who's problems nobody seemed to be able to solve..
The computer did come prebuilt , and all the documents and manuals came in that box. It was the exact size, and opened from the top, like a mobo box.
I'm gonna shoot Artex a PM, maybe I'll have some luck and he has it in his collection..