[color=#666666]The Star, Thursday November 2, 2006[/color]

PETALING JAYA: When Raymond Sheu Soon Huat, 23, saw that Intel was offering new Core 2 Duo PCs as prizes for its contest, he knew he had to give it a shot.

He had been using a Pentium 1 system for more than 10 years and though it still works, he had been yearning for a new PC for some time now.

“When I saw the prize, I wanted it badly, so I entered the contest and wrote a slogan,” Sheu told In.Tech from his Kuching, Sarawak, home over the phone.

He has just graduated from Multimedia University in mechanical engineering. Intel’s five week contest, which ran from Aug 14 to Sept 17 in The Star, was aimed at raising awareness on the benefits of its new Core 2 Duo-powered PCs. One winner was selected each week based on correct answers and the creativity of the slogans.

Much to Sheu’s surprise, his only entry — with the slogan “Its outrageous performance suits my hardcore usage and insatiable lifestyle” — ended up the first week’s winner.

The other four winners had to try a little harder.

Clive Chong Heng Yike, 28, an accounts executive from Kuala Lumpur, said he took four to five days to compose more than 30 slogans. He submitted 30 to 40 entries before he was selected as the second week’s winner.

He said he was planning to buy a new PC before the contest, but was delighted that he could now save his money.

“When I was looking for a new PC, I did a lot of research so it wasn’t too tough to answer the questions on Intel processors. I think that gave me a slight advantage,” he said. Like Chong, Ho Koon Kit also came up with more than 30 slogans but tested his luck by submitting only 10 entries.

And luck was on his side, indeed. The 20-year-old mechanical engineering student of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman emerged as winner in the third week, with his slogan “It stands tall while others crawl.”

“This is the first contest I’ve ever won,” Ho said.

He said he was very impressed with his new PC, especially with its speed, stability and how efficiently it balances power with energy saving.

“I’m running three PCs at home, but the Core 2 Duo PC is my favourite now. I tested it with several high-end games as well and it’s incredibly fast,” he said.

Lady Luck was also with Mohamed Ameer Azeez, a 22-year-old computer science student of Universiti Teknologi Mara, who was the winner for week four.

“I have entered a few contests before but had no luck to win anything. This is my first time and I am really surprised I won,” he said.

Ameer, who had been using a Pentium 4 machine since he was in secondary school, said he was very happy with the performance of his new Intel rig.

However, winning contests is not a first for Lee Chong Nam, 40, who works as an IT personnel in the retail industry. “I regularly participate in contests, especially those that involve creative slogans,” he said.