AST Computer and Silent Systems announce agreement giving AST access to Silent Systems patented technology.

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 1997--Silent Systems Inc., the world's leader in PC noise reduction technologies and designer of patented SilentDrive(TM), today announced an agreement with AST Research, Inc., one of the world's leading PC manufacturers. This agreement gives AST access to Silent Systems patented noise PC reduction technologies for future PC platforms. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Silent Systems noise reduction technologies enable the PC to appear solid state like an answering machine or telephone, virtually eliminating noise from whining hard drives and fans," said Greg Wyler, President of Silent Systems. "Noise from PC's has been proven to increase stress, reduce productivity and of course the PC background noise really hurts the sound quality and enjoyment of multimedia devices such as CD ROM, Teleconferencing and DVD," continued Wyler.

"PC noise is a barrier to penetrating many new PC markets and parts of Europe also have strict standards for PC noise that SilentDrive(TM) now helps us meet," said Laura Raybin, AST's Director, Worldwide Commercial Desktop Product Marketing. "This agreement continues AST's tradition of technology innovation in the PC industry."

Silent Systems has shown that over 50 percent of PC noise is generated by the hard disk drive. SilentDrive(TM) is a patented thermo/acoustical disc sleeve that eliminates hard drive noise while maintaining the drive manufacture's recommended operating temperatures. The SilentDrive(TM) patent is licensed directly to OEMs by Silent Systems. Silent Systems also manufactures complete SilentDriveTM enclosures that can be incorporated into PC designs by OEMs.

Silent Systems, is a privately held company based in Burlington, Massachusetts. Founded in 1994 by Greg Wyler, Silent Systems developed the FE-4, SilentPC that based on independent testing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was shown to emit no measurable noise. The company's design was named to Windows Magazine's 1995 "Win 100" list of the 100 best hardware products. These R&D efforts led to the development of SilentDrive and Ambient, the companies proprietary heat sink technology. Today Silent Systems has become one of the foremost companies for computer acoustic and thermal solutions. Silent Systems also markets HushKits(TM) to upgrade typical noisy PCs to SilentPCs(TM). Silent Systems is located at 168R Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington, MA. Tel. [phone] Fax. [phone], www.silentsystems.com .

AST Research, a member of the Fortune 500 list of America's largest industrial and service companies, is one of the world's leading personal computer manufacturers. The $2.468 billion company develops a broad spectrum of desktop, mobile and server PC products that are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide. AST systems meet a wide range of customer needs, from corporate business applications to advanced home and home office use. Corporate headquarters is located at 16215 Alton Parkway, P.O. Box 57005, Irvine, Calif. 92619-7005. Telephone [phone] or [phone]. Fax [phone].

The Silent Systems logo, SilentDrive and SilentPC are trade marks of Silent Systems. All other products, brand names or companies are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. AST is a registered trademark and AST Computer is a trade mark of AST Research, Inc.

CONTACT: Silent Systems, Inc.

Derek Carroll

617/273-3200