AST puts stake in ground with new Premmia GX Intel-based workstations; 72 Percent of All Workstations Expected to Be Intel-Based by 1997.

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 1995--AST Computer (NASDAQ:ASTA) Wednesday announced its fall lineup of Premmia GX PC workstations designed to deliver the same high level of performance and integration as that of proprietary workstations at a much lower cost.

Editor's Summary:

o Rivaling the performance of traditional UNIX RISC-based workstations, the Premmia GX is priced as much as 40 percent below that of leading competitors, with estimated sales prices starting as low as $3,200.

o AST's new Premmia(tm) GX is positioned to be a leading contender in the Intel-based PC workstation market, which, according to International Data Corporation (IDC) is expected to grow 256 percent in 1996.

o Utilizing the Intel(r)Pentium(r) 133- and 100-MHz processors, the dual-processing Premmia GX provides a technologically superior solution to users requiring processor-intensive, high-resolution, 32-bit multitasking solutions.

o Designed for advanced 32-bit operating system environments such as Windows NT(r), SunSoft Solaris(r) and SCO(r) UNIX, the Premmia GX outperforms proprietary UNIX workstations by as much as 40 percent in SPECINT 92 benchmarks.

o The Premmia GX provides users with enterprise-compatible solutions, allowing for the integration of workstations into company-wide networks including electronic mail and other network applications.

Designated the Premmia GX P/100 and P/133 series, these new Intel-based PC workstations provide users with an optimized 32-bit solution for high-end, compute-intensive applications.

Recognizing that the lines between the traditional workstation platform and a PC platform are blurring, AST has identified three factors converging to drive Intel-based dominance in the workstation market. These are the performance of the PC, the performance of the operating system and enterprise compatibility.

"We believe that over the next few years, a large percentage of end-users will be moving to Intel-based workstations to achieve enterprise-compatible performance for significantly less cost," said AST's Laura Raybin, director, business desktops. "We have designed our fall line of Premmia GX workstations to be the ideal workstation platform to take advantage of this."

AST believes that systems using Intel architecture now rival performance of traditional UNIX RISC-based workstations at half the price. Non-proprietary operating systems like Windows NT(r), SCO UNIX, and SunSoft Solaris(r) for X86 have matured as true 32-bit multitasking, multithreaded, high performance operating systems and Intel-based hardware running with 32-bit operating systems provides users with enterprise-compatible solutions. These three factors together make the time ripe for Intel-based workstation growth.

Processing Power Without the Pinch

The new Premmia GX workstation provides users with an ideal Intel-based workstation platform. Equipped with a powerful dual processing CPU subsystem, the AST(r) Premmia GX also includes an I/O subsystem designed for high-speed transfer of large data files and programs and a 3D graphics subsystem for CAD and publishing applications.

According to AST, a Pentium 133MHz Premmia GX with 64 MB RAM, 2GB SCSI and a 20-inch monitor has an estimated selling price (ESP) of $9,584. A similarly equipped leading proprietary system can cost as much as $23,000. "The cost savings alone between our Premmia GX PC workstations and those of comparatively equipped proprietary systems puts us at a price point as much as 40 percent below them," Raybin said.

"With our Premmia GX we believe that we are uniquely positioned to offer a technologically superior solution to users requiring processor-intensive, high resolution, 32-bit multitasking solutions. Our Premmia GX delivers the same level of performance as proprietary workstations and offers the same high degree of integration -- at only a fraction of the cost," she added.

Two For The Price Of One

Today, users of traditional workstations often absorb the cost of having two computers on their desks: a workstation for scientific or technical applications plus a PC for word processing, spreadsheets, electronic mail and other productivity office automation.

"Non-proprietary operating systems such as Windows NT or SunSoft Solaris, combined with Intel-based hardware, provide enterprise compatible solutions that allow end-users to integrate workstations into company-wide networks and applications such as e-mail and Lotus Notes," said Raybin. "Users no longer need two computers. The Premmia GX does it all."

High Growth Potential

Based on research from high-tech marketing research firm IDC, located in Framingham, Mass., Intel-based workstations are expected to grow 256 percent in 1996 while the traditional workstation market will grow 27 percent. By 1997, IDC estimates that fully 72 percent of all workstations shipped worldwide will be Intel-based.

Super-Charged CPU Subsystem

Premmia GX's proven multiprocessing design complies with the Intel MPSPEC 1.1, an established performance measurement for Pentium-based workstations. With the addition of a second Pentium processor, the Premmia GX accelerates performance up to 1.8 times in multithreaded environments, delivering performance equivalent to a 200 MHz Pentium at half the cost.

AST's Premmia GX PC workstations are available in pre-loaded Windows NT models, complete with full configurations to support compute-intensive applications. With an eight nanosecond (ns) cycle time, zero wait state and burst pipeline performance, the Premmia GX includes one of the fastest cache subsystems available on the market today. This allows the Premmia GX to zip through compute-intensive workstation applications such as CAD, CAE and software engineering and perform calculations at the blink of an eye.

Utilizing the SPECINT 92 benchmark, a leading measurement of CPU performance, the Premmia GX P/133 outperforms competitors by as much as 28 percent. This can be translated into a cost savings of thousands of dollars for today's users of proprietary UNIX-based workstations.

High-End 3D Graphics Subsystem

Supporting up to 8MB of Windows RAM (WRAM), the powerful Premmia GX makes the real-time manipulation of complex 3D images a smooth and seamless task. Running the industry recognized UNIX Graphics XMARK 93 benchmark, the Premmia GX provides graphical performance as much as 61 percent greater than leading proprietary workstations.

Premmia GX includes the industry-leading Matrox(r) Millennium(tm) 3D graphics accelerator. This advanced PCI-based subsystem accelerates true-color applications, provides real-time 3D rendering and delivers 3D graphics at resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 in 256, 65,000 and 16.7 million colors.

Clocked at 50MHz with a frame buffer bandwidth of 960MB per second, the Premmia GX can boost graphics speed up to 50 percent for optimized performance. Premmia GX supports many popular 3D APIs including OpenGL(r), Intel's 3DR, Criterion's RenderWare(r), Microsoft's RealityLab and Apple's QuickDraw 3D.

High-Speed Input/Output SubSystem

The Premmia GX integrates the PCI-based Fast SCSI-2 hard drive bus to support the multiple data streams used in a 32-bit multitasking workstation environment. Additionally, the Premmia GX's 32-bit, 33MHz PCI-bus provides the high-speed data transfer rates traditionally found only on a proprietary workstation bus. Ethernet capabilities are integrated into the enterprise network, helping to combine workstation performance with cost effectiveness.

In A Nutshell

The Premmia GX boasts dual-processing, 2GB hard drive, 32MB of RAM, 512KB synchronous cache, integrated Fast-SCSI and integrated Ethernet. This latest Premmia racehorse is designed for optimized performance in hardware subsystems that are critical to system performance in a workstation environment. Designed to provide users complete flexibility in choosing the 32-bit operating system that most closely matches their needs, the Premmia GX is certified with Windows NT, SCO UNIX, SunSoft Solaris and Windows(r) 95.

All systems are available now and come with a three-year warranty, including one-year on-site support for systems bundled with a hard drive and two-year depot service.

Service and Support

AST backs all of its products with a host of multi-source support programs including a toll-free "hot" line for users in the U.S., AST InfoLine, an interactive voice response system with fax-response diagnostics and instructions, and Info-FAX, a 24-hour local and international voice-automated fax response product information source. Additionally, AST OnLine!, AST's own bulletin board service and Compuserve(r) and Prodigy(r) online forums allow users to talk, meet, share ideas and answer questions with other AST users. Compuserve can be reached at GO:ASTFORUM and Prodigy can be reached via JUMP:AST SUPPORT.

Corporate Background

AST Research Inc., 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, ranging 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 800/ 876-4278. Fax: [phone].

Note to Editors: AST is a registered trademark and Premmia is a trademark of AST Research, Inc. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks and 3DR is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Microsoft, Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Lotus is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Matrox is a registered trademark and Millennium is a trademark of Matrox Electronic Systems, LTD. OpenGL is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. RenderWare is a registered trademark of Cannon. QuickDraw is a trademark of Apple Computer. SCO is a registered trademark of Santa Cruz Operations, Inc. Solaris is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems. CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc. Prodigy is a registered trademark of Prodigy Service Corporation. All other product service names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Camerone Welch-Thorson

714/727-8858

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