IRVINE, Calif., July 27, 1992 -- AST Research Inc. today announced enhanced Premium SE 4/33 and 4/50 servers at suggested retail prices up to 30 percent lower than earlier base models. Key enhancements include: * increased hard drive storage for up to 8GB internally; * high-performance caching controller supporting FastSCSI data transfer rates of 10MB per second; * Fast-SCSI hard drives mounted in slide-out trays for ease of maintenance; * SCSI backplanes for cable-free drive installation; * AST FlashBIOS, a simplified software solution for upgrading system BIOS; * and AST Premium VGA, high-performance integrated video supporting resolutions up to 1280 by 1024 with 16 simultaneous colors. "This evolutionary change to the server line brings additional value to our server customers at PC price points," said Larry Fortmuller, director of high performance systems. "AST servers provide optimum performance in processing, I/O and networking and are engineered to provide the utmost in reliability and compatibility," he said. "Also, they now include technology found popular in our Power Premium desktop line, such as world-class video for users in the CAD environment, at no extra cost." Premium SE 4/50 suggested retail prices begin at $6,295, representing a $2,700 cost savings over previous base-model pricing. Premium SE 4/33 suggested retail prices begin at $3,995, a $1,400 cost savings over previous base models. The EISA-based Premium SE servers, aimed at the multiuser and networking environments, are compatible with the advanced fault tolerance features of Novell NetWare, supporting spanning, mirroring and duplexing, to provide protection for critical data. Designed with scalability and upgradeability in mind, the servers include upgradeable i486 processing through AST's Cupid32 upgrade design; up to 80MB of RAM; the high-speed FastSCSI disk subsystem with up to 16MB of upgradeable cache; and a Premium XP expansion cabinet housing up to 16 hard drives per unit. The Premium XP expansion cabinet also features a SCSI backplane allowing cable-less installation. With 11 drive bays in the base cabinet (eight internal and three external), three more than in previous models, the servers can now be configured to hold 8GB of data using 1-GB hard drives and still have room for a tape backup or a CD-ROM. The Premium SE 4/33 runs at 33MHz clock speed and features 8KB of integrated cache and a built-in 80387 math co-processor. The Premium 4/50 combines 50MHz i486 microprocessing with 256KB of zero wait-state external cache. For additional upgradeability, scalability and functionality, the Premium SE 4/33 features nine available slots. The Premium SE 4/50 has eight available slots. Both the Premium SE 4/33 and 4/50 come in five models, replacing all previous Premium SE offerings. The new models are available immediately through AST's reseller network. See models on attached price list. The base models, called Models 33 or 53, provide either 3.5-inch or 5.25-inch drive cages. Optional FastSCSI 200-MB, 500-MB and l-GB capacity hard drives are available. All hard drive models -- Model 203 (200-MB hard drive), Model 503 (500-MB hard drive) and Model 1003 (1-GB hard drive) -- include one FastSCSI controller. The servers support up to four FastSCSI controllers which are designed to manage multiple hard drives independent of the host system, freeing up CPU resources. Their advanced caching technology, upgradeable to 16MB of disk cache per controller, breaks the traditional disk I/O bottleneck by reducing disk access time and increasing network responsiveness. Additionally, the FastSCSI hard drives are configured with the slide-out trays and cable-free plug-in edge connectors for quick and easy hard drive upgrades that eliminate the need to set SCSI jumpers. AST FlashBIOS, now standard, allows upgrades through using a diskette or by downloading from AST's electronic bulletin board service. AST's high-performance Premium VGA, now integrated on the motherboard, uses BitBLT (Bit Block Transfer) and hardware cursor technology to support resolutions of up to 1280 x 1024. This technology provides a solution for a server running CAD or document imaging applications or a network environment that uses a windowing format. The Premium SE servers are fully compatible with Microsoft, Novell NetWare, SCO UNIX, OS/2 and Banyan Vines, leading network and multiuser operating systems. Optional 32-bit EISA Ethernet and Token-Ring network adapter cards offer customers a total networking solution. To meet customers' needs for technical support in the United States, AST provides toll-free support Monday through Friday, from 5 a.m to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Additional technical information can be obtained through AST's Info-FAX via fax machines and a worldwide 24-hour on-line bulletin board service. Recently ranked number 431 on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest industrial companies, AST Research is a leading manufacturer and market share holder of desktop, file server and notebook personal computers. AST pioneered product upgradeability and multi-brand PC offerings which feature the Premium, Bravo, Advantage! and Premium Exec families. The company reported record sales of $944.1 million for the 1992 fiscal year ended June 27, 1992, compared to sales of $688.5 million for fiscal year 1991. AST Research corporate headquarters is located at 16215 Alton Parkway, Irvine, Calif. 92718. Telephone: (714) 727-4141 or (800) 876-4278. Fax: (714) 727-9355. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | From the America Online - New Product Information Services | +===============================================================+ | This information was processed from data provided by the | | above mentioned company. For additional details, contact the | | company at the address or telephone number indicated above. | | All submissions for this service should be addressed to | | BAKER ENTERPRISES, 20 Ferro Drive, Sewell, NJ 08080 U.S.A. | +---------------------------------------------------------------+