AST RESEARCH LOWERS PRICES BY $100 ON ALL POWER PREMIUM DESKTOPS

AST Also Introduces Premmia -- A Local Bus Video PC

IRVINE, Calif., March 1, 1993 -- In conjunction with the introduction of
Premmia, its new local bus video desktop system, AST Research Inc. today
reduced prices by $100 on all Power Premium personal computer models.

"AST consistently meets customer demands for a high performance system at a
low price," said Larry Fortmuller, director of high performance systems.
"The new Power Premium pricing makes our line of expandable, upgradeable
desktops even more of a bargain to Windows users. At the same time, our
new Premmia line provides next generation features such as blazing local
bus video and Pentium processor upgradeability for users who require the
highest technology performance."

AST's Power Premium desktop systems are available in seven CPU offerings
with prices ranging from $1,445 for a Power Premium 3/25s (386SX 25-MHz)
base model to $3,795 for a Power Premium 4/66d (486DX2 66-MHz) fully
configured system. (Pricing sheet attached).

Key features of the Power Premium family include: integrated Premium VGA
video circuitry with BitBLT (Bit Block Transfer) and Hardware Cursor for
high performance video; 32-bit EISA bus with five available slots and five
drive bays for expandability; AST FlashBIOS, a software BIOS upgrade, and
AST's Cupid-32 design providing a means to upgrade to more powerful
technology.

AST' s Premmia family of desktop systems provides the performance necessary
in the corporate Windows, local area network, midrange CAD/CAE or business
graphics environments. The Premmia family features LocalLink local-bus
graphics subsystem, Pentium processor upgradeability, advanced Intel486
processor and memory cache design, AST FlashBIOS, increased security
features, "personality" modules for integrated networking and sound
capabilities and a 32-bit EISA I/O bus. The Premmia is currently available
with prices ranging from $2,095 for the base model Premmia 4/33s to $4,195
for Premmia 4/66d Windows bundle.

Corporate Background

Ranked number 431 on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest industrial
companies, AST Research Inc. is a prominent market share holder in
desktop, file server and notebook computer categories. Revenue for
calendar year 1992 totalled more than $1.1 billion.

AST's product lines include the Premium SE server, Power Premium, Premmia
and Bravo desktop systems, "Newcomer of the Year" PowerExec notebook, LAN
Magazine's "Product of the Year" Manhattan SMP fully symmetric
multiprocessor system and the Advantage! line which allows users to choose
from a full range of price and performance options. The company is
represented in 100 countries and operates 34 international subsidiaries
and sales offices.

The company reported record sales of $346.3 million for the second quarter
of fiscal year 1993, ended Jan. 2, 1993, representing a 64 percent
increase in unit shipments over the comparable prior year quarter. Fiscal
year 1992 revenues were $944.1 million, compared to sales of $688.5
million for fiscal year 1991. AST Research corporate headquarters is
located at 16215 Alton Parkway, P.O. Box 57005, Irvine, Calif. 92619-7005.
Telephone: (714) 727-4141, (800) 876-4278. Fax: (714) 727-9355.

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