AST WINS TOP HONORS IN CORPORATE, NOTEBOOK, DESKTOP AND MULTIPROCESSOR
CATEGORIES

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 13, 1993 -- In recognition of its growing presence in
the worldwide market and its innovation in product design, AST Research
Inc. has earned accolades from World Trade, PC Magazine U.K., PC World,
Consumer's Digest and InfoWorld.

Complementing recent product awards received from the U.S. and U.K. press,
World Trade magazine ranked AST No. 15 on its 1992 list of "Top 100"
mid-size multinational corporations. In the Sept. 1993 issue, World Trade
looked at fast growing mid-sized U.S.-based companies with total revenue
ranging from $25 million to $3.5 billion and total revenue growth of at
least 7.5 percent per year over the past five years. The companies were
ranked by their 1992 international sales. Overall, the companies averaged
32 percent of their total sales overseas. AST reported foreign sales of
$393 million in 1992. For fiscal year 1993, AST reported $582 million in
international sales.

Underscoring its international reputation for high quality design across a
broad line of PC-based products, AST's Manhattan SMP super server recently
earned "Editor's Choice" from PC Magazine, UK edition. The Manhattan SMP,
a fully symmetric multiprocessor, was ranked top among four competitors
evaluated on performance, features and value in the Sept. 1993 issue.

"AST's machine was one of the best performers in both our database and
NetBench benchmark tests," said PC Magazine's editors. "Its disk
throughput is roughly four times that of any of the other machines, which
is responsible for its excellent result in database tests." Pitted against
the Tricord Powerframe, Viglen's EX Model 40 and Compaq's SystemPro/XL,
the editors noted that the Manhattan SMP "slays the competition with its
fast disk performance and its fast EISA network cards."

Noting AST's expertise in the mobile arena, PC World awarded "Best Buy" to
AST's PowerExec 4/25SL ColorPlus notebook PC in its July 1993 issue.
Sixteen vendors of 486 color notebooks were tested and AST's PowerExec
4/25 SL ColorPlus was "the Flying Ace of this review," said the editors.

With a removable 200-MB hard disk and 8MB of RAM, expandable to 32MB, the
PowerExec 4/25SL insures easy expandability. It offers two PCMCIA slots
and an optional SCSI port.

Battery life on the PowerExec 4/25SL also scored high marks in PC World's
testing. AST's color notebook ran on an NiMH battery for nearly 5.75 hours
without recharging, which enables uninterrupted coast-to-coast use. "AST
earned its wings here by crafting a high-quality notebook that scores the
most hits in portable usability with a minimal sacrifice of desktop
power," editors added.

AST's Advantage! Plus 486DX2/66 mini tower has also been recognized,
achieving "Best Buy" from editors of PC World in the Sept. 1993 review of
486-based "complete" systems among 21 vendors. Quality of overall
integration, customer service, price, design and speed were considered in
this evaluation of "complete systems" which included at least 8MB of RAM,
a 200-MB hard drive, video display of 256 colors at 1024 by 768
resolution, a CD ROM drive, a sound card and a fax-modem. The Advantage!
Plus is equipped with 8MB of RAM and a 340-MB hard drive.

AST also scored high marks for best service and support which includes
one-year free on-site service and a toll-free technical support hotline
with 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week access. The Advantage! Plus
486DX2/66 "packs so many extra features under its mild-mannered exterior,
and backs them up with such top-notch service, that this system comes
close to our ideal of the complete PC," editors said.

Additionally, offering outstanding value for the price, two members of
AST's expanded Advantage! family were dubbed "Best Buys" by Consumers
Digest's editors in its July-Aug. 1993 issue. The Advantage! Plus 486DX/33
mini tower "boasts a superfast 33 MHz Intel microprocessor capable of
making Microsoft Windows applications jump through hoops," they said. The
Advantage! Pro 486SX/33 multimedia system earned Consumers Digest editors'
praise as a "great choice" for users who specifically require stereo sound
and CD ROM capability in a top-notch 486SX.

Two AST Bravo desktop PCs also received recent endorsements earning the
"Buyers Assurance Seal" from InfoWorld in the Aug. 2 product comparison of
PCs versus Macs. The Bravo 4/25s and the Bravo 4/66d received high marks
based on performance, price, expandability, ease of use and support in a
comparison of eight PCs and five Macs.

Corporate Background

AST Research Inc., ranked No. 367 on the 1992 Fortune 500 list of America's
largest industrial companies, develops personal computer products with
technologies ranging from hand-held portable computers to super servers.

The company reported record sales of $1.412 billion and record volume
shipment increases of 69 percent for fiscal year ended July 3, 1993.

In July 1993, AST acquired Tandy Corp.'s PC manufacturing business. The
acquisition makes AST the No. 4 U.S. and No. 6 worldwide personal computer
company, according to the calendar year 1992 unit volume shipment data
from International Data Corp. These figures include AST, Tandy and GRiD
brands manufactured by AST.

AST's award-winning product lines include desktop, file server, notebook
and pen-enabled computers, marketed under the Advantage!, Bravo, Premmia,
Manhattan SMP, PowerExec, GRiD, Victor and PenRight! brand names.

The company is represented in 100 countries and operates 41 subsidiaries
and sales offices worldwide. AST's corporate headquarters is located at
16215 Alton Parkway, P.O. Box 57005, Irvine, Calif. 92619-7005. Telephone
(714) 7274141, (800) 876-4278. Fax (714) 727-9355.

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