AST Premium 386SX/16            16-MHz 386/SX desktop
Upgradable 386SX Desktop Features CPUs on AT Boards
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
If you want expansion, you might try the AST Premium 386SX/16
system, which features three proprietary add-in slots for
upgrading RAM to 36 megabytes and the CPU to a 25- or 33-MHz
80386 or a 25-MHz 80486.
 
Its heart is an AT-length add-in card that houses the 16-MHz
80386SX and 1 megabyte RAM (which can be expanded to 4 megabytes
on that board).
 
Two other proprietary slots are available to house 16 megabytes
of RAM each, which leaves four 16-bit AT slots and one 8-bit slot
for other add-ins. The standard small-footprint desktop chassis
also comes with your choice of a 5.25-inch 1.2-megabyte or
3.5-inch 1.44-megabyte floppy-disk drive. There's room to add an
optional 40-megabyte hard-disk drive. The BIOS is a proprietary
ST design that works with any of the CPU modules.
 
You upgrade the basic system by replacing the AT-length 0386SX
card. An 80386-based CPU card will be available later this year
and the 486 is scheduled for the first quarter of 1990, AST says.
 
If you're upgrading to the 386 platform, you can switch the 100
nanosecond RAM yourself. But if you're upgrading to a 486, you
must purchase 2 megabytes of 80-nanosecond RAM with the board and
turn in your 100-ns RAM.
 
Price: SX, $2695; SX with 40-meg drive, $3595; 25-MHz system
board, $3295; 33-MHz, $4495; 486 board including RAM, $6395.
 
Contact: Ast Research Inc., 2121 Alton Ave., Irvine, CA 92714,
(714) 863-1333.
 
                              --- Roger K. Adams
 
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