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	SUN OFFERS 80486 UPGRADE FOR SUN386i WORKSTATIONS

SunFLASH Vol 11 #6					 November 1989 
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New 486-based Board Boosts Sun386i Performance By Up To Four Times
 
 
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --November 20, 1989-- Sun Microsystems today
introduced a new Intel 80486 CPU board upgrade for its Sun386i(TM)
workstation that increases performance from two and one-half to four
times. All existing UNIX(R) applications and thousands of MS-DOS
applications can benefit from the improved performance without
modification.  Sun also announced it has reduced prices of the Sun386i
by seven to ten percent.

The Sun386i runs both SunOS(TM) UNIX and DOS applications concurrently,
with the ability to cut, paste and transfer data from one operating
system environment to the other.

"The addition of a 80486-based systems to our Intel product line
reflects our continuing commitment to this architecture," said Wayne
Rosing, vice president of Sun's Desktop Systems and Graphics Group.
"The performance increase of the 80486 upgrade, combined with the vast
range of DOS and SunOS applications already available, will make our
solution especially appealing to the many DOS users who want to make
the transition to UNIX.  Simply put, these machines provide the best
DOS-to-UNIX bridge available in the industry," Rosing said.

Sun's Intel-based workstations are designed for companies that want
multi-tasking, sophisticated networking and the powerful applications
of UNIX workstations, but have significant investments in DOS
applications.  The Sun386i has been very popular in areas like
financial services, office automation and in-house software
development, as well as with computer-aided design (CAD) users serviced
through Sun's value-added reseller (VAR) channel.

The new 80486 board features a 25-megahertz CPU rated at 12 MIPS
(million instructions per second).  The board, which can be quickly
installed by a Sun service technician or VAR, includes an 80486 chip
and enhanced input/output components.  The upgrade entails no
modification of a Sun386i workstation other than swapping its 80386 CPU
board.  The workstation's existing memory, disk storage, monitor and
packaging remain unchanged.

The 80486 upgrade board is priced at $4,990 and will be available in
the second quarter of 1990.

Price reductions for the current Sun386i systems are effective
immediately.  The price of the Sun386i/250 (5 MIPS) equipped with a
16-inch color monitor, 8 megabytes of memory and a 155 megabyte disk
drive has been reduced from $18,490 to $16,490, a 10 percent decrease.
The Sun386i/150 (3 MIPS), with a 15-inch monochrome monitor, 4
megabytes of memory and a 91 megabyte disk drive has been reduced by
$1,000 to $7,990, a reduction of 7.6 percent.

Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a
leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing
systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX
operating system and productivity software.

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UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T.  MS-DOS is a registered
trademark of Microsoft Corporation.  Sun386i and SunOS are trademarks
of Sun Microsystems.  All other products or services mentioned in this
document are identified by the trademarks or service marks of their
respective companies or organizations.

For reader inquiries, telephone 1-800-821-4643 outside California.
Inside California, call 1-800-821-4642.

Press Contact:
John Loiacono (415) 336-6424

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Sunflash is an electronic mail news service from Sun Microsystems,
Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Please address comments to John McLaughlin
(sun!sunvice!johnj or johnmclaughlin@sun.COM). (305) 776-7770.