AST to Use Pentium Pros in Its Bravo PCs

Struggling to bounce back from costly product delays in recent years, AST Research Inc. said it will be among the first computer manufacturers to begin shipping PCs equipped with Pentium Pro processors made by Intel Corp.

The processors, which function as the electronic brains of the computer, are the latest and fastest from Intel, the world’s leading manufacturer of processors. Irvine-based AST said the processors will be installed in the company’s Bravo line of computers, which cost more than $4,500 and are designed for corporate customers.

Ian Diery, chief executive of AST, said the roll-out of the Pentium Pro-based machines later this month is evidence that the company’s “product development machine is beginning to fire on all eight cylinders.”