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FirmTek Announces Two-Port Serial ATA PCI Express Adapter for Dual-Core Macintosh G5 Systems

New SeriTek/2SE2-E Delivers Breakthrough Storage Flexibility for Apple's Latest G5 System Architecture

Las Vegas, Nevada (April 24, 2006) -- FirmTek, LLC, a pioneer and leader in Serial ATA (SATA) storage solutions for the Macintosh platform, unveiled their new SeriTek/2SE2-E today upon the opening of NAB 2006 (Booth SL 1238). The SeriTek/2SE2-E is a Serial ATA host adapter fully compatible with the new PCI Express bus architecture found in Apple's latest Dual-Core G5 Macintosh. Offering two external SATA II ports at up to 3 gigabits per second, the card enables individual drives or RAID arrays to be fully utilized as high-performance storage on Dual-Core systems. With FirmTek's established hot-swap compatibility, users can easily move these drives or volumes from one system to another, providing maximum flexibility and security.

Support for the Bus Standard of the Future

Apple's use of PCI Express in the new Dual-Core G5 has opened a new era of performance for peripheral devices and expansion cards. Unlike previous standards, PCI Express gives each device dedicated bandwidth and access to the system controller. Under this design standard, cards and slots are defined by the number of data lanes included; usually one, four, eight or sixteen, each supporting up to 250 Mbps. The new G5s include a 16 lane slot intended for a graphics, as well as two with four lanes and one with eight. Cards must be specially designed to work with this new standard. "We are pleased to be among the first developers to offer a PCI Express card supporting Serial ATA," said Chi Kim Stanford, Vice President of Business Development for FirmTek. "Our design team has worked relentlessly to ensure full compatibility with this new standard, and the SeriTek/2SE2-E will provide Dual-Core G5 users the performance and reliability they expect from this fantastic new system."

Security and Flexibility

FirmTek has pioneered products supporting ATA standards on the Macintosh for many years, and offers a variety of enclosures and interface solutions for demanding users. Since the introduction of Serial ATA, the ability to hot-swap drives between enclosures has been a key feature across Firmtek's products. All FirmTek enclosures are designed to allow quick and easy removal and installation of drives, usually in about a minute, without shutting down or restarting the computer. This flexibility allows users to share important data quickly, transfer or duplicate files at the speed of SATA (instead of over sluggish networks, slow USB/Firewire, or Internet connections), and to keep more sensitive files locked up and secure with minimal effort.

Hot-swappable external enclosures also provide effectively unlimited storage capacity, as users are not limited to the two internal drive bays provided with the basic G5 system. As volumes are filled to capacity, they are easily removed and replaced with new drives, ready to accept additional data files.To assist customers in maximizing their productivity and obtaining maximum benefit from their FirmTek solutions, FirmTek offers additional drive trays for $22.99 each, without any additional purchases required. This enables customers to keep an unlimited number of drives on hand and ready for action.

To assist customers in maximizing their productivity and obtaining maximum benefit from their FirmTek solutions, FirmTek offers additional drive trays for $22.99 each, without any additional purchases required. This enables customers to keep an unlimited number of drives on hand and ready for action.

Designed Specifically for the Dual-Core G5

As a PCI Express card, the SeriTek/2SE2-E is solely intended for use with the new Dual-Core G5 systems. This new card design is not compatible with older PCI-X or PCI slots. FirmTek offers a variety of outstanding solutions for other Macintosh platforms, and more can be learned about these products at www.firmtek.com.

Pricing and Availability

FirmTek's SeriTek/2SE2-E adapter for the Dual-Core G5 will be available early Q3 this year, with estimated retail pricing of USD$99.95. For more information about the SeriTek/2SE2-E, please visit FirmTek's website at www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-2se2-e.

About FirmTek

Headquartered in Silicon Valley and founded by former Apple engineers, FirmTek is a leading hardware and firmware research and development company focusing on Macintosh storage technologies. The company takes pride in developing the most reliable and most compatible high performance enhancement solutions offered through FirmTek's OEM and worldwide distribution channels. For information on how FirmTek helps users deploy, and organizations develop, advanced interface solutions, visit FirmTek's website at www.firmtek.com, or email info@firmtek.com.

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