Editing Zilog (section)

===Z80===
The Z80(i) is an improved implementation of the [[Intel 8080]] architecture, with substantial extensions to the register model and instruction set and with added hardware interface features.
At introduction, the Z80 was faster, more capable, and much cheaper than the 8080.  Alongside the [[MOS Technology 6502|6502]], the Z80 was one of the most popular 8-bit processors for general purpose microcomputers and other applications from the late 1970s well into the 1980s, and while modern CMOS versions of the 6502 are still in production and use today, the Z80 was discontinued in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-05-29 |date=2024-04-30 |title=The End of an Era: Zilog Discontinues the Z80 Microprocessor |publisher=allaboutcircuits.com |url=https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/end-of-era-zilog-discontinues-z80-microprocessor/}}</ref> The Z80 CPU was used in the [[Sinclair Research Ltd|Sinclair]] [[ZX80]], [[ZX81]], [[ZX Spectrum]] and the [[Amstrad CPC]] [[home computer]]s as well as the [[MSX]] architecture and the [[Microbee]] and [[Tandy Corporation|Tandy]] [[TRS-80]] (models I, II, III, 4, and others). The [[CP/M-80]] [[operating system]] (and its huge software library featuring hits like [[WordStar]] and [[dBase]]) was known to be ''the'' Z80 disk operating system, and its success is partly due to the popularity of the Z80. The 1985 [[Commodore 128]] added a Z80 to the Commodore 64 hardware allowing it to run CP/M software; the [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] [[Rainbow 100]] similarly added a Z80 to an Intel 8088-based MS-DOS computer to enable the machine to run both MS-DOS and CP/M software natively.

The Z80 was a common choice for creators of video games during the [[Golden age of arcade video games]], with a Z80 powering ''[[Pac-Man]]'',<ref>{{KLOV game|id=10816}}</ref> dual Z80s in ''[[Scramble (video game)|Scramble]]'',<ref>{{KLOV game|id=9447}}</ref> and three in each ''[[Galaga]]'' machine.<ref>{{KLOV game|id=7881}}</ref>  It was the central processor for the [[ColecoVision]] game console (1982) and [[Sega]]'s [[Master System]] (1986) and [[Game Gear]] (1990).

In the 1990s, the Z80 was the CPU of the [[Texas Instruments]] [[graphing calculator]] series, as well as being used as the secondary/support CPU in the [[Sega Genesis]] (most typically used for sound<ref>The Z80 in the Genesis has access to its own dedicated 8 KB of RAM, the sound hardware, the controller ports, the video chip (VDP) (which contains the PSG sound generator), the cartridge slot, the expansion interface, and other Genesis hardware registers, so this Z80 is versatile, even to the point that it can be used for general computation.  The Master System emulation mode of the Genesis uses the Z80 to run the game software while the MC68000 CPU is effectively stopped; this is how Master System games run on the Genesis through the Power Base Converter, which has barely any electronics and is almost a purely passive wiring adapter.  In principle, software on a Genesis cartridge (or on [[Sega CD]] media) could use the Z80 as the main CPU and let the 68000 serve as a support CPU: the functionality of the Z80 in the Genesis is really that general and flexible.  (technical information source: Sega Genesis Programming Manual)</ref>).