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- Zilog Z800 microprocessor chip quick description.
-
- Hello folks out there in techie land,
-
- I just got in a new Zilog catalog and found the technical specs
- for the Z800 chip. I thought some out there might be interested
- in a quick review of what seems to be a very nice chip. Here we
- go...
-
- The Z800 family will be offered in 4 packages, their abilities
- are:
-
- 1. address 512K bytes of memory on an eight bit data bus,
- 2. address 512K bytes of memory on a sixteen bit data bus,
- 3. address 16M bytes of memory on an eight bit data bus,
- 4. address 16M bytes of memory on a sixteen bit data bus.
-
- Packages one and two are 40 pin, and 3 and 4 are 64 pin.
-
- The chip is Z80 object code compatible
-
- There is a 256 byte on chip memory that is configurable to cache
- or normal RAM.
-
- The Z800 also has 4 DMA channels, 4 counter/timers, a dynamic RAM
- refresh generator, a clock osc., a memory management unit, and a
- UART directly on the chip. (only the 64 pin version can access all
- features).
-
- The chip will support what Zilog calls Nibble mode addressing of
- chips, for faster accessing of RAM (I think Intel calls it Ripple
- mode, I could be wrong).
-
- The bus interface could be handy for those of us who want to use
- the Z800 at the targeted 10MHz of the first chips Zilog will put
- out, (25 Mhz later) even if we can only afford chips that can run
- at four or five MHz. There is a timing control register that
- tells the CPU that Bus operations will be clocked at the same
- speed as the CPU, or 1/2 of the speed, or 1/4 of the speed.
- There are also high and low memory wait state insertion bits if
- memory of mixed speeds is to be used.
-
- There is an on chip single step mode.
-
- There are 9 addressing modes:
- 1. Register,
- 2. Immediate,
- 3. Register Indirect,
- 4. Direct Address,
- 5. Index,
- 6. Short Index,
- 7. Relative,
- 8. Stack Pointer Relative, *
- 9. Base Index *
- * indicates new to Z800 (from Z80)
-
- Looks to me like a super chip... can't wait 'till someone comes out with
- an add on board for my Kaypro 10 (hint's to those out there who are
- capable...)
-
- Delivery according to the latest Echelon ZCPR3 Newsletter will start in
- April 1985. Wait and salivate...
-
-
- Dave Olsen
- 1-8-85
-