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After 48 years, Zilog is killing the classic standalone Z80 microprocessor chip


Z80 powered game consoles, ZX Spectrum, Pac-Man, and a 1970s PC standard based on CP/M.

Last week, chip manufacturer Zilog announced that after 48 years on the market, its line of standalone DIP(dual inline package) Z80 CPUs is coming to an end, ceasing sales on June 14, 2024. Digital Research targeted the Z80 as a key platform for its CP/M operating system, and the association between Z80 and CP/M stuck, powering dozens of small business computers until the mid-1980s, when IBM PC clones running Microsoft's MS-DOS became the new industry standard. Advertisement Interestingly, Microsoft's first hardware product, the Z80 SoftCard for the Apple II in 1980, added the famous Zilog CPU to the classic personal computer and allowed users to run CP/M on that machine.

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