Looking for any information on this processor...

Have a presentation and would like info on how this processor is used today, why its still used today and potential 'new' uses of this processor... Any other cool information on this processor would be beneficial as well...

Thanks in advance...

The entire website, WDC and Wikipedia are your friends as a start. Embedded processor is also another term to work with.

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Rather than taking the time to write much now, I'll start by referring you to the topic at viewtopic.php?t=737 .

Very briefly, it's easy to get up to speed on, has a simple bus, good performance-to-complexity ratio for its class, and outstanding interrupt performance. 6502 manufacturing volume today is hundreds of millions of units per year, most going into custom ICs acting as embedded controllers. You may have several yourself and not know it. The maximum clock speed of a 6502 core in an embedded controller has been over 200MHz, which is about 50MIPS, or the performance equivalent of about 100MIPS of a PIC16 processor-- not exactly slow.

The IP holder is Western Design Center. See them at www.westerndesigncenter.com .

That is so sweet, I wish I could get a 200MHz 6502.

200mhz, that surprised me. Wow. In terms of internal architecture what makes the 6502 and its variants faster/better than comparable processors(like the 8080).

To my understanding it was simplicity and cost that got it going. Popularity kept it going?

Let us see. Boil it down, it is a clean reliable design. A cute feature of the CMOS version is that since it doesn't use microcode but a static logic array, the clock speed can go down to dc, 1 hz, etc.

For power usage, it is a champ. Give it a low speed mode, and you are looking at a 20 uA power draw. I personally believe that it is due to the simplicity of the design instead of giving it creeping featuritis. (sleep modes on an AVR to conserve power? PULEASE)

One of the first big attractions ages ago was the amazing cost differential. The 6502 was included in the original Appl 1 and 2 design. 8080 and 6800 were several hundred dollars and the 6502 was selling for $25 and offered comparable performance. Which would you choose to work with?

Atari used it in their home and arcade game units. nintendo used it for their home systems. Apple used it for their home computers. Those are units that helped shape the personal computer and games field far more than the competitors.

IBM came in the home computer field in a big way using the Intel, which made them huge. Apple made a mistake (IMHO) by switching their world dominating ][ line for the Macs to cater to a higher end user only, and lost their lead.





One interesting embedded use that it has cornered the market is pacemakers. At present time, there is not other medically rated embedded processors for implanting in the human body. so if you have a pacemaker with processor control, the chances are 100% it is 65C02 based. That run is an amazingly expensive processor, though. This is because the manufacturing standards are so strict on them for medical usage, records are kept even of the location and batch of raw sand where the silicon is processed from. This set of standards far exceeds military quality standards.

Heck, let me take a quote from the first page of WesternDesignCenter.com


The legendary 65xx brand microprocessors with both 8-bit and 8/16-bit ISA’s keep cranking out the unit volumes in ASIC and standard microcontroller forms supplied by WDC and WDC’s licensees. Annual volumes in the hundreds (100’s) of millions of units keep adding in a significant way to the estimated shipped volumes of five (5) to ten (10) billion units. With 200MHz+ 8-bit W65C02S and 100MHz+ 8/16-bit W65C816S processors coming on line in ASIC and FPGA forms, we see these annual volumes continuing for a long, long time.

The 65xx brand is probably the only processor family that has remained loyal to its ISA over the last 33 years. In addition it has served the widest spectrum of electronic markets through those years. For example, it has served and in some cases created markets for the PC, video game, toy, communication, industrial control, automotive, life support embedded in the human body medical devices, outside the body medical systems, engineering education systems, hobby systems, and you name it electronic market segments. I might add the 65xx has served in a highly reliable and successful way!

As added food for thought, the 65xx microprocessors protect millions of lives annually within embedded heart defibrillation and pacing systems. We are quite proud of what our customers and partners have created and continue to create with the 65xx brand for the benefit of mankind!

_________________
"My biggest dream in life? Building black plywood Habitrails"