At its new manufacturing facilities in Cupertino, Zilog announced the manufacture of the Z80-A in February 24 1977. The Z80-A has a standard clock rate of 4 Mhz. which is made possible by a new technology developped by Zilog. Single quantity prices are $65 for the ceramic package and $59 for the plastic version. According to Zilog, the Z80-A is considered to be the fastest standard microprocessor. Its instructions cycle is 1 µs, and its throughput is 60% above the one of the Z80.
From now, it becomes available in production quantities for computer manufacturers. The standard Z80 at a clock rate of 2.5 Mhz. wil be continued at a reduced price.
