New subject: 6502/Z80 comparison (was RE: MITS 2SIO serial chip?)

20 Dec 2001

None of that means much.  At the same sped which one will do
a long list of benchmarks faster is the only one that counts in
the speed derby and which one is cheapest to implement for
the specific case is likely number one.

Allison

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Erlacher &lt;edick(a)idcomm.com&gt;
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org &lt;classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org&gt;
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2001 4:21 AM
Subject: Re: MITS 2SIO serial chip?

...
 If you run a 20 MHz Z80 against a 20 MHz 6502,
you'll find the 6502 performs WAY
...
 (3x-5x) faster than the Z80.  It's difficult to
base a comparison on clock rate
...
 alone.  All 6502 memory cycles take 1 clock tick.  Z80
memory cycles, aside from
...
 M1, take 3 clock ticks, with no wait states in use.  If
you run the 6502 at a
...
 rate that fully utilizes the memory bandwidth at a rate
such that the Z80 can
...
 perform an M1 in the same amount of time, without wait
states, the 6502 will
...
 always be faster, because it's running faster.  The
Z80 uses 1-1/2 clock ticks
...
 to execute its instruction fetch.  If that's to be
memory access window for each
...
 processor, and you run them both from static memory,
and you allow minimal
recovery time, e.g. use 10-15 ns memory, (just for the comparison) then you can
...
 use a 20 MHz Z80 and a 20 (actually 14) MHz 6502, and
clock the 6502 with a 25ns
...
 low, 75ns high clock, and drive the Z80 with a square
20 MHz.  That will be a 10
...
 MHz clock for the 6502 and a 20 MHz clock for the Z80. 
I'd submit that the 6502
...
 will still run rings around the Z80, since it is still
going to be cycling
memory at an average of 200 ns per cycle, while the 6502 does it a 100 ns rate.
...

Surely a better comparison can be arranged.

Dick

----- Original Message -----
From: "ajp166" &lt;ajp166(a)bellatlantic.net&gt;
To: &lt;classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org&gt;
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2001 4:46 PM
Subject: Re: MITS 2SIO serial chip?

  Ben
Franchuk &lt;bfranchuk(a)jetnet.ab.ca&gt;ca>:

> what is the faster CPU -- A 6502 or Z80 style processor like
> the rabbit. 

 Depends...

 For the same instruction execution rate (ignores clocks and cycles)
 the z80 is likely faster.  However... if you have a 20mhz 6502 and
 a 10mhz z80 it gets muddier with the 6502 being the faster.   And
 if you know one better than the other you can certainly exploit it
 all the more.  In the end it's not which one does a task faster, it's
 what one you can code the task for faster.

 Sorta like asking apples or oranges.

 Allison