Amstrad Schneider NC/PPC
NC 150
ams_nc150

Amstrad NC150

The Amstrad NC150 was another version of the Amstrad NC100 word processor. It had the same design as the NC100, but included three games that were later also included in the upgraded version of the system, the Amstrad NC200

The NC150 was only produced for Italy and France, and appeared on the market in 1993

CPU - The Zilog Z80

The Z80 quickly became popular in the personal computer market, with many early personal computers, such as the TRS-80 and Sinclair ZX80, using the Z80 as their central processing unit (CPU). It was also widely used in home computers, such as the MSX range, SORD, and the Amstrad CPC, as well as in many arcade games. Additionally, it was also used in other applications such as industrial control systems, and embedded systems. The Z80 was widely used until the mid-1980s, when it was gradually replaced by newer microprocessors such as the Intel 80286 and the Motorola 68000.

The Z80 microprocessor was developed by Zilog, a company founded by Federico Faggin in 1974. The Z80 was released in July 1976, as a successor to the Intel 8080. It was designed to be fully compatible with the 8080, but also included new features such as an improved instruction set, more powerful interrupts, and a more sophisticated memory management system.

Originally the Z80 was intended for use in embedded systems, just as the 8080 CPU. But the combination of compatibility, superior performance to other CPUs of the era, and the affordability led to a widespread use in arcade video game systems, and later in home computers such as the Osborne 1, TRS-80, ColecoVision, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Sega's Master System and many more. The Z-80 ran the original Pac-Man arcade cabinet. The Z-80 was used even in the Game Gear (1990s), and the TI-81 and succeeding graphic calculators.

The Z-80 remained in production until June of 2024, 48 years after its original release. Zilog replaced the processor with its successor the eZ80, an 8-bit microprocessor that features expanded memory addressing up to 16 megabytes, and running up to 50MHz, comparable to a Z80 clocked at 150MHz.

Technical Details
Released 1993
Country Great Britain
Brand Amstrad
Type Amstrad Schneider NC/PPC
Name NC 150
CPU Class Z80
CPU Zilog Z80A @3.58MHz
Memory RAM: 64kB
Sound Chip none
Sound Beeper
Display Chip none
Display 80x8 text
480x64 mono graphics
Best Text 80x8
Best Color monochrome
Graphics 480x64 monochrome
Sprites n/a
System OS Internal Software
Storage PC Card
External Links 🌐
Amstrad NC100
Wikipage for the Amstrad NC100
Z80 CPU
Wikipedia page on the very popular Z80 8-bit CPU used in many computers of the 1980's era.