The Z80000 is Zilog's 32-bit processor, first released in 1986. It is essentially a 32-bit expansion of its 16-bit predecessor, the Zilog Z8000. It includes multiprocessing capability, a six-stage instruction pipeline, and a 256-byte cache. Its memory addressing system can access 4 gigabytes of RAM. Described at the time as a "mainframe on a chip", the processor is in many ways an equivalent to Intel's 80386. It can execute code written for the Z8000, but is not compatible with the Intel x86 architecture, nor is it Z80 compatible.
Sixteen general-purpose registers of variable size are available through use of a 64-byte "register file". The processor includes a memory management unit that provides protected memory, important for multitasking, and virtual memory addressing for temporary storage of RAM on a hard disk. The processor has three methods of accessing memory:
- compact mode – meant for small programs, could only access 64 kB (equivalent to the Z8000's non-segmented mode)
- segmented mode – 32,768 segments of 64 kB or 128 segments of 16 MB, making a total of 2 GB of accessible memory
- linear mode – direct 4 GB access
The processor is designed to interoperate with other integrated circuits designed for use with the Z8000, such as the Zilog Z8070 floating-point coprocessor.
The Z-320 was the CMOS version of the Z80000.