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Thanks for another great post! One thing I don't fully understand is the economics. How could HP make a processor that was competitive with the 6800 using infe

Thanks for another great post! One thing I don't fully understand is the economics. How could HP make a processor that was competitive with the 6800 using inferior metal gate technology (which presumably meant a much bigger die size) for only $15 compared to $360 for the 6800?

kens 6y ago
My guess is that there were two aspects to the economics. First, Motorola's price included a big profit margin, since the price rapidly dropped when the 6502 provided competition. Second, if HP already had paid for a metal-gate fab, it was probably cheaper to use it than build a new fab.