Z23 (computer)

The Zuse Z23 was a transistorized computer first delivered in 1961, designed by the Zuse KG company. A total of 98 units were sold to commercial and academic customers up until 1967. It had a 40-bit word length and used an 8192 word drum memory as main storage, with 256 words of rapid-access ferrite memory. It operated on fixed and floating-point binary numbers. Fixed-point addition took 0.3 milliseconds, a fixed point multiplication took 10.3 milliseconds. It was similar in internal design to the earlier vacuum tube Z22. Related variants were the Z25 and Z26 models.^[1]

Z23

The Zuse Z23
Developer	Konrad Zuse
Manufacturer	Zuse KG
Release date	1961; 64 years ago (1961)
Lifespan	6 years
Introductory price	DM 200,000 (equivalent to DM 480,582 in 2021)
Units sold	98
CPU	2700 transistors and 7700 diodes @ 150 kHz
Memory	8192 word drum memory as main storage, with 256 words of rapid-access ferrite memory
Power	4000 watts
Weight	1,000 kilograms (1.0 t; 1.1 short tons)
Predecessor	Z22
Related	Z25, Z26

The Z23 used about 2700 transistors and 7700 diodes. Memory was magnetic-core memory.^[2] The Z23 had an Algol 60 compiler. It had a basic clock speed of 150 kHz and consumed about 4000 watts of electric power. An improved version Z23V was released in 1965, with expanded memory and a higher processing speed.

The Z23 weighed about 1,000 kilograms (1.0 t; 1.1 short tons).^[3]