HITAC M-180 Logic Packages

The HITAC M-180 was the first model of the Hitachi M Series computers. The first machine was shipped in 1976.

The Japanese government decided a plan for trade liberalization of computers in 1971. To cope with this, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry grouped the 6 companies in the Japanese computer industry. Hitachi and Fujitsu formed one group, and developed the M Series, a series of general-purpose machines. It adopted the architecture of the IBM S/370 Series, which was de facto standard at the time.

The HITAC M-180 had three times the performance of previous models, and had features such as a large-capacity high-speed memory of DRAM, and high-speed I/O processors. Also, it could be equipped with high-speed arithmetic mechanisms and a built-in array processor.

A characteristic of packaging was mixed components packages which contained both ICs and LSIs. ICs were those for general-purpose and used ECL. LSIs were compatible with those ICs in terms of circuits. This was effective for faster time to market, better performance, and lower cost, as well as it enabled an air-cooled machine which facilitated installation and maintenance.

The machines met the wide-ranging needs of large scale business information systems and scientific computing in the nation, while they were exported a lot abroad. Thus they built the foundation for computer business of Hitachi, Ltd., which grew big after that.