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The 6507 is an 8-bit microprocessor
Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit on a single integrated circuit . The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using Binary-coded decimal arithmetic on 4-bit Word ....
 from MOS Technology, Inc.
MOS Technology

MOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a integrated circuit design and Semiconductor device fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
 It is a "cut down" version of their popular 6502
MOS Technology 6502

The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured central processing unit on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of competing designs from larger companies such...
. To reduce costs the 6507 included only thirteen address pins instead of the 6502's sixteen. This allowed the 6507 to address 8 KB
Kilobyte

Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
 of memory, which at the time (back in 1975) was considered to be a lot. The omission of these lines allowed the 6507 to come in a smaller 28-pin package, instead of the 40 pins of the 6502.

In addition to the reduced address bus
Address bus

An address bus is a computer bus that is used to specify a memory address. When a central processing unit or direct memory access-enabled device needs to read or write to a memory location, it specifies that memory location on the address bus ....
, the 6507 is also unable to service external interrupt
Interrupt

In computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous communication signal from hardware indicating the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a change in execution....
s, but is otherwise identical to the 6502.






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The 6507 is an 8-bit microprocessor
Microprocessor

A microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit on a single integrated circuit . The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were used for electronic calculators, using Binary-coded decimal arithmetic on 4-bit Word ....
 from MOS Technology, Inc.
MOS Technology

MOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a integrated circuit design and Semiconductor device fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
 It is a "cut down" version of their popular 6502
MOS Technology 6502

The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured central processing unit on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of competing designs from larger companies such...
. To reduce costs the 6507 included only thirteen address pins instead of the 6502's sixteen. This allowed the 6507 to address 8 KB
Kilobyte

Kilobyte is a unit of Computer data storage equal to either 1,024 bytes or 1,000 bytes , depending on context.It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte....
 of memory, which at the time (back in 1975) was considered to be a lot. The omission of these lines allowed the 6507 to come in a smaller 28-pin package, instead of the 40 pins of the 6502.

In addition to the reduced address bus
Address bus

An address bus is a computer bus that is used to specify a memory address. When a central processing unit or direct memory access-enabled device needs to read or write to a memory location, it specifies that memory location on the address bus ....
, the 6507 is also unable to service external interrupt
Interrupt

In computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous communication signal from hardware indicating the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a change in execution....
s, but is otherwise identical to the 6502. The 6507 was only widely used in two applications, the bestselling Atari 2600
Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridge containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated console hardware with all games built in....
 video game console
Video game console

A video game console is an game development that produces a video signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade machi...
 and the Atari 8-bit family
Atari 8-bit family

The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology MOS Technology 6502 central processing unit and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips, giving them the most powerful graphic, sound and I/O subsystems of any 8 bit machine of their time...
 floppy disk
Floppy disk

A floppy disk is a data storage medium that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangle plastic shell....
 controllers for the 810 and 1050 drives. In the 2600, the system was further limited by the design of the cartridge
Cartridge (electronics)

In various types of electronic equipment, a cartridge can refer to one method of adding different functionality or content; for example, a video game played on a video game console; or a method by which consumables may be replenished, such as an ink cartridge for a printer....
 slot, which allowed for only 4KB of external memory to be addressed (the other 4KB was reserved for the internal RAM and I/O chip). Most other machines, notably home computer
Home computer

A home computer was a class of personal computer entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as accessible personal computers, more capable than video game consoles....
s based on the 650x architecture, used either the "full" 6502 or extended, rather than cut down, versions of it, in order to allow for more memory.

By the time the 6502 line was becoming widely used around 1980, ROM
Read-only memory

Read-only memory is a class of computer storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. Because data stored in ROM cannot be modified , it is mainly used to distribute firmware ....
 and RAM
Random-access memory

Random-Assess Memory Card is a form of computer data storage. Today it takes the form of integrated circuits that allows the stored data to be accessed in any order ....
 semiconductor
Semiconductor

A semiconductor is a material that has electrical conductivity between those of a Electrical conductor and an electrical insulation; it can vary over that wide range either permanently or dynamically....
 memory prices had fallen to the point where the 6507 was no longer a worthwhile simplification; its use in new designs ceased at that point, though the Atari 2600 which contained it continued to be sold until the end of the 1980s.