Bill Mensch - Western Design Center

Western Design Center

Shortly after founding the Western Design Center (WDC) in 1978, the first major effort of Mensch and his team was the development of the WDC 65C02, an enhanced version of the NMOS 6502 microprocessor. The 65C02, in addition to being implemented in CMOS circuit technology that reduced power consumption and improved noise immunity, added some new instructions and corrected a number of defects that were present in the NMOS 6502. The 65C02 was subsequently adopted for use in the Apple II computer and, later, in the Apple II.

Mensch's next design, which was to become an important product at WDC, was a 65C02-compatible 16-bit microprocessor, designated the 65C816 (now designated the W65C816S—more information on WDC products is available in the article about WDC). The 65C816's design came about following a consultation with Apple and was adopted by the latter for use in the Apple II computer. Later on, the 65C816 was chosen as the core of the processing unit that powered the popular Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

As a means to further promote the W65C816S microprocessor, Mensch subsequently developed the Mensch Computer, which was a computer system designed around the WDC W65C265S microcontroller, which contains a W65C816S core. The Mensch Computer, which include the Mensch Works software suite, was produced for a time by WDC and was geared toward hobbyist and educational applications.

As of 2012, Bill Mensch is still involved with design engineering at WDC, in addition to his work as CEO. He has written the upcoming Terbium processor family's data sheets and will be making the major RTL design decisions associated with that processor architecture.