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MSX

A standard rather than one maker’s machine: Microsoft and ASCII specified a Z80A, a TMS9918A-compatible video processor and ROM-resident BASIC, and manufacturers across Japan and Europe built to it.

Manufacturer
MSX standard
Released
1983
Region
Worldwide
Record status
provisional
A Mitsubishi ML-8000 mounted on a display panel: a gray keyboard unit with blue and green keys, under a black upper section holding a cartridge slot.

A Mitsubishi ML-8000, the first machine built to the MSX standard. MSX was a specification rather than a product, so every MSX machine is one manufacturer's reading of it.

うぃき野郎 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About this machine

MSX tried to do for home computers what a common cassette format had done for audio, so that software bought for one maker’s machine would run on another’s. It held that promise in Japan, where the line stayed in production for years, and made little impression in most of North America.

Configuration

MSX1, 64 KiB RAM

Component Role Count Clock Capacity
Zilog Z80A Main CPU 1 3.58 MHz Nominal clock —
Texas Instruments TMS9918A VDP GPU 1 unknown Nominal clock —
MSX system RAM System memory 1 — unknown
MSX BIOS and BASIC ROM Read-only BIOS and BASIC ROM. System memory 1 — unknown

Figures for the whole machine

MSX: system figures

provisional A figure marked provisional is recorded but not accepted: its evidence is unsettled. It may rely on one source, an unconfirmed announcement, or a digit read from a damaged scan. The reason appears under the figure. The catalog shows the figure but never uses it in a multiplier. How records are judged.

Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Clock frequency cpu provisional 3.58 MHz Confirmed Vendor-rated Nominal clock Stated by the vendor The catalog records the standard MSX clock, not later turbo modes.
5 documented absences
MSX: system figures: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Clock frequency gpu provisional unknown No accepted graphics-clock figure was located in the data book. Not stated Vendor-rated Nominal clock Stated by the vendor The technical data book provides no page-level graphics-clock figure suitable for this record.
Memory bandwidth memory provisional unknown No accepted memory transfer-rate figure was located in the data book. Not stated Vendor-rated Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor The technical data book provides no memory transfer-rate figure from which bandwidth can be stated.
Sustained FP40 rate whole-system provisional unknown A ROM BASIC result must name its benchmark and five-byte format before it can be stated. Not stated Measured Benchmark run Published independently
Memory capacity whole-system provisional unknown No whole-system total can be derived without a verified RAM figure. Not stated Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor No whole-system memory total can be supported while the verified source provides no RAM figure.
Rated power consumption whole-system provisional unknown No accepted whole-system power rating was located in the data book. Not stated Vendor-rated Rated power Stated by the vendor The technical data book provides no whole-system power rating.

Figures for its components

1 documented absence
Zilog Z80A: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Peak FP32 rate cpu provisional not applicable The Z80A contains no floating-point hardware. Not stated Vendor-rated Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor Provisional record for msx-z80a:peak-fp32-rate: the cited primary manual is registered, but its page-level transcription and independent review are still pending.
1 documented absence
MSX system RAM: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory provisional unknown No page-level RAM figure has been verified in the cited book. Not stated Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor The verified book record does not expose a page-level RAM quotation.
1 documented absence
MSX BIOS and BASIC ROM: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory provisional unknown No page-level ROM figure has been verified in the cited book. Not stated Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor The verified book record does not expose a page-level ROM quotation.

Sources