Recommend me a MSX!

Every community needs a Kramer.

-hl718

 

I actually take that as a complment

I'm Drama to the Rest of the Entourage

 

Back to the original question, as a good catch all machine would be MSX 2+, 64K RAM / 128K VRAM, MSX Music, Floppy Drive and RGB output. Then I would recommend the following

Panasonic MSX FS-A1WX (or a WSX, although the only difference is this has a built in word processor...)
Sony Hitbit HB-F1XDJ
Sony Hitbit HB-F1XV

Panasonic MSX FS-A1GT
Panasonic MSX FS-A1ST

(The above two are MSX Turbo Rs but they still have the same features...)

Other machines to keep an eye out for as these are all MSX 2 at least and have a floppy drive and RGB output. These are mention as you do have a chance of finding them.

MSX 2+
Panasonic MSX FS-A1FX
Sanyo Wavy MPC-70

MSX 2
Victor HC90/HC95
Panasonic FS-A1F
Sony Hitbit HB-F1XD
Sanyo Wavy MPC-70

Some machines have 128K of RAM, but very little software really uses it well and 64K will do.

The Philips machines (NMS-8250, 8255 and 8245) are MSX 2 machines with a floppy drive, however they are PAL so they would need a PAL compatable TV or RGB monitor and they would run 17.5% slower then a Japanese machine.

Don't be tempted into buying a machine that doesn't have a floppy drive like the Panasonic FS-A1 or Sony HB-F1 as finding an external floppy drive would be heartache. Although these machines are very cheap.

 

Were there Russian Models of the MSX? I would think those would be pretty bad ass to have

 

x

 

most auctions i'm seeing on YJ! mention replaced belts, and i'm seeing lots of replacement belts. So that's a plus. Thanks Jamtex, that's a lot of useful information! All the stuff I needed to know without having to sift through fluff :thumbsup:

do i have to use a monitor, or do they have composite so I can just hook it up to my CRT Television like I do with my C64? Would the quality be a huge difference?

For just an MSX2 I'm looking at spending 100-200, 200 tops. What is a particular model that goes within that range that's good?

 

Well I wouldn't need to buy one with a Floppy if I just wanted to play something like Metal Gear 1 or 2 wouldn't I? Don't both of those games come on a Cart??


I've wanted an MSX for as long as I can remember, And I still want to buy one someday when I get the money.

 

is it possible to download, on a PC, the translation patches, and run the games on these? Is it possible to run an IDE Harddrive?

 

No, they're both on cart - you'd just need a shit load of money..

 

A floppy drive is useful as there are a large number of games that do exist on this format.

There is a IDE interface for the MSX, but it's cheaper and easier to get a SD card reader for it, you can buy one for around 50 euros.

 

I've seen the SD card and CF readers for'em. Is it possible to put the dsk images on there and run them?

 

Errg sorry I mean buy one without a floppy Lol XD

 

I'm curious about the disk image/patched game stuff as well.

As a side note, another thread was asking about risingstuff.com, and they've got this.
https://www.risingstuff.com/store/products.php/MSX-Super-Christmas-Pack/cPath,58
but I don't know shizz about models so I'll leave that to everyone else.

 

Yeah...that's why I asked about rising sun lol.

Unfortunatly I don't have the money right now.

What kind of controllers do these use?

 

Oh.. HAHA! I'm observant!

Anyways.

I believe they'll just take most 9-pin controllers. My friend that has one I think used a MD controller on his. Or maybe MS. Something common, and may or may not have worked 100%.

 

Yes you can use SD readers to run dsk images and with the new firmware rom images. However this is not meant to be a piracy device so you can pretend to be Godofhardcore and run every game know to man and claim the machine is rubbish, more a way of using an MSX sensiblely, allowing you to back up your discs and use it without having to find 720K discs. I personally hate the thought of using an original disc and having the machine whine at me and come up with an error message...

The MSX can use normal atari joysticks but a number of games require 2 buttons, there was a two button standard for joysticks and pads on Japanese computers so a X68000 joypad will work on the MSX. However it's easy enough to convert a standard Megadrive pad to work on a MSX.

The pack does contain a lot of really crappy games with only Wiz, Zaider and Bull and Mighty's Slim Chance being reasonablely good. The others are either crap, rpgs or a dodgy baseball game.

 

Ah, excellent, the controller is all hardwired, eh?.
I love it!

Mmm, makes me want to buy things, crap.

 

Thanks Jamtex, you're really being helpful. :love::love:

I don't want it for piracy, hell even my modded Xbox 1 doesn't have games I don't own. I'm just not like that, I got a flash cart for my DS so I didn't have to carry a ton of games.

I mostly want it to run SD so I don't have to worry about wearing out that belt, because as been stated in this thread the belt wears out. And I'm really interested in playing the metal gear series, and maybe some of the RPGs. I know there was translation patches for some of them, and I'd rather play it on the original hardware. even if it isn't the actual disk or cart.

is there a way to get an NES controller working on it?

 

NES controller, easiest way would be to just disable the internal chip and wire up UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, A, B and Ground, using the cable from a dead Megadrive pad. It would take about 20 minutes to do with a soldering iron. I do have a couple of NES pads with no leads so I might convert one to be an MSX pad. It would be easy enough to make a circuit to convert the NES pad to give out the proper signals (as my NES cad Mahjong Gun has one so I can play Puyo Puyo) however the tricky part is getting the connectors for the joypads. An old machine, a broken multitap or a extention lead would be candiates for these.

Although the floppy disc motor drive band can wear out or more to the point turn into goo. It's quite easy to replace on the Panasonic and Sony machines, just remove the screws at the back, a few screws holding the drive down, disconnect a cable or two, remove dead band, if sticky then a cloth and some rubbing alcohol will get rid of the goo and rub to dry well and then a <$20 silicon band will get the machine up and running again. Should take no more then 30 minutes, took me 10 with my Sony machine.

However SD carts do mean that you can do a lot more with it and the best 50 euros (or slightly more) that you can buy. It lacks the Konami SCC chip so you won't get music in a number of games unless you have a SCC cartridge or a Konami game with the ROM disabled (easy enough to do). There are some limitations too, but it'll give some of those old SD cards something to do.

Someone converted Meta Gear to work on a floppy drive, the original was a tiny program that contained a boot loader and patching code that made it English and copied the game ROM to disc.