Contents |
Description
The MSX PC is an ISA adapter, developed by Philips. Philips had been developing the adapter for several years, and by 1990 had stopped their MSX activities. The Philips Thuiscomputer Club (Philips Homecomputer Club) in the Netherlands had close connections to Philips and was able to offer the card to their members for 599,- Dutch Guilders.
The ISA card is a MSX2 which you plug into a PC, it comes with MSX2 BASIC, and can be started from MS-DOS through an 'MSX.EXE' executable. With a 'SETMSX.EXE' MS-DOS executable you can also configure to share the host PC disk drives, parallel port and serial port. It also supports using a PC serial mouse for the MSX.
For video there are two options, you either connect a separate TV to the MSX PC adapter, or you could connect the CGA output from the host PC to the MSX PC adapter and connect that to a TV. This would cause both the PC and the MSX video to be displayed on the TV.
The card is reported to have timing issues when used on a PC XT, so a PC AT or better is recommended.
| Brand | PTC (Manufacturer: Philips) |
| Model | MSX PC |
| Year | 1990 |
| Region | the Netherlands |
| Launch price | ƒ599 |
| RAM | 128kB in slot 3-2 |
| VRAM | 128kB |
| Media | MSX cartridges, 2DD floppy disks (from the PC host) |
| Video | Yamaha V9938 |
| Audio | PSG (YM2149 integrated in MSX-Engine S3527) |
| Chipset | Yamaha S3527 |
| Keyboard layout | PC keyboard |
| Extras | Floppy disk with program to setup the MSX and start the MSX, CGA pass-through cable |
| Emulation | ROMs have been dumped, but are emulated only in blueMSX |
Pictures
Specifications
The MSX2 added to the PC with this card is similar to the Philips NMS 8245. It has a Z80 from SGS (Z8400AB1) and an MSX-Engine S3527 from Yamaha.
Slot Map
| Slot 0 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3-0 | Slot 3-1 | Slot 3-2 | Slot 3-3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page C000h~FFFFh | Cartridge Slot | 128kB Memory Mapper | ||||||||
| Page 8000h~BFFFh | ||||||||||
| Page 4000h~7FFFh | Main-ROM | Disk ROM | ||||||||
| Page 0000h~3FFFh | Sub-ROM |
Connections
- RGB output (SCART)
- Analog RGB input for CGA pass-through
- 2 general connectors (Joysticks, Mice, Paddle controllers, etc)
- 1 cartridge slot