---
title: Sord M23 Mark III
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Professional Computer
origins:
- Japan
years:
- '1982'
cpus:
- Z80A
params:
  name: M23 Mark III
  image: /media/museum/photos/sord_m23-markiii_1.jpg
  company: /companies/sord
  company_name: Sord
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: M23 Mark III
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Sord
  - label: TYPE
    value: Professional Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: Japan
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1982'
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Full-stroke keyboard with numeric keypad, function keys and arrow keys
  - label: CPU
    value: Z80A
  - label: SPEED
    value: 4 Mhz
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: APU (Am9511) arithmetic processor
  - label: RAM
    value: 128 KB
  - label: ROM
    value: Unknown
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 80 x 25
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 640 x 256
  - label: COLORS
    value: 8 colors
  - label: SOUND
    value: Unknown
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 420 x 107 x 300 / 3.8 Kg
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: 2 x RS232c ports (75 - 19200 baud), Centronics/Parallel port, 3 x bus slots
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: Two optional 5.25'' disk-drives (330 KB)
  - label: OS
    value: Sord DOS, CP/M, UCSD Pascal
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: 110, 230 V AC +/- 15%
  - label: PRICE
    value: Unknown
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  forum_thread: 222
  photos:
  - title: COMPLETE SYSTEM
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/sord_m23-m3_complete.jpg
  - title: FRENCH DOCTOR
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      Sord M23 complete configuration used in a french doctor office in 1982. The M23 was used to search and display the right medications related to the symptoms.

      Source: Micro Ordinateurs, N°3, June 1982
    image: null
  adverts:
  - title: PROMOTIONAL LEAFLET
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/sord_m23-m3_leaflet.jpg
  - title: FRENCH ADVERT (FEBRUARY 1982)
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/sord_m23-markiii_pub_datronic.jpg
  oc_id: 212
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230605043337/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=212
    date: '2023-06-05'
---

The Sord M23 Mark III was available with 12" green monitor or a 14" color monitor.

Despite the M23 featured a cartridge port, all of its important software came on floppies, including the ground-breaking PIPS-III and several BASIC compiler variants developed by Sord and running on their own OS. A lot of good business software and games were written with these.

There were later Mark systems released, including a Mark I with the world's first 3.5 inch floppies deployed, and the Mark V with eight inch drives -- the Mark III had 5.25'' floppies. There was also the Mark X with a 10MB hard drive.

Around 1983 or so the "M23EX" was released - this was basically an M23 with the mk41 drives (5.25" DSHD) housed in an [M68](/museum/sord-m-68-m-68-mx/) case (more PC-style with separate keyboard and floppies in the main case). It was a low cost option contemporary with the more expensive and better spec'd M68.

Graphics required an upgrade - from memory it was a chip, and also an upgrade from "FDOS" to "GDOS" (the graphics DOS). Graphics on this and the M68 were operated in a weird way from CBASIC or BASIC-II (a structured BASIC) - you put it into graphics mode and then issued specially formatted PRINT commands to access graphics - for example:

10 PRINT CLEAR\
20 GRAPH 1\
30 PRINT "GINIT"\
40 PRINT "COLOR 7"\
... other code ....\
50 GRAPH 0

---

**Contributors:** Andrew Joll

<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>