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Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
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---
title: MSX 2
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- Japan
years:
- '1985'
cpus:
- Zilog Z80A
params:
name: MSX 2
company: /companies/msx
company_name: MSX
specs:
- label: NAME
value: MSX 2
- label: MANUFACTURER
value: MSX
- label: TYPE
value: Home Computer
- label: ORIGIN
value: Japan
- label: YEAR
value: '1985'
- label: CPU
value: Zilog Z80A or equivalent
- label: SPEED
value: 3.58 MHz
- label: CO-PROCESSOR
value: 'Video Display Processor : V9938 (MSX-VIDEO)'
- label: RAM
value: at least 64 KB
- label: VRAM
value: at least 64 KB
- label: ROM
value: 48 KB
- label: TEXT MODES
value: 40 x 24 / 32 x 24
- label: GRAPHIC MODES
value: 64 x 48 / 256 x 192 / 256 x 212 / 512 x 212
- label: COLORS
value: '512'
- label: SOUND
value: 3 channels, 8 octaves
- label: I/O PORTS
value: Joystick(1 or 2), Cartridge(2), Tape(1200/2400 baud), RGB, Composite Video, Centronics, External Audio
- label: OS
value: MSX DOS 2.0 (available on a optional cartridge)
tabs:
- emulators
- links
forum_thread: 298
emulators:
- title: fMSX for MS DOS Homepage
url: http://www.komkon.org/~dekogel/fmsx.html
platform: MS DOS
text: ''
- title: BlueMSX
url: http://www.bluemsx.com/
platform: Windows
text: Excellent free MSX emulator
- title: BrMSX
url: http://www.lsi.usp.br/~ricardo/brmsx.htm
platform: Windows
text: A Bresilian MSX Emulator written in 100% assembler
- title: CompuJunk's MSX Emulator
url: http://ftp.castel.nl/msx/
platform: Windows
text: A MSX1 and MSX2 Emulator
- title: RuMSX
url: http://members.ping.at/lexlechz/msx.html
platform: Windows
text: A MSX Emulator for Win95 and Win NT + Direct X
- title: Virtual MSX
url: http://www.msxnet.org/vmsx/
platform: Windows
text: An other MSX 1 emulator for Win 95 / Win NT
- title: fMSX for MAC OS Homepage
url: http://www.emulation.net/msx/index.html
platform: Apple
text: ''
- title: fMSX official Homepage
url: http://www.komkon.org/fms/fMSX
platform: Other platform
text: 'fMSX is a portable MSX emulator ported on : Amiga OS, Mac OS, MS DOS, OS/2, Sony Playstation, Risc OS, Towns OS, Unix / X, Win95 / NT, X68K.'
- title: fMSX32
url: HTTP://WWW.RETRODEV.INFO/
platform: Other platform
text: The excellent fMSX, but ported onto the GamePark GP32 handheld console.
- title: openMSX - The MSX emulator that aims for perfection.
url: http://openmsx.sourceforge.net/
platform: Multiplatform
text: This new MSX emulator can reproduce, among many other MSX, MSX2and MSX2+ machines, both Panasonic Turbo-R models. Be sure to get the catapult frontend and the system roms from FUNET.
links:
- title: MSX Faq
url: http://www.faq.msxnet.org
text: Here, you can find near all hardware pieces related to MSX.
related:
- /museum/canon-v-25
- /museum/jvc-hc-95
- /museum/kawai-kmc-5000
- /museum/panasonic-fs-a1
- /museum/panasonic-fs-a1f
- /museum/sony-hit-bit-f1xd
- /museum/sony-hit-bit-f500
- /museum/sony-hit-bit-f700
- /museum/sony-hit-bit-f9
- /museum/sony-hit-bit-g900f
oc_id: 288
source:
url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230529175859/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=288
date: '2023-05-29'
---
After the (relative) success of the [MSX 1 computer](/museum/msx-1/) (in Japan, Europe and South America), Microsoft and ASCII presented its successor. The main new feature was the very enhanced graphic modes, no other computers were able to display such graphics! The 128 KB VRAM was very impressive! It had a battery-backed clock and a new MMU (to handle more than the Z80 64KB limit). The MSX 2 standard, like the MSX 1, was designed by ASCII, the new operating system MSX DOS 2.0 was designed by Microsoft (it's almost a copy of MS-DOS 3.3). A while after launching the MSX 2 standard, Microsoft abandoned the project, but several manufacturers took it over.
**John van Poelgeest** adds:\
As the MSX2 and [MSX2+](/museum/msx-2-291/) computers were very alike, it did not take long to have a MSX2 computer rebuilt with the MSX2+ VDP (V9958 from Yamaha) and the BIOS chips from the MSX2+, making the MSX2 computer a fully compatible MSX2+. The one thing lacking was the MSX-Music (FM-Pac), but this could be added by using a cartridge.
**Toby** comments:\
Note that MSX-DOS 2 did not ship with any MSX2 by default. It was developed later and sold as an external cartridge (with the kernel) and 3.5" diskette (containing the OS files). The only computer to ship with MSX-DOS 2 was the MSX turboR (both the [ST](/museum/panasonic-fs-a1-st/) and the [GT](/museum/panasonic-fs-a1-gt/)) which had MSX-DOS version 2.3x built in.