@thegibson ditto

I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve seen one.

@requiem I’ve know about them for a while, never seen one in person though.

@thegibson
Someone should get one, rip out the Z80 and replace it with a Z180 or a compatible successor. Heck, maybe add a Z80000 chip just for funsies, because, why do when you can overdo?

Then rip out the 9938 VDP and replace *that* with a 9978, to get all the latest graphics modes and such.
@requiem

@vertigo why rip out the VDP when you can already slot in a Sunrise #Graphics9000 or #Tecnobytes #V9990 #Powergraph; both expansion cards based on the #Yamaha #V9978 VDP?
https://www.msx.org/wiki/Yamaha_V9990
https://www.msx.org/wiki/Sunrise_GFX9000

This expandability was one of the beautiful things of the #MSX standards.

And while my #Philips #NMS8250 #MSX2 isn't as pretty as this one, I definitely have fond memories of growing up with it.
@thegibson @requiem

@FiXato
Precisely because it's a cartridge. That makes the hardware prone to breakage, and blocks the port from other peripherals you might want to use. The VDP sits at a different I/O location, so system firmware can't talk to it. Etc.

Replacing the VDP internally fixes two of these three issues (and a ROM swap the third).

If the MSX had a proper expansion backplane rather than an unsecured port, I'd go that route.
@thegibson @requiem

@vertigo @FiXato @requiem

honestly, I would just replace the internals wholesale with something like a raspi4.

Make it modernly usable.

@thegibson
Yes, but that's cheating. That's like buying an RX-7 only to put an LS or LT engine in it. Kind of defeats the point. 😜😏
@FiXato @requiem

@vertigo @FiXato @requiem

I have shoved an SBC into a Datsun 280Z before... but never an RX-7...

@thegibson @vertigo @FiXato I agree with the cheating point.

OTOH I could probably cram a fully-loaded Clusterboard in there...

@requiem @vertigo @FiXato

yep.

@thegibson @FiXato @requiem 1st and 2nd generation RX-7s have plenty of room to do such things with. 3rd gen RX-7s, not so much unless you don't mind eating into the cabin or cargo space somewhat. ;)

@vertigo @FiXato @requiem

I had a second gen for a while...

I loved the braking and handling on that thing.

@thegibson @FiXato @requiem Owned a 1980, drove a 1984, owned a 1985, and drove a 1992. And let me tell you, the 1992 was a HOOOOOT. If you *sneezed*, you risked a speeding ticket.

@thegibson @FiXato @requiem Of course, watching people's eyes pop out of their head when you show them the engine is barely larger than a 13" CRT computer monitor was always a blast too.

@vertigo @FiXato @requiem

I had an 86... shoved the engine from a 92 in it at one point... that thing was fun...

bought it from a junkyard in middle of nowhere KY...

@vertigo @FiXato @requiem

They sold it to me as a "turbo for a diesel"

@thegibson @FiXato @requiem They thought the car had a diesel, or are they referring to the Wankel itself as a turbo for a diesel?

@vertigo @FiXato @requiem

This was like 97... they thought the wankel itself was a diesel turbo...

@thegibson @FiXato @requiem To be fair, I think SAAB at one time did look into using a Wankel-configuration supercharger for their diesels. It's not *too* far from the truth. ;D

@vertigo @FiXato @requiem

I just didn't correct him...

Was a lot cheaper that way.:)

@clacke not that uncommon :)
The #Philips #NMS8255 for instance is an #MSX2 with not one, but two 3.5" DoubleDensity floppy drives. :)
One more than its brother, the #NMS8250 that I got (though one of mine was eventually modified to have a second drive installed too).

The earlier #VG8235 looked cooler, with its built-in, adjustable keyboard, but only had a single 3.5" *single-sided* disk drive. The #NMS8245 looked similar, had a 2DD drive, but a fixed keyboard

https://www.msx.org/wiki/Philips_VG-8235
@requiem

@clacke I wasn't even aware that 5.25" was a thing for the MSX. So far I've only seen 3.5" or driveless models:)
Probably also depended heavily on which market was targeted. Similar with RAM. In European markets 128kB was quite common, while Japanese machines often had only (the standard's minimum required amount iirc of) 64kB.
@requiem

@68km it’s just lovely, all it needs is a shoulder strap...

@requiem I know some people have added straps and a small screen to these for that very purpose :)