hey bros, this summer i am saving up some spending money before i move in to my dorm for sophomore year.
i am currently torn between buying something like an msx(which looks awesome and would be an exciting machine to learn), or building a retro pc to run windows xp using 2004 hardware. can you guys make any suggestions either way? I just want a personal computer with no internet to isolate and entertain myself with for the school year.
I think the MSX would be more fun and more of a challenge to get used to but also more expensive. Would anyone have any other recommendations similar to an MSX?
MSX is kinda vague as there were several variations in the end, which model exactly?
Something with built-in BASIC is more fun than some bog-standard junk PC. Having a self contained device is also better than a beige tower and peripherals. I would take a look at the "usual" 8-bit computers, Commodore, Atari, MSX, Sinclair; see what appeals to you. The MSX is a radical platform.
>Anonymous
can you tell me what i am looking at here?
Looks like RGB on the left, composite on the right, and a really expensive MSX rig.
>Daiva
I don't know what this plays like but I remember Project Egg used to keep emailing ads for for their emulation collection package of it
Wasn't this released for the Famicom? If so I bought a loose cart of it years ago and never tried it.
Is it any good?
yeah apparently that's in there too
https://www.amusement-center.com/project/egg/special/package_daivachronicle-re/
This page shows seven different games across seven different platforms and Famicom is the 6th one
MSX is nice, but it's too expensive for what you can use it for. I would either build a MiSTer in an ITX case or spend some time putting together a Retro PC if you want to save money.
MiSTer motherboard is so often out of stock. Do retro pc's last long? what are long term options?
Retro PC's lasting long is a difficult question to answer. If you're skilled enough and the bulk of the hardware is of enough quality you can make them run for the foreseeable future. Generations.
You have to know if you need to look out for battery damage. Will there be capacitors that need replaced sooner rather than later. Can you replace the powersupply with something modern.
>or building a retro pc to run windows xp using 2004 hardware
Dumb idea. You'd get absolutely no benefits running XP on an AMD Athlon 64 or even XP compared to an Intel Sandy Bridge.
As for GPUs game compatibility is pretty much identical between Geforce 6000-series and Geforce 700-series on XP.
For CPUs and motherboards the official support goes all the way up to Intel Haswell. Some games might complain about too many cores but there shouldn't be issues you can't solve.
Biggest reason to have a dedicated XP rig in the first place is an EAX sound card like an Audigy 2 ZS. And unless you're really really into EAX then it ain't worth it.
Free and does everything you need is better than shelling out cash for a Haswell.
Just because you don't see the benefit from period authentic hardware doesn't mean nobody else will see it.
I recommend Core 2 Duo for XP builds. I recommend Nvidia Graphics Cards. If you can get a Geforce 750 for cheap do that, otherwise what ever you can get that's not going to draw monstrous amounts of power. Do get a sound card. Audigy 2 ZS or a real X-Fi.
I have the MSX2 model OP posted, one of the sexiest vintage computers I own.
If you're going to go the MSX route, get an MSX2, and get one like the HB-F1XD that has a disk drive, as later MSX2 games use floppies. Also look into Japanese MSX magazines like MSX Fan and the official magazine via scans on the Internet Archive, since readers would send in their homebrew games with all the code written out in BASIC so other readers could program the games on their machines, great way to learn BASIC programming.
You already know what to do.
I'm interested but I'm not spending $450 on AliExpress for one.
spamming this would be a lot more appealing if you just set a picture of the device against a cool vaporwave backdrop or something instead of a pic of your homosexual hand holding it, very off-putting to be honest. also the name is gay.
retro gaming all the way if money is no object as it can get pricey for the less popular machines.
Commodore 64 however doesnt have this problem as thery are easily obtained, parts, peripherals etc.
Question for MSX bros, is there a way to pirate cartridge games (like some kind of flash cart)? I've seen a couple things online that seem either dead or out of stock.
Bunch of flash carts available, but all the guys that usually sell them are still experience parts shortages due to the global chip shortage. MegaFlashROM SCC+ sold by MSX Cartridge Shop is one of the best, along with the Carnivore2. Honestly if you email MSX Cartridge Shop, the guy who runs it is pretty good with communication and will get back to you when he has the parts available to process orders and ship again.
msxcartridgeshop.com
But how will you get likes and upvotes from strangers on the internet for being quite the retro gamer with no internet?