Information About

Msx-engine




The T9769 is used in MSX 2 computers, while in MSX 1 computers mostly the T7775 and T7937 are used. You can also find the S-1985 and S-3527 in these systems. After the MSX 2 generation (from MSX2+ onwards) Toshiba took over the complete production of MSX engine chips. The last generation of MSX, the Turbo-R used the NEC S-1990 "TurboR bus controller" together with a R800 CPU.
MSX engine chips from Yamaha were mostly used in MSX-computers from Sony and Philips , while the Toshiba chips were mostly used in computers from Sanyo and Matsushita (Panasonic/National).


OVERVIEW

Here is a short overview of MSX-Engine chips.


MSX 1

;T7775


;T7937


MSX 2 / MSX 2+


;T9769
  • main CPU, a Zilog Z80 clone with a clock speed of 3,58 MHz (MSX2; switchable to 5,36 MHz on some MSX2+ machines)

  • a Programmable Sound Generator - sound chip, compatible with a General Instrument AY-3-8910

  • parallel I/O chip: backward compatible with the Intel i8255

  • MSX1 and MSX2-functions (MSX2-computers)

  • MSX2+-functions (MSX2+-computers)

  • dimensions: 10,5 × 8,60 mm



;S-1985
  • main CPU, a Zilog Z80 clone with a clock speed of 3,58 Mhz.

  • a Yamaha YM2149 a Programmable Sound Generator - sound chip, compatible with a General Instrument AY-3-8910

  • Parallel I/O chip: backward compatible with the Intel i8255

  • MSX1- and MSX2-functions

  • RAM : 16kB



;S-3527



MSX Turbo R


;S-1990 combined with a T9769C

''See S-1990 for the main article.''

The S-1990 is not in itself a MSX-engine but acts like "bus controller", it is the combining element that combines
the Z80 inside the T9769C (the actual MSX engine) and a R800 CPU, and the memory and slot logic and other hardware inside the T9769C.
It also contains hardware to assists in the debugging of software.