The MSXBOOK Lets You Experiment with the 1980s Japanese Home Computing Standard On the Move

8086YES!, a Chinese company specializing in using genuine 8086 and 80386 processors to power modern throwback portable computers, is branching out with the MSXBOOK — a compact MSX2-compatible computer with upcycled iPad display and a one-chip FPGA-powered architecture.

"The MSXBOOK is an MSX2-compatible computer based on the One Chip MSX (OCM)," 8086YES! explains of its latest retro-modern creation. "It features all the capabilities of the OCM, along with a 9.7-inch LCD screen and a backlit mechanical keyboard. We have carefully designed it to meet the needs of as many retro computing enthusiasts as possible. Rest assured, it is a complete notebook computer, not just a circuit board."

8086YES! rose to prominence among vintage computing enthusiasts with the release of the Pocket8086, a compact clamshell laptop that paired a very modern 7" IPS display with an Intel 8086-compatible processor — not an emulation, not even an FPGA, but actual original silicon running in a modern motherboard. The device was followed by the Pocket386, which swapped out the 10MHz 8086 for a 40MHz 386SX — again, using original silicon — to provide increased performance and broader software compatibility, including the option to run Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98.

The MSXBOOK is, at first glance, a larger successor to the Pocket family — but the Intel-compatible chip has gone, replaced by a One Chip MSX (1chipMSX) implemented on an Altera Cyclone FPGA. This features everything you would have found in a home computer built to the MSX2 standard — a collaboration between ASCII Corporation and Microsoft for the Japanese market, launching in 1983 and running for a decade — but in a single chip, allowing the company to slim things down to a portable form factor.

The laptop itself is built around a 9.7" 1024×768 display, upcycled from Apple iPads, and includes a mechanical keyboard, amplified stereo speakers, an expansion cartridge slot, the option to run at original speeds or "turbo" 5.37MHz or 8.06MHz modes, two joystick ports compatible with nine-pin digital joysticks and gamepads, two USB ports, CVBS and VGA video outputs, and a VGA output with the option to generate CRT-simulating scanlines in hardware. Software is loaded from a 4GB SD Card, and there's a 4Ah battery charged by USB Type-C delivering a claimed four-hour runtime.

There's just one catch, however: while 8086YES! has begun selling the MSXBOOK, it's not quite ready to run out-of-the-box — relying, as it does, on having a copy of the 1chipMSX gateware that the user must supply and flash themselves. "The MSXBOOK does not currently include firmware code," the company admits. "Users can download the firmware themselves. If a user has a firmware file, we can help them download it to the machine."

For those willing to put in the work, the MSXBOOK is available to order on Tindie at $195.