Specifications | mobile view

GR8BIT Platform Technical Specifications

Specifications table is continuously updated as more and more devices are being certified for the platform.

Compatibility	MSX2 standard (fully compatible) MSX2+ standard (partially compatible, full compatibility requires V9958) ATX form factor
Power management	ATX power management compliant Software power off function
CPU	Z80 (4-20MHz), compatible or emulation board (3.3V) Multi-processor capable
Main system memory	1MiB (SRAM), upgradeable to 4MiB Further extensions to 1GiB (DRAM)
Video subsystem	V9938 VDP, 128KiB VRAM, direct video memory access Composite TV output (grayscale), RGB NTSC output
Storage interfaces	FDD: up to two; Formats: «Standard 1.44» (9 FAT sectors), «Compatible 1.44» (3 FAT sectors) and «Legacy 720» (3 FAT sectors) HDD: up to two ATA (IDE) storage devices, with max 8 logical volumes (LVOLs), 2 active at a time; built-in GR8STORM™ utility Micro-SD card interface (using GR8BUS master board, read only) Any compatible storage device in the external slots
Input interfaces	PS/2 keyboard interface (requires keyboard controller installed) Compatible keyboard interface
I/O ports and interfaces	Seven (7) GR8BUS internal slots Two (2) expandable external slots (1 and 2) Two (2) GR8BUS adaptor boards for internal cartridge connection Advanced printer port / parallel datacomm port Two (2) compatible joystick ports / general I/O ports
Multimedia capabilities	3 channel programmable sound generator Tunable square waveform generator Additional 5 programmable channels when using SCC 8-bit Covox in parallel port
Networking capabilities	GR8BUS master's W5100-based interface
Software (downloadable from the internet)	Language pack; Languages: JA, RU, Eng; Support for PS/2 keyboard layouts. See "Downloads" section. Gaming (list, database, more than 320 titles) Software development (ASCII C, ASCII Assembler, BASIC, Fortran, Cobol, whatever, database) Operating systems (MSX-DOS, CP/M, SymbOs) Emulation (BlueMSX, OpenMSX)

GR8BIT Documentation

GR8BIT package contains a set of comprehensive documentation. Main manual is called GR8BOOK (with pictures and images), there're also your license sheets, full inventory grouped by the board and component type. It may also contain Quality and Errata sheet which lists known ways to improve your GR8BIT functionality, and prevents you from making mistakes during assembly, troubleshooting and platform operation.

GR8BOOK Part I: Principles of Operation (65 pages)
GR8BOOK Part II: Assembling your GR8BIT (49 pages)
GR8BOOK Part III: Starting and booting your GR8BIT (17 pages)
GR8BOOK Part IV: Component reference (16 pages)
GR8BOOK Part V: Circuit diagrams, PCB layouts and pin-outs (54 pages)

GR8BIT Kit (GR8BOX) Specifications

We reserve right to change the kit specifications without notice for the purpose of consumer experience improvement.

Component	~ Qty	Component	~ Qty
Capacitors	190	Connectors	55
Semiconductors	18	Integrated circuits	103
Jumpers	25	Crystal resonators	6
Resistors	106	Resistor packs	20
Slots	11	Sockets	103
Other	18	Total:	655

Main system ROM microcode (48KiB) is included inside the GR8BOX (programmed within the main system EEPROM chip) on the MSX license terms and conditions, to be used within GR8BIT only. See Licensing section for more information.
PS/2 keyboard controller microcode is included (programmed) within GR8BIT keyboard microcontroller.
Advanced storage controller microcode is included, supports floppy disk storage media at this time
Compatible keyboard is not included
RTC battery (CR2032) is not included
RCA cables are not included
RGB cable is not included (DB9 male connector is included)

PCB	Area	Sheet	Total
Main board	115.2 in²	1
Video board	51.7 in²	1
		1	172.2 in²

Z80 CPU board	28.8 in²	2
Memory board	28.8 in²	2
Slot board	14.6 in²	2
Keyboard board	3.3 in²	2
		2	77 in²

I/O board	51.7 in²	3
GR8BUS adaptor board (2)	6.5 in²	3
		3	67.2 in²

GR8BOX properties

Dimensions			Weight
W, cm	L, cm	H, cm	(kg)
35	27	6.5	1.65

GR8BUS master board

GR8BUS master board is not intended to be assembled in the field. It introduces significant opportunities in extending the functionality of the GR8BIT platform, and provides huge field for learning and fun.

Implementations have tested to date:

Overall board functionality: flashing diagnostic LEDs
5 independent DACs: each as Covox device (deliverable: quality of the sound, using COVOX.COM)
Internal M9K memory: provision of the 64KBytes of mapped RAM to the GR8BIT (deliverable: GR8BIT passes memory and mapper TESTRAM.COM's tests)
Onboard SDRAM chip, 32MBytes (implementation of 33MBytes RAM GR8BIT configuration)
Konami SCC implementation using M9K memory block and embedded multiplier

GR8BUS master product is not provided within GR8BOX. It is separate product.

Certified devices

Description and link	Owner(s) / Developer(s)	Support condition
Nowind storage interface The interface is an MSX cartridge that allows you to connect your MSX to a PC using a USB connection	Wilmans, J., Dekker, A. (NL)	KB0002 Supported in the converter board and in the slot board

GR8BIT™, GR8BOOK™, GR8BUS™, GR8BOX™, GR8STORM™ and GR8NET™ are trademarks copyright © 2010-2024 Eugeny Brychkov. For copyright statement, privacy and cookie matters, and credits please refer to our policies.