22 Questions Every NEC PC-FX owner and people that want one have asked and more

[scrodamoon]

Question #1
What are the dimensions of the nec pc-fx LxWxH?

Question #2
What are the dimensions of the box it comes in?
39cmx20cmx31cm. -Oli_lar

Question #3
What are the dimensions of accesories boxes.?

Question #4
What is the weight of the nec pc-fx boxed?

Question #5
What is the best setup for a NEC PC-FXGA
PC-FXGA DOS/V - for PC/AT - its a VERY long ISA board, so you will need a motherboard & case that will accomodate it, DOS and a cd-rom drive. The installation process is documented on Sabre's blog here: http://sabre470.wordpress.com/pc-fxga/

PC-98 PC-FXGA - C-BUS slot - its a double stacked board, but will go in any C-BUS slot. Requirements - a PC-98 (01 or 21)with at least: 486 (33mhz or above) CPU, a CD-ROM drive, Harddrive and DOS 3.3 with the CD-ROM extensions ver 2.2 or above or Win 95.

PC-98 PC-FXGA - Canbe - similar to the PC-98 version, but fits the canbe range of PC-98s as the c-bus slots differ, such as the PC-9821 Cr-13. Presumeably same specs as the regular PC-98.
-Oli_lar


Question #6
I have read 70% of the pc-fx post on the site. has a lot of people given up on the PC-FXGA? Nat people seem to have big plans with it but never follow up on their progress of programing just curious if everyone eventually looses interest with it.

Question #7
Who are the PC-FXGA owners on the board. that currently come around?
sabre470 is the only one I know of. -nat

Question #8
How many games are in the library for the PC-FX?
Close to 100, probably a little less

Question #9
I don't speak Japanese, or read Japanese how hard will it be for me to play the pc-fx?
Not hard. There are some games that don't require any Japanese knowledge to play and still get the full experience from. Still more of the JRPGs and digital comics are Japanese heavy but you can get by, no harder than playing JRPGs on the PC Engine. -nat

Question #10
How much is the pc-fx and games?
Too general a question, but the bottom line is you can find both cheap if you know where to look. I have sold loose PC-FX consoles for $40 on these forums. -nat

Question #11
Can the pc-fx Play backups?
Yes. -nat

Question #12
Are there any demos for the pc-fx?
Not that I'm aware of. -nat

Question #13
What accessories are there for the pc-fx and how much do they go for?
Go here: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/PC-FX/html/pc-fx_world_-_system_overview.html and scroll down to "Accessories" -nat

Question #14
My PC-FX is broken now what?
Call Nat.  -nat

Question #15
PC-FXGA info anywhere?
Google Japan. -nat

Question #16
Translation for any games or guides?
Many guides and FAQs can be found in the PC-FX section of this site:
https://www.pcengine-fx.com/PC-FX/

Many walkthroughs and guides for PC-FX games can also be found on GameFAQs listed under Playstation and Saturn as many PC-FX games were also released on those consoles.

As far as translation patches, there are currently a handful in the process of being developed and we should see some releases this year.
-nat

Question #17
I want to start a NEC PC-FX fansite up where can I get info?
The collective knowledge of PC-FX owners on this forum, as well as the wealth of information on the main site is a good place to start. Also Google Japan. -nat

Question #18
Can the NEC PC-FX Play in the usa/canada without converting power? unlike the uk setups.
Yes, no converter is needed to play the PC-FX on US power. -nat

Question #19
Can I play anything else in my pc-fx besides pc-fx games?
There is a certain type of video disc that all the 32-bitters (PC-FX, Saturn, Playstation) can play, I forget what the technical term is for these. I want to say CD-G but that's not it.

According to this site, the PC-FX can handle:

FX-CD, CD-DA, CD+G, CD+EG, Photo CD -nat

Question #20
Where can I find more resources for the NEC PC-FX?
Google Japan. -nat

Question #21
Best places to buy PC-FX Games
This forum and the streets in Akihabara. eBay prices on a lot of PC-FX merchandise is grossly inflated. -nat

Question #22?
Can the PCFX play CD-R's with Picture files on it? JPEG or whatnot?  Like a picture viewer disk? (JoshTurboTrollX-16)
The BIOS has a built-in PhotoCD player, though it's slow and at a low resolution. -Mednafen

If you pm me your answer I will add them to the list of answers and put your name below the answers as well. I though since I went through 70% of the posts heres the most common questions and some I wanted answered.

I would like to thank nat for his great contribution to this.

[nat]

Question #1
What are the dimensions of the nec pc-fx LxWxH?

Question #2
What are the dimensions of the box it comes in?

Question #4
What is the weight of the nec pc-fx boxed?

I'm too lazy to answer these three questions right now, I'll bust out my stuff and do it some other time if no one else beats me to it.

Question #5
What is the best setup for a NEC PC-FXGA

Irrelevant, you just need a box with a free ISA slot. The PC-FXGA is an entire PC-FX on a card and contains all the necessary resources out of the box to function as such.

Question #6
I have read 70% of the pc-fx post on the site. has alot of people given up on the PC-FXGA?

Given up? I don't understand the question.

Question #7
Who are the PC-FXGA owners on the board. that currently come around?

sabre470 is the only one I know of.

Question #8
How many games are in the library for the PC-FX?

Close to 100, probably a little less.

Question #9
I don't speak Japanese, or read Japanese how hard will it be for me to play the pc-fx?

Not hard. There are some games that don't require any Japanese knowledge to play and still get the full experience from. Still more of the JRPGs and digital comics are Japanese heavy but you can get by, no harder than playing JRPGs on the PC Engine.

Question #10
How much is the pc-fx and games?

Too general a question, but the bottom line is you can find both cheap if you know where to look. I have sold loose PC-FX consoles for $40 on these forums.

Question #11
Can the pc-fx Play backups?

Yes.

Question #12
Are there any demos for the pc-fx?

Not that I'm aware of.

Question #13
What accessories are there for the pc-fx and how much do they go for?

Mouse
Memory Card (PC-BMP)

There are the only two that spring to mind. Both should be fairly cheap.

EDIT-- Go here: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/PC-FX/html/pc-fx_world_-_system_overview.html and scroll down to "Accessories"

Question #14
My PC-FX is broken now what?

Call Nat. 

Question #15
PC-FXGA info anywhere?

Google Japan.

Question #16
Translation for any games or guides?

Many guides and FAQs can be found in the PC-FX section of this site:
https://www.pcengine-fx.com/PC-FX/

Many walkthroughs and guides for PC-FX games can also be found on GameFAQs listed under Playstation and Saturn as many PC-FX games were also released on those consoles.

As far as translation patches, there are currently a handful in the process of being developed and we should see some releases this year.

Question #17
I want to start a NEC PC-FX fansite up where can I get info?

The collective knowledge of PC-FX owners on this forum, as well as the wealth of information on the main site is a good place to start. Also Google Japan.

Question #18
Can the NEC PC-FX Play in the usa/canada without converting power? unlike the uk setups.

Yes, no converter is needed to play the PC-FX on US power.

Question #19
Can I play anything else in my pc-fx besides pc-fx games?

There is a certain type of video disc that all the 32-bitters (PC-FX, Saturn, Playstation) can play, I forget what the technical term is for these. I want to say CD-G but that's not it.

According to this site, the PC-FX can handle:

FX-CD, CD-DA, CD+G, CD+EG, Photo CD

Question #20
Where can I find more resources for the NEC PC-FX?

Google Japan.

Question #21
Best places to buy PC-FX Games

This forum and the streets in Akihabara. eBay prices on a lot of PC-FX merchandise is grossly inflated.

[MurderDate]

damn nat, that was extremely nice of you

[Mednafen]

I have two C-bus FXGAs, but no PC-98xx systems to use them in. :b

[scrodamoon]

Right on thanks nat this is great. if anyone has more to contribute please feel free to add it.

[Oli_lar]

'The best set up for a pcfxga' - well there are three different sorts of setups -

PC-FXGA DOS/V - for PC/AT - its a VERY long ISA board, so you will need a motherboard & case that will accomodate it, DOS and a cd-rom drive. The installation process is documented on Sabre's blog here: http://sabre470.wordpress.com/pc-fxga/

PC-98 PC-FXGA - C-BUS slot - its a double stacked board, but will go in any C-BUS slot. Requirements - a PC-98 (01 or 21)with at least: 486 (33mhz or above) CPU, a CD-ROM drive, Harddrive and DOS 3.3 with the CD-ROM extensions ver 2.2 or above or Win 95.

PC-98 PC-FXGA - Canbe - similar to the PC-98 version, but fits the canbe range of PC-98s as the c-bus slots differ, such as the PC-9821 Cr-13. Presumeably same specs as the regular PC-98.

I have a PC-9821 Xa13 with the PC-FXGA installed, but I need to get round to getting a replacement CD-ROM drive for it.

Box dimensions in CM:

39x20x31

I guess it weighs about 6-8KG but I don't have any scales to check.

[scrodamoon]

Box dimensions in CM:

39x20x31

is that the system box dimensions?
also thank you for adding that.

[Oli_lar]

yeah its the system's box.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Question #22?

Can the PCFX play CD-R's with Picture files on it? JPEG or whatnot?  Like a picture viewer disk.

[Mednafen]

The BIOS has a built-in PhotoCD player, though it's slow and at a low resolution.

I could always write a JPEG viewer. ;)

[nat]

Mednafen, do you know what the highest resolution the PC-FX can do is? I heard at one time 640x480 but I don't think any games actually use that.

[Mednafen]

256x480-ish for the PC-FX-specific graphic chips, 341x480-ish for the legacy VDC chips.

I don't know if any games actually used the 480 vertical resolution(it would be interlaced).  Also, I'm pretty sure that with the interlaced mode, you have to manually change the graphics around(or base offset registers for the graphics) according to the current field(even/odd) reflected in the FX VCE status register.

Enabling the 341-pixel-wide-mode also disables some of the inter-chip graphics effects, like cellophane(partial transparency).  The 341-pixel-wide-mode only affects the legacy VDCs; KING and RAINBOW still run at a horizontal resolution of 256.

There *might* be a way to get a slightly higher horizontal resolution, but it would involve lots of fudgery...

[scrodamoon]

I got 2 photo cds that have the "for use with the sega saturn, 3do and pc-fx" on it or something like that and another 3 or 4 photo cds coming with my pc-fx so if anyone is interested in any of them ill post some pics....not nudies. but still good for a chuckle

and the pics arnt that big thats for sure when playing on a computer

[Turbo D]

I'd like to see them 

[scrodamoon]

ill post some pics up before the end of the week maybe even some screen shots lol

[scrodamoon]

sorry havent updated lately been busy, but will get back on track soon enough

[MissaFX]

12: There are at least 7 PC-FX demo discs.  One of them was sold seperatly.  Most come from mags as an insert.

[Shou]

I do have an FXGA running in my 9821An. Took me awhile to understand how the file slot SCSI interface works and actually had to buy the old MS ASPI manager software but the actual installation is easy. It's unfortunate that it still only runs in S-Video at best.