ROM 3 superiority (was: ROM 01 Superiority)

[a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

secretguy@altavista.com (Tim) wrote:

>>As far as the subject matter is concerned, I am still evaluating the ROM-3
>>vs ROM-1, and so far have found slightly in favour of ROM-1 for
>>compatability and slightly in favour of ROM-3 for reliability. So I'm
>>sitting on the fence for now.
>
>Winner so far:  ROM 01
>
>Any other criteria we should add to the chart?

I thought I should step in to dispell this myth about which is the
better of the two motherboards. 

What about considering these ROM 3 advantages...

- Improved sound circuitry
	o Cleaner sound output
	o Cleaner sound input/recording  
	o No sound distortions (odd noises moving mouse pointer)

- 1 Megabyte RAM built-in
	o Runs most native IIgs software out of the box
	o DMA compatible up to 5 MB RAM

- System 5 tools in ROM firmware
	o Less disk space required
	o Decreased loading time
	o Less memory used
	o Acceleration of GUI in System 3 & 4 (uses 5.0.x tools)
	o Noticeably faster GUI in System 5 & 6 (ROM reads @ 2.8 MHz)
	o Overall ~10% faster operation over previous machine

- Decreased Electrical noise and lower power-consumption
	o Cleaner sound circuitry (see above)
	o Ability to push accelerators to higher speeds reliably
	o Motherboard draws less electrical power and thus runs cooler

- Enhanced ADB micro controller chip
	o Built-in sticky keys function
	o Built-in keyboard emulation of mouse
	o Caps-Lock LED updates on Extended ADB keyboards

- M2B0 (Mega II Bank Zero) signal present in more than one slot
	o Second Sight and Video Overlay Card work slots 1 through 6
	o Above cards can be plugged in together, at the *same* time

- Hardware shadowing of Text Page 2 (8-bit IIe/IIc software)
	o Automatically fixes problem where a screen of "2"s are seen
	o No slow-down penalty when doing the above

- Control Panel lock-out jumper on motherboard
	o Removes 'Control Panel' option from CDA menu
	o Disables Option menu for resetting battery RAM
	o Can be used to prevent access (disable boot device; lock in)

- Lithium battery removable in a snap-case
	o Easy replacement of battery (no soldering or cutting)
	o No longer necessary to remove powersupply to gain access

- Enhanced (256K) ROM firmware
	o Faster 3.5 drive access (8-bit mode only)
	o Faster RAM Disk access (8-bit mode only)
	o Slot-4 set to 'Your Card' without losing mouse (GS/OS only)
	o Many bug fixes
	o Cool easter-egg: Digitized voice sound recording!

- New System Monitor features and commands
	o Bank wrapping	
	o Improved disassembler
	o Step/trace commands
	o Using above, ability to look at graphics still in memory

- Enhanced Control Panel
	o Generally cleaned up user options
	o AppleTalk mappable to slots 1, 2 and 7
	o Five (5) different mouse tracking speeds
	o RAM Disk resizable with a warm-boot

There are of course a few disadvantages, so let's be fair and go ahead
and jot those down:

- Ensoniq and VGC chips soldered to board
- Complete removal of IIe connectors and solder-pads (for IIe upgrade)
- Board's slot numbering not as clearly visible; very small print
- New bugs introduced (8 MB and RAM Disk--plus maximum size setting)
- Older Apple IIGS software compatible

Most of these disadvantages are irrelevant or in the case of firmware
bugs, were all (mostly) fixed by the release of System 6.0.1. That
leaves the software compatibility issue. Of course, since the ROM 3
was on the market long enough, most of the popular software titles
(even including some games and demos) were long since
updated or patched. 

Off the top of my head I can think of only one really outstanding
program that was never fixed. The pre-alpha release of BeatBox, a
MOD/MED player and editor that was never quite finished. There
was also a kind of neat 3D FillMode game from France (Antics) 
called Star Wizard. Skate or Die! was yet another, though only 
the music and graphics made it worthwhile (it was not exactly 
playable due to speed issues). The deprotected version of
Alien Mind comes up too, though the _original_ copy works fine. 
Oh, almost forgot the 1986 Apple IIGS dealer demo but I found
that only being sentimental rather than impressive. 

I still keep one or more ROM 01 machines handy for the odd game
or demo that's incompatible but find the ROM 3 vastly more usable
and pleasant for just about everything. Ironically, when running an
emulator like KEGS-32, I emulate the ROM 01 because virtually all
the advantages of the ROM 3 disappear in emulated form. :)

Mitchell Spector
a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca