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Different ROM SE/30
- Thread starter jacopodn
- Start date
Agree with what @obsolete said. I have probably half a dozen different kinds of SE/30 ROM SIMMS; if they are stock, they all (at least from what I have seen!) do the same thing. I think it mostly came down to what kinds of chips they could get their hands on at the time to use in them.
Most folks here replace the stock one with something better, like a ROM-inator from Big Mess of Wires:
shop.bigmessowires.com
Most folks here replace the stock one with something better, like a ROM-inator from Big Mess of Wires:
Mac ROM-inator II Carbon SIMM
Supercharge your Macintosh SE/30 or Macintosh II-series computer! Add a bootable ROM disk, gain HD20 hard disk support, and benefit from a 32-bit clean ROM. Looking to add new features to your old Mac? The Mac ROM-inator II Carbon replaces the stock Macintosh ROM SIMM with a 4 MB custom flash...
shop.bigmessowires.com
IMO there's not a huge gain to installing a 32 bit clean ROM by itself as you lose the ability to boot A/UX and System 7.5 (without modifications). You gain the ability to install (modified) 7.6 and 8.1 which don't really run well on this hardware anyways. With third party hacked ROM images you can also have a ROM Disk but personally I prefer to use an external SCSI emulator instead. If the ROM socket is worn (as most tend to be) it's also common to have issues with modern 1.2mm PCB SIMMs making appropriate contact without bodges to wedge it in there.
As Bolle pointed out you can just install Mode32 on the stock ROM.
Besides the possibility of a ROM Disk, there is a fringe benefit for performance if you have one of my Booster accelerators with the ROM Boost function. If a IIsi/IIci ROM is used with a compatible* ROM SIMM, having 32 bit color quickdraw in the ROM means quickdraw routines are sped up anywhere from 10% - 60% compared to without the ROM Boost. SE/30 ROMs have 32 bit color quickdraw patched in RAM and so don't benefit from the ROM speed increase.
* I do not recommend Rominator and other unbuffered SIMMs using TSOP flash as they cannot support high speed operation due to insufficient drive strength. It's fine for stock, but use either GG Labs or a design with discrete buffers if you want to use the ROM Boost.
As Bolle pointed out you can just install Mode32 on the stock ROM.
Besides the possibility of a ROM Disk, there is a fringe benefit for performance if you have one of my Booster accelerators with the ROM Boost function. If a IIsi/IIci ROM is used with a compatible* ROM SIMM, having 32 bit color quickdraw in the ROM means quickdraw routines are sped up anywhere from 10% - 60% compared to without the ROM Boost. SE/30 ROMs have 32 bit color quickdraw patched in RAM and so don't benefit from the ROM speed increase.
* I do not recommend Rominator and other unbuffered SIMMs using TSOP flash as they cannot support high speed operation due to insufficient drive strength. It's fine for stock, but use either GG Labs or a design with discrete buffers if you want to use the ROM Boost.
Yeah, hacked ROMs are massively overrated; it's not really an upgrade in any meaningful way, it's more an excuse to tinker.
I didn't know that.....thanks for the info! I will admit, that while I have a few BMOW ROMs I mostly use ROMs that I received from Zane....who I guess isn't on the board anymore (I do believe he helped found Tinker Different). I was beta testing them for him...and have been so impressed by their performance, that I have kept using them.
I have had problems using MODE 32 where sometimes the computer would crash, and then it would default to 24-bit mode, and then you have to re-initialize 32-bit mode, and then re-boot......don't have that problem with 32-bit clean ROMs. And of course, having the ability to boot into the ROM disk on them has saved me more than once.
Granted, I still use my old computers a lot...not just for classic gaming, but also for things such as writing, as it is a (mostly) distraction-free way for me to get things done.....and it's a fun way too.
In the end, I guess it is whatever works best for you
Boot NetBSD/m68k natively with a fully custom ROM
