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zk/ROM_versus_disk_loading.md

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+---
+id: rmvm
+title: ROM versus disk loading
+tags: [computer-architecture, memory]
+created: Monday, June 24, 2024
+---
+
+# ROM versus disk loading
+
+I will explore the concept via the practical examples of cartridge-based and
+disk-based video games console.
+
+When you insert a disk into an XBox, the game data is transferred from the disk
+into the console's memory by the OS. When you insert a cartridge into a SNES,
+there is no transferral of data. The game data is stored on a chip and this chip
+is attached to the motherboard. From the point of view of the OS, it is just
+another chip along with the others that comprise the motherboard.
+
+The chief advantage with a ROM game is that the latency is greatly reduced. The
+game data can be accessed as rapidly as any other data travelling along the
+busses of the motherboard. With a disk, the bytes have to be transferred in a
+buffer from the disk into a memory address and from there, accessed by the CPU.
+
+With a ROM, the console CPU still uses its own memory to run the game (as with
+disk-based consoles), it is just that the game data on the ROM can be loaded
+into memory quicker because it is attached to the motherboard.
+
+becomes part of the motherboard just like the other chips that comprise the
+motherboard.
+
+## Related notes