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| id | title | tags | created | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rmvm | ROM versus disk loading |
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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.