Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!cbatt!ucbvax!cdfb.utoronto!a228arig From: a228arig@cdfb.utoronto.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Re: enhancing //e Message-ID: <8704070012.AA27758@cdfb.toronto.edu> Date: Mon, 6-Apr-87 19:12:54 EST Article-I.D.: cdfb.8704070012.AA27758 Posted: Mon Apr 6 19:12:54 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 11-Apr-87 09:27:04 EST Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Distribution: world Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 46 > I have an unenhanced //e, and I am going to get an upgrade on > memory. Do I need to get a new chip put on my motherboard to use > say a extended 80-col board? No, you need to motherboard hardware changes to use the extended 80 col. card. You may need to run a jumper on the 80 col. card to use Double hi-res graphics though. > How is the enhanced version of the > motherboard different? Is the only difference, that it has mouse > characters in the ROM? The character set is part of the difference. There is no motherboard difference, but the differences are as follows. 1: The CPU. The unenhanced has the plain 6502, and the enhanced has the CMOS version, 65C02. The 65C02 has some extra instructions that the 6502 doesn't have, as well as a few bug-fixes. I think that it also runs cooler and faster. You can easily replace the 6502 with the 65C02 with no problems, inyour //e. 2. The firmware. The boot ROMs, as well as other parts of the ROM is different . That means that there are incompatibilities. Some software runs on the old version of the ROMs only, while others required the enhanced ROMs. So, it's a trade off there. 3. The character Generator ROM. That is what makes the character set different. The enhanced has Mousetext characters in lieu of some inverse characters. So, it's basically a trade off... compatibility with older software, or newer software. Actually, a friend of mine burned his own EPROMs and put a switch in to allow him to switch back and forth between enhanced and unenhanced //e. Worked very well too, so you CAN have the best of both worlds... --Tak ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- UUCP: {utzoo, decvax, ihnp4, cbosgd, utcsri, mnetor}!utgpu!utcdfa!a228arig ARPAnet: a228arig%cdfa.toronto.edu@relay.cs.net CSnet: a228arig%cdfa.toronto.edu BITNET: utoronto%"a228arig@cdfa.utoronto" (<- with some luck) (or better yet, mail through CSnet) == University of Toronto -- Toronto, Canada == -----------------------------------------------------------------------------