I looked through some of the posts / google and I see some saying this is as simle as dropping a ROM chip in place of the old one, and on some they say if you have 3 and 5 Rev MB you need to jumper pins 1 and 31 on 2.04 ROM chip. Which is correct? Does ROM 2.04 needs to be jumpered or is it only for higher kickstart ROMs?

Also if it does need to be jumpered would that be just soldering a piece of copper wire accross the CPU between those pins and what kind of wire would that be? what gauge ?

Thanks

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are several different versions of the A500 PCB: Rev 3, Rev 5, Rev 6A and Rev 7 (The revision number is printed on the top of the main board in the front right corner). Installation differs depending on the PCB revision:

1> For Rev 3 and Rev 5 boards, the 2.04 ROM IC must have pin 1 jumpered to pin 31. This connects A17 (pin 1 on the ROM chip) to A17 (pin 31 from PCB). Align the jumpered 2.04 ROM with socket U6, and press firmly into place. Check for bent pins.

2> For Rev 6A and above, cut or remove any jumpers from the top of the chip. Align the 2.04 ROM with socket U6 and press firmly down into place. Check for bent pins.

From Software Hut's Resource page on their website.

I agree that you should just upgrade to 3.1.

And for 3.1 here is what needs to be done:

1> For Rev 3 and Rev 5 boards, the ROM socket must have pin 1 connected to pin 31 and the ROM IC must have connected pin 21 to bent-up pin 31.

2> For Rev 6A and above, the ROM must not have any connection.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother... If you really want Kick2.x then an A500+ or A600 already has it, and ECS too.

Much better is an A1200 which will give you Kick3.0/3.1 as standard, with better expansion options, and I gather that 3.1 is the "preferred" option for all Amiga models if you are going to upgrade them anyway.

As great as the A1200 is (voted best design here on AO), you won't be happy to find out that a significant percentage of your favorite A500/2000 games won't work correctly with it.   That was a disappointment for me.  So if you care about that, it might be best to stick with the straight 68000 processor rather than go the A1200 route IMO.