Modern versions of MAME are significantly more demanding on system resources because they prioritize 100% accuracy over speed.
You can find these via or ACM Digital Library using keywords: "MAME" "ROM" "emulation" "arcade" MAME 0.89 -roms-
MAME 0.89 was released during a period of aggressive development. The MAME team was refining the drivers for complex titles that had previously been unplayable. However, this came at a cost: increased hardware requirements. For many users, MAME 0.89 represents a sweet spot. It was advanced enough to support thousands of games with high accuracy, yet optimized enough to run flawlessly on the hardware of the day—and crucially, on the low-powered hardware of today (such as Raspberry Pi retro builds) that might struggle with modern MAME’s cycle-exact accuracy. Modern versions of MAME are significantly more demanding
With an 8GB non-merged set, you hold in your hands the ability to play 6,500 arcade games—from Pong to Metal Slug 3 —with faithful graphics, responsive controls, and that unmistakable arcade "clatter" of samples. However, this came at a cost: increased hardware
A widespread misconception is that a ROM is simply a file. If you have a file named pacman.zip , you might assume it works on every emulator. However, MAME is an evolving archive. As the MAME developers discover better ways to dump chips, fix errors in the original code, or merge identical game boards, the file structure changes.