diff --git a/examples/auto_chr_background.nes b/examples/auto_chr_background.nes
index 5fed29a..e80d644 100644
Binary files a/examples/auto_chr_background.nes and b/examples/auto_chr_background.nes differ
diff --git a/examples/sfx_pitch_envelope.nes b/examples/sfx_pitch_envelope.nes
index d75847b..652d4e4 100644
Binary files a/examples/sfx_pitch_envelope.nes and b/examples/sfx_pitch_envelope.nes differ
diff --git a/src/linker/mod.rs b/src/linker/mod.rs
index f5b3a97..11848ec 100644
--- a/src/linker/mod.rs
+++ b/src/linker/mod.rs
@@ -396,11 +396,19 @@ impl Linker {
 
         let mut all_instructions = Vec::new();
 
+        // `__oam_used` marker from IR codegen — set whenever user
+        // code contains at least one `draw` statement. Gates the
+        // `$FE` OAM shadow fill inside `gen_init`, the OAM DMA
+        // inside `gen_nmi`, and (cascaded below) the default palette
+        // / smiley / rendering-enable machinery. Programs that don't
+        // draw save ~520 cycles per NMI plus a handful of bytes.
+        let has_oam = has_label(user_code, "__oam_used");
+
         // RESET entry point
         all_instructions.push(Instruction::new(NOP, AM::Label("__reset".into())));
 
         // Hardware initialization
-        all_instructions.extend(runtime::gen_init());
+        all_instructions.extend(runtime::gen_init(has_oam));
 
         // Mapper configuration: for banked mappers, set up the PRG
         // layout so the fixed bank sits at $C000-$FFFF. NROM is a
@@ -413,17 +421,14 @@ impl Linker {
 
         // Whether the program produces any visual output. True if
         // the user declared a palette / sprite / background, or if
-        // user code contains the `__oam_used` marker (emitted by
-        // `IrOp::DrawSprite`). A purely audio- or compute-only
-        // program is happy to leave the PPU fully silent — no
-        // palette load, no rendering enable, no default-sprite
-        // smiley in CHR — so we gate the reset-time palette
-        // machinery on this flag. See the sprite-chr / OAM-DMA
-        // gates below for the other places it cascades.
-        let has_visual_output = !palettes.is_empty()
-            || !sprites.is_empty()
-            || !backgrounds.is_empty()
-            || has_label(user_code, "__oam_used");
+        // user code contains the `__oam_used` marker (i.e. draws).
+        // A purely audio- or compute-only program is happy to leave
+        // the PPU fully silent — no palette load, no rendering
+        // enable, no default-sprite smiley in CHR — so we gate the
+        // reset-time palette machinery on this flag. See the
+        // sprite-chr / OAM-DMA gates for the other places it cascades.
+        let has_visual_output =
+            !palettes.is_empty() || !sprites.is_empty() || !backgrounds.is_empty() || has_oam;
 
         // Load the initial palette. If the program declared any
         // `palette` blocks, use the first one; otherwise fall back
@@ -662,6 +667,7 @@ impl Linker {
             has_audio,
             debug_mode,
             has_sprite_cycle,
+            has_oam,
         }));
 
         // IRQ handler
diff --git a/src/runtime/mod.rs b/src/runtime/mod.rs
index ec322f7..d54329b 100644
--- a/src/runtime/mod.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/mod.rs
@@ -200,7 +200,17 @@ pub const AUDIO_SFX_PITCH_PTR_HI: u16 = 0x07F7;
 
 /// Generate the NES hardware initialization sequence.
 /// This runs at RESET and sets up the hardware before user code.
-pub fn gen_init() -> Vec<Instruction> {
+///
+/// `has_oam` controls the $0200 OAM shadow fill inside the RAM
+/// clear loop. When true, the shadow is filled with `$FE` so any
+/// sprite slot not explicitly written by a later `draw` stays
+/// off-screen (Y = $FE is out of the 240-line viewport). When
+/// false — i.e. the program never draws — the shadow stays at $00
+/// alongside the rest of RAM, saving ~4 bytes of init code since
+/// the inner-loop doesn't need the two extra LDA / mid-loop value
+/// swaps to load and restore the `$FE` immediate.
+#[must_use]
+pub fn gen_init(has_oam: bool) -> Vec<Instruction> {
     let mut out = Vec::new();
 
     // Disable IRQs and set decimal mode off
@@ -252,16 +262,24 @@ pub fn gen_init() -> Vec<Instruction> {
         AM::LabelRelative("__vblankwait1".into()),
     ));
 
-    // Clear RAM ($0000-$07FF)
+    // Clear RAM ($0000-$07FF). When the program uses sprites, the
+    // $0200-$02FF OAM shadow gets filled with $FE so unused slots
+    // stay off-screen (Y=$FE puts the sprite below scanline 240);
+    // programs that never draw skip that swap and zero-fill the
+    // whole 2 KB range uniformly.
     out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0x00)));
     out.push(Instruction::new(LDX, AM::Immediate(0x00)));
     out.push(Instruction::new(NOP, AM::Label("__clrmem".into())));
     out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0000)));
     out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0100)));
-    // OAM shadow: fill with $FE (hide sprites off-screen)
-    out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0xFE)));
-    out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0200)));
-    out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0x00)));
+    if has_oam {
+        // OAM shadow: fill with $FE (hide sprites off-screen).
+        out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0xFE)));
+        out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0200)));
+        out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0x00)));
+    } else {
+        out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0200)));
+    }
     out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0300)));
     out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0400)));
     out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::AbsoluteX(0x0500)));
@@ -361,6 +379,13 @@ pub struct NmiOptions {
     pub has_audio: bool,
     pub debug_mode: bool,
     pub has_sprite_cycle: bool,
+    /// When false, skip the OAM DMA (`$2003` address write + `$4014`
+    /// DMA trigger). A program that never `draw`s sprites has
+    /// nothing interesting to transfer — every one of the 256 OAM
+    /// bytes is either the $FE hide sentinel or a zeroed row —
+    /// so the DMA is ~520 wasted cycles per NMI. Skipping it saves
+    /// those cycles plus 9 bytes of NMI code.
+    pub has_oam: bool,
 }
 
 #[must_use]
@@ -370,6 +395,7 @@ pub fn gen_nmi(opts: NmiOptions) -> Vec<Instruction> {
         has_audio,
         debug_mode,
         has_sprite_cycle,
+        has_oam,
     } = opts;
     let mut out = Vec::new();
 
@@ -444,19 +470,26 @@ pub fn gen_nmi(opts: NmiOptions) -> Vec<Instruction> {
         out.push(Instruction::new(JSR, AM::Label("__audio_tick".into())));
     }
 
-    // OAM DMA — transfer sprite data from $0200. Programs that
-    // don't use `cycle_sprites` get the classic fixed-offset
-    // path (LDA #0); programs that opt in get the rotating
-    // offset read from SPRITE_CYCLE_ADDR. Both variants write
-    // the same low byte ($02) for the DMA source page.
-    if has_sprite_cycle {
-        out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Absolute(SPRITE_CYCLE_ADDR)));
-    } else {
-        out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0x00)));
+    // OAM DMA — transfer sprite data from $0200. Skipped entirely
+    // for programs that never `draw`: gated on `has_oam`, which the
+    // linker sets from the `__oam_used` marker the IR codegen drops
+    // at the first `IrOp::DrawSprite`. `has_sprite_cycle` is a
+    // strict subset of `has_oam` so a program that opts into cycling
+    // has definitely also drawn something.
+    //
+    // Programs that *do* draw choose between two paths: the classic
+    // fixed-offset (LDA #0) and the rotating offset read from
+    // SPRITE_CYCLE_ADDR used by `cycle_sprites`.
+    if has_oam {
+        if has_sprite_cycle {
+            out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Absolute(SPRITE_CYCLE_ADDR)));
+        } else {
+            out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0x00)));
+        }
+        out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::Absolute(OAM_ADDR)));
+        out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0x02)));
+        out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::Absolute(OAM_DMA)));
     }
-    out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::Absolute(OAM_ADDR)));
-    out.push(Instruction::new(LDA, AM::Immediate(0x02)));
-    out.push(Instruction::new(STA, AM::Absolute(OAM_DMA)));
 
     // PPU updates: check the flags byte, apply any pending palette
     // or background write. Runs inside vblank where $2006/$2007
diff --git a/src/runtime/tests.rs b/src/runtime/tests.rs
index a368aef..f34a260 100644
--- a/src/runtime/tests.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/tests.rs
@@ -4,13 +4,13 @@ use crate::asm::{AddressingMode as AM, Opcode::*};
 
 #[test]
 fn init_disables_irq() {
-    let init = gen_init();
+    let init = gen_init(true);
     assert_eq!(init[0].opcode, SEI);
 }
 
 #[test]
 fn init_sets_stack_pointer() {
-    let init = gen_init();
+    let init = gen_init(true);
     // LDX #$FF, TXS
     let has_ldx = init
         .iter()
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ fn init_sets_stack_pointer() {
 
 #[test]
 fn init_disables_ppu() {
-    let init = gen_init();
+    let init = gen_init(true);
     // Should write 0 to $2000 and $2001
     let writes_ppu_ctrl = init
         .iter()
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ fn init_disables_ppu() {
 
 #[test]
 fn init_enables_nmi_at_end() {
-    let init = gen_init();
+    let init = gen_init(true);
     // Last STA $2000 should enable NMI (bit 7 set = 0x80)
     let nmi_writes: Vec<_> = init
         .iter()
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ fn init_enables_nmi_at_end() {
 
 #[test]
 fn init_assembles_without_error() {
-    let init = gen_init();
+    let init = gen_init(true);
     let result = asm::assemble(&init, 0x8000);
     // Should produce non-empty output
     assert!(!result.bytes.is_empty(), "init should produce bytes");
@@ -85,12 +85,27 @@ fn nmi_saves_and_restores_registers() {
 }
 
 #[test]
-fn nmi_triggers_oam_dma() {
+fn nmi_triggers_oam_dma_when_requested() {
+    let nmi = gen_nmi(NmiOptions {
+        has_oam: true,
+        ..NmiOptions::default()
+    });
+    let has_dma = nmi
+        .iter()
+        .any(|i| i.opcode == STA && i.mode == AM::Absolute(0x4014));
+    assert!(has_dma, "NMI should trigger OAM DMA when has_oam is set");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn nmi_skips_oam_dma_by_default() {
+    // With `has_oam = false` (the default) the NMI must not write
+    // the OAM DMA trigger at $4014, saving ~520 cycles per frame
+    // for programs that don't `draw`.
     let nmi = gen_nmi(NmiOptions::default());
     let has_dma = nmi
         .iter()
         .any(|i| i.opcode == STA && i.mode == AM::Absolute(0x4014));
-    assert!(has_dma, "NMI should trigger OAM DMA");
+    assert!(!has_dma, "NMI should skip OAM DMA when has_oam is unset");
 }
 
 #[test]
@@ -203,8 +218,11 @@ fn nmi_sprite_cycle_variant_reads_rotating_offset() {
     // read SPRITE_CYCLE_ADDR and write it to OAM_ADDR ($2003)
     // before the DMA, instead of the default fixed 0. The
     // default variant must stay byte-identical to legacy NMI.
+    // Sprite cycling is always paired with `has_oam = true`
+    // (cycling is pointless without the DMA).
     let cycling = gen_nmi(NmiOptions {
         has_sprite_cycle: true,
+        has_oam: true,
         ..NmiOptions::default()
     });
     let reads_cycle = cycling
diff --git a/tests/emulator/goldens/sfx_pitch_envelope.audio.hash b/tests/emulator/goldens/sfx_pitch_envelope.audio.hash
index 8d0c60d..025c719 100644
--- a/tests/emulator/goldens/sfx_pitch_envelope.audio.hash
+++ b/tests/emulator/goldens/sfx_pitch_envelope.audio.hash
@@ -1 +1 @@
-9c881965 132084
+7be9372c 132084