noapic or nolapic any differnce?

I have searched for a while before posting this. What is the difference if you pass your kernel the option noapic or nolapic. are those options the same?

I'm not sure you were also looking for an explanation of APICS in general, but ...
LAPIC is a Local Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controler. It can be a part of the cpu that well...handles interrupts, and proves most useful with multi-processor systems. Check out [THIS] page for a fuller explanation, and for some neat things that can be done with APICS.

My interpretation of the desriptions I have read is that APIC is just a general name for the device - which may have not been part of the CPU itself in early implementations. According to the linked page, the local version (on the cpu) has been in use since the arrival of the Pentium Pro.

Thanks. Looks like this will have no effect on my Dell dimension 4700 single cpu system...