gentoo k7

Gill Bates · 09-01-2003, 02:34 PM

there is a gentoo distro optimised for k7 cpus, isn't that the same as compiling the software to i686 and setting the kernel to run on k7 chips?

acid_kewpie · 09-01-2003, 02:49 PM

gentoo is compiled from source, so is optimized for whatever cpu it is running on....

contrasutra · 09-01-2003, 08:53 PM

While Athlons and Pentiums are both i686 compatable, they are each slightly different.

So a compiler can take advantage of specific optimizations for each processor. SSE2 and 3DNow are good examples.

Remember, AMDs processors shoot lots of data through short pipes, and Intel just makes the pipes bigger. They are different.

Gill Bates · 09-02-2003, 03:18 AM

is there a way to compile source code for k7 specifically and not just i686?

acid_kewpie · 09-02-2003, 03:28 AM

you mean athlon-xp or such? well you should be defining correct compiler flags in /etc/make.conf,which is very well commented to help you.

LSD · 09-02-2003, 04:02 AM

Code:

CFLAGS="-mcpu=athlon -march=athlon -O3 -pipe"

should be enough to get the results he wants (depending on which type of Athlon you have, substitute athlon-xp, athlon-mp or athlon-tbird as needed. Avoid athlon-4 as this apparently generates invalid SSE instructions). although it's best to take care when specifying -march as this'll break compatibility with otehr CPUs although that shouldn't be much of a problem if the binaries you're creating are only ever going to be run on the one system.

Gill Bates · 09-02-2003, 06:31 AM

wow, thanks guys