i-386 vs i-686
 

Hey guys..im kinda comfused about these 2 . I have an Athlon XP 1700 CPU and im kinda confused about whether its an i386 or i686. Can someone help clarify what those are anyways? My KDE Control Center shows that im running an i686 system..does that sound right ?

Yeah, an AthlonXP would qualify as an i686-equivalent.

i386 refers to the old Intel-386 processor. It was a "lowest common denominator" for systems for years. The current "LCD" is the i586 "Pentium". The i686 is becoming more and more prevalent, though.