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From: =?utf-8?Q?Dag-Erling_Sm=C3=B8rgrav?= <des@des.no>
To: Garrett Cooper <yanegomi@gmail.com>
References: <506C385C.3020400@FreeBSD.org> <506DEB4C.5020508@andric.com>
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Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:04:26 +0200
In-Reply-To: <CAGH67wQqs9DJoy0LSgKi1_wMFyrHUE69Dgc2dht7q8VXDVAeQQ@mail.gmail.com>
	(Garrett Cooper's message of "Fri, 5 Oct 2012 00:40:51 -0700")
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Cc: Konstantin Belousov <kostikbel@gmail.com>,
	Dimitry Andric <dimitry@andric.com>,
	Andriy Gapon <avg@freebsd.org>, freebsd-arch@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: x86 boot code build
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Garrett Cooper <yanegomi@gmail.com> writes:
> I would target the appropriate architecture (amd64) where it matters
> (amd64), and target the lowest sane common denominator on i386. In
> reality, what does a couple MB mean on amd64 vs i386?

1) Nobody mentioned amd64 - this is about i386.

2) It's not a question of *size* but of *performance*.  By targeting the
   least capable platform that our users are likely to encounter
   (pentium-mmx) instead of one which is virtually eradicated (486), we
   can use features that are available on the former but not the latter.

   Someone said they'd like to target SSE2, but that would leave many
   common embedded systems out in the cold.  If we do that, we should
   provide two sets of binaries; one set for sse2-capable machines
   (which covers all i386 desktop and server machines made in the last
   ten years) and one set for pentium-mmx (which covers the soekris and
   other popular SFF / embedded systems).

DES
--=20
Dag-Erling Sm=C3=B8rgrav - des@des.no