(This isn't really about either port.  Or it's about both.)

I have an interest in running a faster/more modern x86 box.

However, I also need to run Java, and so far as I can tell, Linux
compatibility, and thus the sun JDK, aren't working yet on amd64.

Is it possible to just run NetBSD/i386 on a 64-bit processor and ignore
the extra features?

-s