>Roland McGrath writes:
>> I am tired of all this mail, so I read the source in
>> /usr/src/gnu/usr.bin/gcc2/arch/i386 and the answer is it never
>> produces new kinds of instructions, only different choices of 386
>> instructions and much bigger alignment.  Code compiled with -m486 from
>> the netbsd-current sources will run on a 386.  End of story.

>Not quite the end. We still don't have consensus on whether we should
>be compiling everything with -m486, and no one has given any facts on
>what this does to Pentium performance.

It sounds like some benchmarks are in order.  Sorry, I don't have a
Pentium, or I'd do them myself.  Might I suggest a rayshade and an
x11perf, with appropriately compiled binaries?  Although that requires
quite a bit of compilation beforehand, it sounds like a very thorough
test bed.

If all else fails, I might be able to set up NetBSD on one of my
Pentiums at work, temporarily, and give it a shot.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Michael L. VanLoon                                 michaelv@HeadCandy.com
       --<  Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x  >--
     NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac 68k, Amiga, HP300, Sun3, Sun4,
                           DEC PMAX (MIPS), DEC Alpha, PC532
     NetBSD ports in progress: VAX, Atari 68k, others...
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