em0, polling performance, P4 2.8ghz FSB 800mhz

[Andrew Gallatin]

Don Bowman writes:

 > I'm not sure what affect on fxp. fxp is inherently limited
 > by something internal to it, which prevents achieving 
 > high packet rates. bge is the best chip, but doesn't
 > have the best bsd support.
 > 

Just curious - why is bge the best chip?  Is it because
it exports a really nice API (separate recv ring for small messages),
or is the chip inherently faster, regardless of its API?

I'm trying to design a new ethernet API for a firmware-based nic,
and I'm trying to convince a colleague that having separate
receive rings for small and large frames is a really good thing.

Thanks,

Drew