[PATCH] Utilize i686, SSE and MMX by default on FreeBSD/i386

[M. Warner Losh]

In message: <86y6hkiien.fsf at ds4.des.no>
            Dag-Erling Smørgrav <des at des.no> writes:
: Daniel Eischen <deischen at freebsd.org> writes:
: > Perhaps I was wrong, but I thought Scott's question was more general:
: > is there a desire for a special installation suitable to small
: > appliances (usually flash-based)?
: 
: Not all "small appliances" are flash-based; the Geode-based soekris can
: use 2.5" disks and has enough memory to run a stock install.  The only
: trouble I've had is with /etc/periodic/daily/470.status-named, which
: uses an ungodly amount of memory.  The AMD Geode is more or less
: equivalent to a Pentium MMX, and does not have SSE.
: 
: Soekris net4801-48:
: 
: CPU: Geode(TM) Integrated Processor by National Semi (266.65-MHz 586-class CPU)
:   Origin = "Geode by NSC"  Id = 0x540  Stepping = 0
:   Features=0x808131<FPU,TSC,MSR,CX8,CMOV,MMX>
: real memory  = 134217728 (128 MB)
: avail memory = 126160896 (120 MB)
: 
: Soekris net5501-70:
: 
: CPU: Geode(TM) Integrated Processor by AMD PCS (499.91-MHz 586-class CPU)
:   Origin = "AuthenticAMD"  Id = 0x5a2  Stepping = 2
:   Features=0x88a93d<FPU,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,CX8,SEP,PGE,CMOV,CLFLUSH,MMX>
:   AMD Features=0xc0400000<MMX+,3DNow!+,3DNow!>
: real memory  = 536870912 (512 MB)
: avail memory = 510726144 (487 MB)

You don't really get into the small to flash install realm until you
start hitting some of the !x86 embedded boxes.  There, you have to
have a hand-crafted firmware load for each box or a limited range of
boxes.  This is even true in linux land.  You'll never use sysinstall
or anything remotely like it to install onto a Linksys WRT55G.  you're
going to give the firmware loader a new firmware image via http or
simething like that.

So for the x86 case, there's not a good argument to be made for
hyperoptimizing GENERIC.

Warner