Gentoo Archives: gentoo-dev

From: Daniel Robbins <drobbins@g.o>
To: gentoo-dev@×××××××××××.net, gentoo-user@×××××××××××.net
Subject: [gentoo-dev] Don't use Athlon/Duron/K7 kernels!
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 19:27:21
Message-Id: 20011221192721.A5233@chiba.3jane.net
1 Hi All,
2
3 I just found out an important tidbit of information that was absolutely
4 essential that I pass on. Basically, as of right now, you should *not*
5 use the "Athlon/Duron/K7" processor type option when compiling a kernel
6 under Gentoo Linux.
7
8 Why? Because right now, our compiler toolchain (gcc/binutils) has some
9 K7-related instruction bugs and will give you a flaky kernel. This has
10 been confirmed through experience. With K7 enabled, my nvidia driver
11 couldn't initialize the DMA push buffer it needed to do AGP. With
12 a "Pentium Pro" kernel, all was well.
13
14 The moral of the story? If you have an Athlon or Duron, choose a
15 processor type of "Pentium Pro" when compiling a kernel for your system.
16 You'll get a high-performing and stable kernel. When we upgrade our
17 toolchain (soon), this problem will go away.
18
19 Best Regards,
20
21 --
22 Daniel Robbins <drobbins@g.o>
23 Chief Architect/President http://www.gentoo.org
24 Gentoo Technologies, Inc.