[Techtalk] i386 or i686?

[TechChiq]

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 07:55:47 -0600, Julie <txjulie at austin.rr.com> wrote:

> If you want maximum performance, and are running a modern Pentium,
> such as a P3 or P4, go with the i686 RPMs.

I have a PII/MMX (366MHz) and I can use i686 RPMs just fine. In fact, if 
you watch carefully during boot-up, you should be able to see what the 
system detects for your cpu type. Unfortunately, this information doesn't 
seem to appear if you type 'dmesg' at the command line to see what your 
boot up messages are. On mine, it detects as i686. Another way to check is 
look in your /lib folder. If you see an i686 folder, then you probably can 
use i686 RPMs. If you only see an i386 then you can't. Some distros might 
say i386 anyway though. On my Pink Tie 9 (RH 9) system, I have a /lib/i686 
folder but no /lib/i386 folder.

As for which to use, if you know you won't be going down to a lesser 
computer in the near future, I would say try for the i686 RPMs if you find 
them. But using i586s or i386s should also work. I try to get the higher 
ones if possible, only accepting the lower ones if no others are available.

Or, to be best optimized, get the source and compile it on your machine, 
then re-tarball it so you have the source and compiled stuff in case you 
want to reinstall later. Do a 'make install' to install after compiling, 
or a 'make uninstall' to remove it. I used to keep my sources in /usr/src 
but deciding I think to put it in /opt/src (which I'd create myself). RPMs 
are easier though. :)

TechChiq

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