Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

On Mon, 14 Nov 2005, sindi keesan wrote:

> On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 3aoo-cvfd AT dea.spamcon.org wrote:
>
> > Sheldon Isaac wrote:
> > > >  zimage                       11-Nov-2005 01:02  448K
> > > >  zimage.4dx                   11-Nov-2005 14:08  432K
> > > >  zimage.p1                    11-Nov-2005 14:11  421K
> > > >  zimage.p2                    11-Nov-2005 14:14  421K
> > >
> > > What should I use on my ASUS p5a motherboard (super socket 7),
> > > which has an AMD K6-2-450 processor?

I found the answer at Linux From Scratch.
I think what Steven means by p1 and p2 is i586 and i686 (the CONFIG_M586
and CONFIG_m686 options in the kernel config).

i486 - Winchip and VIA.  I have a Winchip.  It sort of worked in one 
board.

i585 -Pentium 1 and Pentium MMX, AMD K5, K6, K6-2, and K6-3
(and K6 3D which is the same as K6-2, and K6-2+ and K6-3+
These do not support some of the instructions supported by Pentium Pro, 
and Pentium 2-4, so are not considered P2 equivalents.

i686 - Pentium Pro (200MHz and maybe others), Pentium II (233-300MHz I
think), Pentium 3, Pentium 4, Pentium M


So a 233MHz Pentium II (in Slot 1 Intel board) is i686 ('P2') whereas a 
550MHz AMD K6-III in Super Socket 7 board is i585 ('P1').

David compiled one version of Mplayer that was set to work only with P2 - 
okay on a 300MHz PII but not a 500MHz AMD K-2 or K-3.

AMD made several cpus to fit in Super Socket 7 board (100MHz).

K6-2 worked at 66 or 100MHz so can use 66MHz or PC100 SDRAM (the latter 
may be marked not PC100 but 10 ns or 8 ns).  No onchip cache. It was first 
called 3D then renamed to -2.  Two models - introduced May and Nov 1998, 
speeds 233-350 (Chomper) and 266-550MHz (Extended, CXT).  The latter 
worked at 2.2-2.4V, the former only at 2.2V.

K6-III is 100MHz only, 256K on chip cache (L2), 2.2-2.4 (or 2.3-2.5V, 
depending who you believe).  400 or 450MHz only.  Made starting Feb 1999

The next two models are 180nm instead of 250nm.  (chip size?)
And lower voltage.  (This might make it easier to overclock them?)
Both made starting April 18, 2000.

K6-III+ same 256K L2 cache, 2.0V - 450, 475, 500, 550MHz
K6-2+ 128K L2 cache, otherwise the same - also in 533 and 570MHz.


K7 - Athlon - in Slot A   - is i686

> > The zimage kernel should work with just about anything.
> > The zimage.p2 will probably perform best on your CPU.

> From what I read at LSF and elsewhere, the i686 kernel (which I am 
assuming is your 'p2') will NOT work on any AMD prior to Athlon (which 
goes into Socket A, not Super Socket 7).  Use zimage.p1 (i586).

Let us know what happens if you try to boot with the p2 (i686) kernel with 
your Super Socket 7 board with AMD K6-2 cpu.  Or I can try it myself.  We 
have 8 Super 7 boards and 10 cpus to test on.

I also read that a K6-2 won't boot with the 2.4 kernel unless you tell it 
not to check something about no-hit.  It gets a kernel panic.

I got the impression that (at least for some linux kernel, maybe prior to 
2.2.*) there was a way to optimize for K6 cpus, or maybe this was just for 
some specific program.

I also learned that there is a lot of disagreeing information on the web.
"i686  is used only for 64-bit cpus"
"i686 is used for all modern 32-bit cpus"
I presume the AMD K6 are neither 64-bit or modern.


Sindi

> > Cheers,
> > Steven