Gentoo on x86-32...

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Atha · Post by **Atha** » Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:51 am

We had Gentoo on AMD64, so why not have Gentoo on x86-32 for the same reasons?

Just my 2¢...

Post by **NeddySeagoon** » Sun Jul 25, 2021 10:12 am

Atha,

Gentoo on AMD64 dates from a time when amd64 was new. Now its mainstream, that forum has been read only for a few years.
I'm not sure we need a x86-32 for the sunset architecture. That's not really a fair description as 32 bit lives on as far back as i486 compatible systems on a chip (SoC) in the embedded space.

Personally, I'm not against it.

It would need a good description or terms of reference.
Would 32 bit installs on AMD64 fit there for instance?

It would be quite a lot of work setting it up as the existing forums would need to be reviewed for some seed topics for the new forum.
Only Mods/Admins can do the moves but anyone can make suggestions.

That's a definite maybe from me.

Atha · Post by **Atha** » Sun Jul 25, 2021 10:48 am

Okay, I didn't think about the move part...

My approach is that 32-bit becomes the exception, not the rule. More and more software has issues with 32-bit, most packages are only tested on 64-bit nowerdays. And, yes, a 32-Bit install on an AMD64 system would certainly qualify as well: every x86 processor has Real Mode (8086), 16-Bit Protected Mode (80286), 32-Bit Protected Mode (i386) and Long Mode (AMD64). Running a modern x64 system in 32-Bit Protected mode would be a 32-bit system, would it not? (But who would do that?!?)

You might refer to the x32 ABI? This is technically Long Mode also, and I think it's also not that well supported. That would have to be excluded. (Be its own forum even?)

The Linux kernel still supports the 486 and up. Like on PPC, with 32-Bit it's getting harder to make things work. For every less and less used system, like PPC and PPC64 and in this case 32-Bit-x86 aka x86-32, a lot of code is not checking the system's capabilities correctly, e.g. I've read that rust uses SSE2 on i686 even though it might not be available (see Web browser options for PPC64? reply by Hu).

It's just a suggestion. To me it seems that 32-Bit-x86 is becoming more and more what PPC/PPC64 already is. Look at how many people are actually using it: less and less.

BTW, IA-32 ("Intel Architecture 32-Bit") includes x64/AMD64, hence the name x86-32 for specifically 32-Bit-x86. This also distinguishes it from x32 (the ABI).

eccerr0r · Post by **eccerr0r** » Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:08 am

Seems the real problem with 32-bit is the fragmentation that SSE2 made. Argh.

Tony0945 · Post by **Tony0945** » Sat Sep 11, 2021 3:04 pm

Atha wrote:Running a modern x64 system in 32-Bit Protected mode would be a 32-bit system, would it not? (But who would do that?!?)

I do. (actually a partition boot). I use it as a build box for k6-3 system. That chip predates amd64. Essentially it acts as a much faster, full 4G memory builder for the target that is physically limited to 512Meg memory and slower clock speed. Actually, I think the lack of memory and PCI IDE controller are bottlenecks too.

eccerr0r · Post by **eccerr0r** » Sat Sep 11, 2021 4:13 pm

Likewise, I'm still running a 32-bit Gentoo VM on a 64-bit host. It was my first Gentoo install...main server/shell box, still running it and it's still up to date!

How bad is the PCI IDE controller bottleneck, is it slowing things down that much? I was getting 50MB/sec through PCI/IDE - while slow by today's standards, HDDs themselves were slower then...

Tony0945 · Post by **Tony0945** » Sat Sep 11, 2021 5:01 pm

eccerr0r wrote:How bad is the PCI IDE controller bottleneck, is it slowing things down that much? I was getting 50MB/sec through PCI/IDE - while slow by today's standards, HDDs themselves were slower then...

The buildbox has a SATA SSD, but I think 512MB is the real killer.