On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 10:09 PM, Philipp Thomas
No it isn't! As Jeff said, PAE *requires* three level page tables and if the processor doesn't offer them it will refuse to load. The memory handling code relies on the number of page table levels available (i.e. the indirection needed to resolve addresses) and can currently only be changed by recompiling the kernel.
All Intel CPUs from the PPro onward, the AMD Athlon onwards, and the Via C7 Onwards support PAE. I think that to have a proc classified as i686 it has to support PAE(which is probably why the K6 series isn't classed as i686 and the current stuff won't install on them). My issue with PAE is that it doesn't provide anything useful unless you have a proc that has the NX/XD bit(Or more than 4GB RAM on a 32bit system). So, unless you have one of the 32bit ones(Pentium M(most of them), Core Duo/Solo) then the only other reason to use PAE is if you are running 32bit on a 64bit proc to enable the NX/XD bit. Now that 64bit is basically stable and has been, most 64bit owners should probably be encouraged to use 64bit anyway. Using PAE adds complexity that most don't really need. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-factory+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-factory+help@opensuse.org