I would like to use a 2CD set to install Gentoo. I would probably install it on a work laptop (Pentium-M) and a home PC (Athlon-XP). Would one CD set suit both (e.g. i686)? Which is best suited to the Pentium-M? Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1.Search at FAQ. 2.Search the install guide. 3.Search the Gentoo store. Actual Results: I still haven't found clear information about which CD set applies to which architecture. Expected Results: It would be very useful if; 1) Somewhere it said Pentium-M owners use pack xxx. 2) Each CD set described the archtecture it was effective for including upward compatibility. e.g. if i686 is a base for recent x86 then it could be described as suitable for Pentium4, Athlon, Pentium-M. If this were true.
The x86 set works for all x86 machines. It is also the only set on the official Gentoo mirrors. The i686 set works for all x86 machines since the Pentium Pro. It will not work on i486 or Pentium. It will work on any Athlon machine. The Pentium3 set works on Pentium3 and above, including coppermine and tualatin-based Celeron. It will not work on Pentium2 or Celeron not based on Pentium3. This will work on any Athlon XP-based machine or greater, however, 3dnow! will not be enabled. The Pentium4 set works on Pentium4 and above. It will not work on Pentium3 or Athlon XP. It will work on Athlon 64 or Opteron in 32-bit mode. The Athlon XP set works on Athlon XP and Athlon 64/Opteron iin 32-bit mode. It will not work on any Intel-based CPU. Honestly, it is really pretty simple. They are all forwards compatable, but none are backwards compatable. The Pentium-M CPU is essentially a P3 with SSE2, which means it is instruction-compatable with a P4. The AThlon XP is instruction-compatable with a P3 with the addition of 3Dnow! Personally, I would pick an i686 set, as it will work on any i686-based CPU and above that you decide to install onto. If you know you will only be using the 2 machines you have listed, then the Pentium3 CD set would be the highest optimized set. The "generic" sets are x86 and i686. The rest pretty much are to be used on the CPU they are labeled for, which makes it pretty self-explanatory. It might be helpful to list which is which in the Handbook.
I've added a FAQ regarding this: http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/faq.xml#cpus. It's not feasible to start a list with this many CPUs floating around in x86-space. If someone wants to start such a list either way and maintain it, please, don't hold in :)
