On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 2:56 PM, Maxim Wexler<[email protected]> wrote: > On 6/11/09, Paul Hartman <[email protected]> wrote: >> On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 1:14 PM, Maxim Wexler<[email protected]> wrote: >>> Hi group, >>> >>> Been tracking down other's kern config for 900A w/ N270 Atom cpu and >>> notice, so far, everyone goes for CONFIG_SMP=y. Why, particularly when >>> most commenters stress keeping the kernel as slim as possible? >>> >>> In the <help> window we have 'If you have a system with only one CPU, >>> like most personal computers, say N.' As far as I know the 900A has >>> only one CPU, unless there is some sort of virtual one I haven't heard >>> of yet. >> >> Does the CPU have multiple cores? If so, that's probably why. >> > > hmm, when I %cat /proc/cpuinfo I get processor :0 at the top of a list > of stuff then, just below that, processor :1 at the top of an > identical list. > > Are those two cores? I think CONFIG_MCORE2=y is recommended for the > Atom. Does MCORE2 mean 'two cores' or 'core no.2'? The <help> > window(under Symmetric multi-processor support) says nothing about > 'cores' Are 'cores' and 'cpus' the same thing in this context? > > Well, this has taken me all morning and half the afternoon and I > haven't even started 'Power management...' options yet. I'll just say > 'yes' to SMP and carry on. Hopefully have the definitive answer by > midnight and I can make the darn kernel.
That is correct, SMP is required to use the multi-core option. Multi-Cores and SMP are not the same thing, but are "basically" the same thing, so the same code handles both. It appears you do have a dual-core CPU, so you should use SMP and the multi-core option in your kernel config. Otherwise you'll only be using half of your processor's ability.
