x86/build: Rework CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU compiler flags

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Building an x86-64 kernel with CONFIG_GENERIC_CPU is documented to
run on all CPUs, but the Makefile does not actually pass an -march=
argument, instead relying on the default that was used to configure
the toolchain.

In many cases, gcc will be configured to -march=x86-64 or -march=k8
for maximum compatibility, but in other cases a distribution default
may be either raised to a more recent ISA, or set to -march=native
to build for the CPU used for compilation. This still works in the
case of building a custom kernel for the local machine.

The point where it breaks down is building a kernel for another
machine that is older the the default target. Changing the default
to -march=x86-64 would make it work reliable, but possibly produce
worse code on distros that intentionally default to a newer ISA.

To allow reliably building a kernel for either the oldest x86-64
CPUs, pass the -march=x86-64 flag to the compiler. This was not
possible in early versions of x86-64 gcc, but works on all currently
supported versions down to at least gcc-5.

Signed-off-by: Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de>
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org>
Cc: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250226213714.4040853-4-arnd@kernel.org

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Arnd Bergmann 2025-02-26 22:37:07 +01:00 • committed by Ingo Molnar

parent 0abf508675

commit fc2d5cbe54

1 changed files with 2 additions and 2 deletions

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arch/x86/Makefile

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