From: cr88192@gmail.com   
      
   On 12/26/2025 1:56 AM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:   
   > On Fri, 26 Dec 2025 01:52:15 -0500, Paul wrote:   
   >   
   >> On Fri, 12/26/2025 12:42 AM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>> On Thu, 25 Dec 2025 23:25:39 -0500, Paul wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> My CPU happens to have a random number generator running at   
   >>>> 500MB/sec.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> ...   
   >>>>   
   >>>> The Linux people happen not to like those, but, they exist anyway,   
   >>>> chugging away.   
   >>>   
   >>> Because it’s difficult to see how you can trust them.   
   >>>   
   >>> Not without thoroughly mashing them through something like this   
   >>> , anyway.   
   >>   
   >> The claim was, that x86 processors didn't have anything.   
   >   
   > Not what I was responding to. I said nothing about such a claim, either   
   > way.   
      
   In my case, I was not aware of such a feature having been added, but I   
   haven't really been keeping up with every new feature being added to x86   
   in recent years.   
      
      
      
      
   Some years ago, I got sorta burned on AVX, as it wasn't until comparably   
   recently that I got a CPU that could actually run it (I tend to build   
   PCs with parts that are a few generations behind, to keep cost more   
   reasonable). And, it wasn't until very recently (a few months ago) that   
   I got something where using AVX didn't make things actively slower (my   
   main PC can run AVX, technically, but doing so performs poorly).   
      
   Much after AVX, I sorta lost motivation to keep up on newer additions to   
   the ISA; as often it would be a painfully long time before I would   
   actually be able to use it (and I still don't have any PC's with CPUs   
   made in this decade).   
      
      
   Well, and then it has started seeming like in a longer term sense, x86   
   may be doomed. Granted, its end has been predicted for a long time,   
   though its main threat may be in part the end of Moore's law, which in a   
   mostly steady-state it is likely that performance per area and   
   performance per watt will become the dominant factors, and conventional   
   x86 processors haven't been great on either front here (combined with a   
   longer term timeframe making JIT compilation and eventually abandonment   
   the more likely endgame).   
      
   Well, and after Moore's law hits its limit, it may backslide slightly as   
   things settle on whichever process node is most economical in a perf/$   
   sense.   
      
   Though, this is unlikely to happen quickly (more likely over a period of   
   decades).   
      
   Well, and then there are more near-term things, like the mess of things   
   the whole "AI" thing is creating, and MS repeatedly shooting itself in   
   the foot (maybe not enough to dethrone themselves, but they are pushing it).   
      
   ...   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)