performance tests conducted on 7.04, 7.10, 8.04, 8.10rc

[Dan Munckton]

> While we're on the topic of performance, when I first upgraded to Hardy
> I certainly felt that something had degraded somewhere
> performance-wise.

I note that the Completely Fair Scheduler was introduced in kernel
2.6.23. Gutsy used 2.6.22, Hardy 2.6.24. I guess this could very well be
a contributor to the change in responsiveness.

I will try to find time to recompile my kernel configured with the old
scheduler to see if that makes a difference.

I also note that compiling using gcc 4.3 does take much longer now. I
used to be able to compile the ports kernel on my PS3 with a cold ccache
using gcc 4.1 in about one hour. When I tested using 4.3 I think it took
just longer than 2 hours!