386 vs 686 kernels

[Kevin]

On 5/17/06 12:04 AM, "Dazed_75" <lthielster at gmail.com> wrote:

> 1) Is there any drawback to upgrading my Ubuntu 5.10 (or 6,x soon) to
> using a 686 version of the kernel?

There is no disadvantage.  You should use the kernel that most closely
matches your actual hardware for best performance.
 
> 2) Is there any good reason for a package manager like Synaptic NOT to
> recognize and suggest the possible upgrade?

By default, Ubuntu uses a basic 386 kernel for increased hardware
compatibility "out-of-the-box" without adding all the possible kernels to
the installer.  At one time, there was an note on their website that did a
nice job explaining this.  I can't find it now.

...Kevin