npx(4)

NAME

npx - Numeric Processing Extension coprocessor

device npx
hint.npx.0.at="nexus"
hint.npx.0.port="0x0F0"
hint.npx.0.flags="0x0"
hint.npx.0.irq="13"

The npx driver enables the use of the system's Numeric Pro
cessing Extension coprocessor. Numeric processing extensions are present
in systems with 486DX CPUs and in systems with 387 or 487SX coproces
sors. The npx
driver is required for proper system functioning. If there
is no NPX in the system, the system will not boot.
The flags for npx0 are:
0x01 do not use the NPX registers to optimize bcopy. 0x02 do not use the NPX registers to optimize bzero. 0x04 do not use the NPX registers to optimize copyin or
copyout.
The NPX registers are normally used to optimize copying and
zeroing when all of the following conditions are satisfied:
1. cpu I586_CPU is an option
2. the CPU is an i586 (perhaps not a Pentium)
3. the probe for npx0 succeeds
4. INT 16 exception handling works.
Then copying and zeroing using the NPX registers is normally
30-100% faster.
The flags can be used to control cases where it does not
work or is slower. Setting them at boot time using userconfig works
correctly (the optimizations are not used until later in the bootstrap when
npx0 is attached).

There are lots of them, especially on old cheap mother
boards. In particular, some motherboards do not have the interrupt lines from
the NPX to the CPU wired properly.
BSD August 28, 1993