86Box-docs/dev/builds.rst

Advanced builds
===============

The `86Box Jenkins <https://ci.86box.net/job/86Box/>`_ provides all kinds of pre-release testing builds for advanced users. These are linked to the `86Box git repository on GitHub <https://github.com/86Box/86Box>`_; a new build is produced with the latest source code every time the repository is updated.

.. important:: Testing builds are development snapshots which may contain bugs, unfinished features or other issues. These should only be used if you know what you're doing.

Variants
--------

86Box builds are available in a number of variants. The Jenkins page will automatically detect the recommended variant for the system you're viewing it on, but if you're downloading builds for a different system (or you have disabled JavaScript), use the guide below to select a variant:

* The **Old Recompiler** is recommended. The **New Recompiler** is in beta; you may experience bugs and performance loss with it.

  * The Old Recompiler is not available for the ARM architecture. You must select the New Recompiler for running 86Box on ARM Linux systems such as the Raspberry Pi.

* On **Windows**, **x86 (32-bit)** is recommended even if you have a 64-bit system.

  * x64 (64-bit) allows for emulating more than 2 GB of RAM on some later machines and using larger soundfonts with FluidSynth, at a slight performance loss.

* On **Linux**, select the correct architecture for your system, as most distributions lack x64-to-x86 and ARM64-to-ARM32 backwards compatibility by default.

* On **macOS**, **Universal** supports both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

  * The New Recompiler is always used on Apple Silicon due to its ARM architecture, even if the Old Recompiler is selected.

.. note:: Debug variants have been moved to a `special page on the 86Box website <//86box.net/debug.html>`_ as of July 18th 2022 due to constant misuse.

Discontinued variants
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

* Dev variants (**86Box-Dev** and **86Box-DevODR**) as of November 18th 2021.

  * These variants contained incomplete and experimental features subject to change at any time, with the -Dev variant also containing the New Recompiler beta.

* Optimized variants (**86Box-Optimized**) as of March 18th 2021.

  * These variants' aggressive microarchitecture-specific optimizations provided very little performance improvement (within margin of error on modern CPUs) while introducing bugs and other incorrect behavior.
  * Optimized binaries can still be produced by :doc:`compiling 86Box from source <buildguide>` with the ``--preset=optimized`` CMake flag, which enables optimizations for the build host's CPU microarchitecture. No support will be provided for those.

..
  Optimized builds (**86Box-Optimized**) are :ref:`standard builds <dev/builds:Standard>` which have been optimized for use with a specific CPU family on the host machine. Optimized builds provide slight performance improvements, especially on older or  low-end hosts; however, the aggressive optimizations employed **may result in bugs** not present on standard builds.
  
  There are many different optimized binaries available for each build, with each one corresponding to a CPU family. The table below lists most CPUs currently supported by optimized builds, along with the respective binaries you should use with them, as well  as their codenames (as shown on an identification tool such as `CPU-Z <http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html>`_).
  
  .. note:: Using the wrong optimized binary for your CPU will result in poor performance and/or crashes.
  
  .. raw:: html
  
    <table class="docutils align-default">
    <tr><th align="left">Binary</th><th align="left">CPUs</th><th align="left">Codenames</th></tr>
    <tr><th colspan="3" align="left">Intel</th></tr>
    <tr><td>Core2</td><td>Core 2 Duo/Quad<br/>Pentium Dual-Core</td><td>Conroe, Allendale, Merom,<br/>Kentsfield, Wolfdale, Yorkfield</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Nehalem</td><td>1st generation Core</td><td>Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Gulftown,<br/>Arrandale, Clarkdale, Clarksfield</td></tr>
    <tr><td>SandyBridge</td><td>2nd/3rd generation Core</td><td>Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Haswell</td><td>4th/5th generation Core</td><td>Haswell, Broadwell</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Skylake</td><td>6th/7th/8th/9th/10th generation Core</td><td>Skylake, Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake,<br/>Whiskey Lake, Amber Lake, Comet Lake</td></tr>
    <tr><td>IceLake</td><td>10th/11th generation Core</td><td>Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, Rocket Lake,<br/>Alder Lake</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Bonnell</td><td>Atom (2008-2012)</td><td>Silverthorne, Diamondville, Lincroft,<br/>Pineview, Cedar Trail, Cover Trail</td></tr>
    <tr><td rowspan="2">Silvermont</td><td>Atom (2013+)</td><td>Bay Trail, Cherry Trail, Braswell</td></tr>
    <tr><td>N/J-series Celeron/Pentium</td><td>Bay Trail, Braswell, Apollo Lake,<br/>Gemini Lake, Skyhawk Lake</td></tr>
    <tr><th colspan="3" align="left">AMD</th></tr>
    <tr><td>K8 *</abbr></td><td colspan="2">All (2005-2007)</td></tr>
    <tr><td>K10</td><td colspan="2">All (2008-2010)</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Bobcat</td><td>Athlon (2011+)<br/>FX<br/>A/C/E-Series APU</td><td>Ontario, Zacate, Hondo, Llano, Trinity,<br/>Richland, Kabini, Kaveri, Beema, Mullins,<br/>Carrizo, Bristol Ridge, Stoney Ridge</td></tr>
    <tr><td rowspan="2">Zen</td><td>Ryzen 1000/2000 CPU<br/>Ryzen 2000/3000 APU **</td><td>Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge, Dali,</br>Pinnacle Ridge, Picasso</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Ryzen Threadripper 1000/2000</td><td>Whitehaven, Colfax</td></tr>
    <tr><td rowspan="2">Zen2</td><td>Ryzen 3000 CPU<br/>Ryzen 4000 APU **<br/>Ryzen 5000 CPU</td><td>Matisse, Renoir, Vermeer</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Ryzen Threadripper 3000</td><td>Castle Peak</td></tr>
    </table>
  
  | \* Older K8 CPUs without SSE3 are not supported.
  | \*\* Ryzen APU = models equipped with integrated graphics, including G-series on desktop and U/H-series on mobile, which use older cores than the CPUs of the same series.