Question regarding HPET the 2.6 series kernel.

[Justin Piszcz <jpiszcz@lucidpixels.com>]

[*] HPET Timer Support
[*]   Provide RTC interrupt

[*] HPET - High Precision Event Timer
[*]   Allow mmap of HPET

http://tlug.up.ac.za/guides/lkcg/arch_i386.html

HPET Timer Support	HPET_TIMER
This enables the use of the HPET for the kernel's internal timer. HPET is 
the next generation timer replacing legacy 8254s. You can safely choose Y 
here. However, HPET will only be activated if the platform and the BIOS 
support this feature. Otherwise the 8254 will be used for timing services. 
Choose N to continue using the legacy 8254 timer.

How do I determine if my BIOS has this feature?

$ dmesg | grep -i hpet
$ dmesg | grep -i 8254
$ dmesg | grep -i timer
..TIMER: vector=0x31 pin1=2 pin2=-1
PCI: Setting latency timer of device 0000:02:01.0 to 64
$

Assuming it does, is there any reason to use or not to use this feature?

Thanks,

Justin.