There is a clean codepath, this is about setting the minimum CPU required for x86 -- there is a trade-off, we could make executables that will run on a 386, but

There is a clean codepath, this is about setting the minimum CPU required for x86 -- there is a trade-off, we could make executables that will run on a 386, but it would be slow (particularly if multithreaded) due to later added instructions. Also, such old systems are little tested.