[castratikron]

Branch prediction can usually be disabled during processor initialization (as well as other features like cache).

I was bringing up Linux on new hardware one time. What was happening was it would get partway into booting and then crash at a random spot. In the kernel config there's an option to disable the D-cache and I found that it would boot fine with it disabled. Turns out the root problem was that the processor voltage wasn't being set high enough, and that disabling D-cache must have reduced power consumption enough to allow it to boot at a lower voltage.