I _think_ we changed from using -O to -O2 between 1.3.3 and 1.4. The extra optimisation could well slow things down and chew up more memory. "could" ? on one fast machine i used for a short while, NetBSD 1.3.3 built in about 1:15 hours, and 1.4 in just over 3. same machine/hardware config/etc.