diff --git a/neo/CMakeLists.txt b/neo/CMakeLists.txt
index bca02760..455a6a51 100644
--- a/neo/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/neo/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -39,6 +39,12 @@ option(USE_SYSTEM_LIBJPEG
 option(USE_SYSTEM_LIBGLEW
                 "Use the system libglew instead of the bundled one" OFF)
 
+set(CPU_TYPE "" CACHE STRING "When set, passes this string as CPU-ID which will be embedded into the binary.")
+
+set(CPU_OPTIMIZATION "-mmmx -msse -msse2" CACHE STRING "Which CPU specific optimitations should be used beside the compiler's default?")
+
+option(USE_INTRINSICS "Compile using intrinsics (e.g mmx, sse, msse2)" ON)
+
 if(UNIX)
 	set(OPENAL TRUE)
 endif()
@@ -64,7 +70,15 @@ if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCC OR CMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "Clang")
 	#add_definitions(-Wall)
 	add_definitions(-Werror=format-security)
 	add_definitions(-Werror=format)
-	add_definitions(-mmmx -msse -msse2)
+	if(CPU_TYPE)
+		add_definitions(-DCPUSTRING="${CPU_TYPE}")
+	endif()
+	if (CPU_OPTIMIZATION)
+		add_definitions(${CPU_OPTIMIZATION})
+	endif()
+	if (USE_INTRINSICS)
+		add_definitions(-DUSE_INTRINSICS)
+	endif()
 	if(WIN32)
 		# require msvcr70.dll or newer for _aligned_malloc etc
 		# I think it is from Visual C++ .NET 2002, so it should be available on any remotely modern system.
diff --git a/neo/idlib/sys/sys_defines.h b/neo/idlib/sys/sys_defines.h
index 1e1c0e54..03dce5bb 100644
--- a/neo/idlib/sys/sys_defines.h
+++ b/neo/idlib/sys/sys_defines.h
@@ -104,10 +104,14 @@ If you have questions concerning this license or the applicable additional terms
 
 #elif defined(__linux__) || defined(__FreeBSD__) || defined(__APPLE__) || defined(__GNUC__) || defined(__clang__)
 
+#ifndef CPUSTRING
 #if defined(__i386__)
 #define	CPUSTRING						"x86"
 #elif defined(__x86_64__)
 #define CPUSTRING						"x86_86"
+#else
+#error unknown CPU
+#endif
 #endif
 
 #if defined(__FreeBSD__)
diff --git a/neo/idlib/sys/sys_intrinsics.h b/neo/idlib/sys/sys_intrinsics.h
index 6cf1beca..eab03980 100644
--- a/neo/idlib/sys/sys_intrinsics.h
+++ b/neo/idlib/sys/sys_intrinsics.h
@@ -29,8 +29,6 @@ If you have questions concerning this license or the applicable additional terms
 #ifndef __SYS_INTRIINSICS_H__
 #define __SYS_INTRIINSICS_H__
 
-#define USE_INTRINSICS
-
 #if defined(USE_INTRINSICS)
 #include <emmintrin.h>
 #endif