«Независимый от позиции код» всегда требуется, если ваш объектный модуль будет использоваться в общей библиотеке.Он сильно зависит от платформы и требует дополнительных затрат.
Причина, по которой вы должны указать это явно в amd64, но не в x386, заключается в том, что это просто значение по умолчанию для x86, но не для amd64.
Обратите внимание также на разницу между "-fpic" и "-fPIC":
-fpic
Generate position-independent code (PIC) suitable for use in a
shared library, if supported for the target machine. Such code
accesses all constant addresses through a global offset table
(GOT). The dynamic loader resolves the GOT entries when the pro-
gram starts (the dynamic loader is not part of GCC; it is part
of the operating system). If the GOT size for the linked execu-
table exceeds a machine-specific maximum size, you get an error
message from the linker indicating that -fpic does not work; in
that case, recompile with -fPIC instead. (These maximums are 8k
on the SPARC and 32k on the m68k and RS/6000. The 386 has no
such limit.)
Position-independent code requires special support, and there
fore works only on certain machines. For the 386, GCC supports
PIC for System V but not for the Sun 386i. Code generated for
the IBM RS/6000 is always position-independent.
When this flag is set, the macros __pic__ and __PIC__ are defined to 1.
-fPIC
If supported for the target machine, emit position-independent
code, suitable for dynamic linking and avoiding any limit on the
size of the global offset table. This option makes a difference
on the m68k, PowerPC and SPARC.
Position-independent code requires special support, and therefore
works only on certain machines.
When this flag is set, the macros __pic__ and __PIC__ are defined to 2.