--- old/src/cpu/sparc/vm/vm_version_sparc.cpp	2015-12-02 09:22:58.054304177 -0800
+++ new/src/cpu/sparc/vm/vm_version_sparc.cpp	2015-12-02 09:22:57.934304181 -0800
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@
 
 void VM_Version::initialize() {
 
-  guarantee(VM_Version::has_v9(), "only SPARC v9 is supported");
   assert(_features != VM_Version::unknown_m, "System pre-initialization is not complete.");
+  guarantee(VM_Version::has_v9(), "only SPARC v9 is supported");
 
   PrefetchCopyIntervalInBytes = prefetch_copy_interval_in_bytes();
   PrefetchScanIntervalInBytes = prefetch_scan_interval_in_bytes();