Linux 7.0 Kernel Brings Major Hardware Support for Next-Gen AMD and Intel Platforms

The Linux 7.0 kernel is shaping up to be a significant release, bringing extensive support for next-generation hardware from both AMD and Intel. While the version bump to 7.0 is primarily driven by Linus Torvalds' versioning preferences, the underlying changes represent substantial progress in kernel development.

CPU and Architecture Enhancements

Linux 7.0 introduces several important CPU-related changes that prepare the kernel for upcoming hardware platforms:

• Intel TSX Auto Mode: The kernel now defaults to Intel TSX (Transactional Synchronization Extensions) auto mode, exposing TSX on Intel CPUs without known security issues
• AMD Zen 6 Support: Performance events and metrics support for the upcoming Zen 6 architecture has been added to the kernel's perf subsystem
• Intel Nova Lake Preparations: Multiple Nova Lake-specific features are being integrated, including S support for the Intel LPSS driver and sound support
• Diamond Rapids Support: Xeon Diamond Rapids receives NTB driver support and performance events support
• Panther Lake Hints: "Slow" workload hints are being added for Intel's Panther Lake processors
• LoongArch Features: New CPU features for the LoongArch architecture are being wired up
• RISC-V Enhancements: User-space CFI (Control Flow Integrity) support is being added
• ARM64 Instructions: Support for single-copy atomic LS64/LS64V instructions is included

Graphics and GPU Improvements

The graphics subsystem sees numerous enhancements in Linux 7.0:

• AMD Graphics Support: New hardware support for upcoming AMD products is being integrated
• Intel Xe Driver: Continued work on SR-IOV and multi-device SVM (Shared Virtual Memory) capabilities
• Crescent Island AI Accelerator: Multi-queue support and other enablement work for this upcoming Intel AI inference accelerator
• Nova Lake Display: Display support for Intel's Nova Lake platform is being added
• Temperature Sensors: The Intel driver now exposes more graphics card temperature sensors
• Battlemage GPUs: The driver no longer blocks D3cold for all Battlemage GPUs
• Nouveau Improvements: The open-source NVIDIA driver is re-enabling larger pages support, which should benefit NVK performance
• PowerVR Support: Imagination's PowerVR driver now supports the AM62P platform
• AMDGPU Fixes: Various fixes for older GCN 1.0/1.1 era hardware

Performance Optimizations

Linux 7.0 includes several performance-related improvements:

• L2 Cache Statistics: New L2 cache statistics reporting for the Turbostat tool
• DSA 3.0 Support: Intel preparations for DSA 3.0 accelerator IP of the Data Streaming Accelerators
• File System Enhancements: Various improvements across different file systems
• Driver Cleanup: Dropping of obsolete drivers to streamline the kernel

Rust Integration Milestone

The release marks a significant milestone for the Rust for Linux effort, with the kernel declaring Rust support as "here to stay." This represents a major shift in kernel development practices and opens up new possibilities for safer systems programming within the Linux kernel.

Hardware Platform Support

Beyond the major CPU and GPU improvements, Linux 7.0 expands support for various hardware platforms:

• OpenRISC: Improved FPGA dev board support
• SpacemiT K3: Mainline support for the RVA23 SoC
• SPARC and Alpha: Continued CPU port activity with mostly fixes

Performance Benchmarking

Phoronix is kicking off comprehensive performance benchmarking for Linux 7.0, which will provide valuable insights into the real-world performance impact of these changes across different workloads and hardware configurations.

Impact on Linux Distributions

With Ubuntu 26.04 LTS expected to ship with the Linux 7.0 kernel, users can anticipate improved support for cutting-edge hardware and performance optimizations in the next long-term support release of one of the most popular Linux distributions.

The Linux 7.0 kernel demonstrates the project's continued commitment to supporting the latest hardware while maintaining performance and stability across the entire spectrum of Linux deployments, from embedded devices to large-scale HPC and AI servers.