Unless Linus Torvalds holds back at the last minute, the stable release of the Linux 6.9 kernel is expected to be out on Sunday. This week has been relatively calm, so it's likely that the stable version of Linux 6.9 will be released instead of spending an extra week on 6.9-rc8 release candidates. The 2024 spring kernel release comes with many impressive features and improvements, especially for modern Intel and AMD platforms.
For both Intel and AMD, the changes for recent and upcoming platforms remain quite substantial.
Some significant changes in Linux 6.9 for Intel/AMD include:
AMD P-State preferred core handling for modern Ryzen systems. This utilizes ACPI CPPC data between CPU cores to improve task distribution for achieving higher core frequencies on AMD Ryzen systems, aiding in hybrid selection between Zen 4 and Zen 4C cores. This AMD preferred core support has been in development since last year.
Adjustments for Intel Core "Meteor Lake" to bring performance improvements for users of new Intel laptops on Linux 6.9.
Linux 6.9 also showcases some performance enhancements for AMD's fourth-generation EPYC on Linux 6.9, as well as performance improvements for artificial intelligence workloads on Intel Xeon Max on the new kernel.
Intel FRED merged with future Intel CPUs for flexible return and event delivery, aiming to revolutionize CPU loop transitions.
Integration of AMD FRU memory poison manager and other work to better support the AMD MI300 series.
Rewritten x86 topology code for improved handling of Intel Core hybrid CPUs.
Intel Fastboot support now enabled for all supported graphics cards.
Support for larger framebuffer console fonts on modern 4K+ displays.
AMD continues to upstream more RDNA3+ refresh and RDNA4 graphics hardware support to the AMDGPU driver.
Ongoing development of the experimental Intel Xe DRM kernel graphics driver, with Intel aiming to prepare for Xe2 / Lunar Lake.
