Hardware

Linux 6.18 enhances AMD EPYC Turin performance

October 27, 2025 Lisa Kern

The Linux 6.18 kernel introduces optimizations that boost performance on AMD's EPYC Turin processors by up to 10% in multi-threaded workloads compared to Linux 6.17. These improvements target AI, high-performance computing, and database tasks on the Zen 5-based chips. Benchmarks from Phoronix highlight gains in scheduling, memory management, and power efficiency.

AMD ships Radeon AI PRO R9700 graphics card

AMD has begun shipping the Radeon AI PRO R9700, a new RDNA4-based graphics card designed for AI workloads, priced starting at $1299 USD. The card features 32GB of GDDR6 memory and targets professional users with enhanced compute capabilities. Initial benchmarks under Linux show its performance in single and dual GPU setups.

Intel submits initial Crescent Island support for Linux 6.19

Developers are submitting initial support for Intel's Crescent Island, known as CRI, into the Linux 6.19 kernel. This marks early integration efforts for the upcoming hardware platform. The patches aim to enable basic functionality ahead of its release.

Google migrates servers to arm-powered axion machines

Google is undertaking a massive shift from x86 servers to its homegrown Arm-powered Axion machines. This ambitious project involves porting internal workloads for the world's biggest companies. Around 30,000 applications have already been successfully converted to Arm systems.

NVIDIA transitions Nova driver to Boot42 for next-gen GPUs

October 25, 2025 Lisa Kern

NVIDIA has begun submitting open-source patches for its Nova graphics driver, shifting from the Boot0 register to Boot42 in preparation for upcoming GPUs. This move signals early groundwork for the Rubin architecture, successor to Blackwell. The changes aim to simplify detection logic and support future hardware seamlessly.

Linux patches to fix extreme mode on Lenovo Legion devices

October 27, 2025 Lisa Kern

Developers have proposed Linux kernel patches to address power profile issues on Lenovo Legion devices. The updates target the 'Extreme' mode, which previously activated on unsupported models. Only approved devices will gain access to the maximum performance setting.