AMD Linux patch adds Low Power CPU core type for future heterogeneous processors
New core class beyond Performance and Efficiency.
AMD has posted a new Linux kernel patch series that adds support for a Low Power CPU core type. The change applies to AMD heterogeneous processors and expands the existing x86 topology code.
Linux already supports Performance and Efficiency core classifications. AMD’s patch adds a third type, low-power, which can be reported separately instead of being shown as unknown.
Source: Phoronix
The patch also changes how Linux handles boost ratio scaling on AMD and Hygon parts with X86_FEATURE_AMD_HTR_CORES support. In this case, low-power cores use amd_get_highest_perf(), matching the handling already used for efficiency cores.
Different from Zen C
This is not the same as AMD’s existing Zen C approach. Zen C cores use the same ISA as standard Zen cores, but they are designed for higher density and different power-frequency targets. The new Linux patch lists Low Power as a separate core type. That suggests AMD wants the operating system to distinguish these cores from regular Efficiency or dense cores in future heterogeneous designs.
The patch itself does not name Zen 6, Medusa or any future Ryzen product. It only confirms that AMD hardware can expose this core type through CPUID and that Linux is being updated to recognize it correctly.
This gives more weight to earlier claims that AMD may use more than two CPU core classes in future APUs. I guess we will see if the new core type will be coming to the consumer variants.
Source: Phoronix
