Intel Nova Lake-S to return AVX-512 instruction support to client CPUs

A new Linux kernel patch mentions Intel Nova Lake as a future client CPU family with AVX-512 support.

AVX-512 is an instruction set used by some software to process more data at once. Intel previously supported it on some client CPUs, but removed it from later consumer platforms after Rocket Lake (aka 11th Gen Core series).

The new patch adds an AVX-512 optimized path for Linux RAID code. The patch notes mention several supported CPU families, including AMD Zen 4 and newer, Intel Sapphire Rapids and newer server CPUs, Intel Rocket Lake, and Intel Nova Lake and newer client CPUs.

Source: Linux Kernel Mail Exchange

The patch also includes test results from a Ryzen 9 9950X system. In that benchmark, the AVX-512 path was 26% to 43% faster than the existing AVX code (graph above).

Source: Phoronix

AVX512 is not official yet

This does not mean Intel has officially announced Nova Lake with AVX-512. However, it is another sign that the feature may return with Intel’s next desktop platform. Whether Intel chooses to enable this instruction support is something Intel needs to confirm first.

As you may recall, Intel supported AVX512 on the 12th Gen Core series codenamed Alder Lake , Intel’s first hybrid architecture on desktop. However, the company later disabled it, explaining that E-Cores did not support it, but technically it was possible to find supported Z690 motherboards as long as they were not updated to newer firmware.

Also worth adding that last year Intel linked Nova Lake with AVX10 support. AVX10 is Intel’s newer instruction set approach, designed for newer CPU designs, including hybrid processors.

With that in mind, leaker Jaykihn confirmed that Nova Lake supports AVX512 instructions on both the P-Cores and E-Cores. Seems like proper support and likelyhood that it may actually ship in consumer variants (and motherboards).

Source: InstLaxX64 , Phoronix

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