Intel has released a crucial fix for Intel Core hybrid systems with faulty firmware that addresses a performance impact issue. The fix, integrated into the Linux power management subsystem updates, aims to resolve up to a 50% decrease in performance seen on affected Intel hybrid platforms when using existing Linux kernel versions.
The problem was initially reported by a Kubuntu Focus developer, who noticed a power management issue affecting heterogeneous core Intel systems with faulty firmware. Specifically, systems lacking ACPI CPPC v2 capabilities were experiencing poor performance since Linux 5.19. One notable example highlighted the performance boost of up to 50% on systems like Intel Core i5 13500H using the EEVDF scheduler when tested with Geekbench. Similar issues have been reported by other users recently.
To address this issue, Intel engineer and Linux power management subsystem maintainer Rafael Wysocki introduced a patch that utilizes HWP data to initialize Intel Turbo Boost Max technology in the absence of ACPI CPPC information in the system firmware. This ensures that single-thread performance on hybrid systems remains consistent and prevents tasks from being executed on lower-capacity CPUs unintentionally.
The patch has been included in the latest power management pull request ahead of Linux 6.10-rc6. It is expected to be incorporated by Linus Torvalds into Linux 6.10, with plans for backporting to supported Linux kernel versions since Linux 5.19. This move aims to ensure that users with affected Intel Core hybrid systems can benefit from the performance improvements offered by the fix.
In conclusion, the recent patch for the Intel P-State driver addresses a critical performance issue impacting Intel Core hybrid systems with faulty firmware. By leveraging HWP data to initialize Intel Turbo Boost Max technology, the patch aims to restore performance levels on affected platforms and prevent tasks from being executed on suboptimal CPUs. With this fix integrated into upcoming Linux kernel versions, users can expect significant performance improvements on their Intel hybrid systems.
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