Fedora Developers Discuss Raising Base Requirement To AVX2 CPU Support

[Templar82]

Debian, or end-user-focused Ubuntu, is also an option.

Well currently almost any distro would be an option, all I want is 1 distro built with current hardware in mind.

Clear linux kinda does this, but is more an experiment than something designed for actual use.

[edenist]

I'm all for pushing to improve the performance of the OS by lifting the feature base. I build my FreeBSD systems from source for this very reason.

That said, AVX2 is *very* aggressive! From the AMD front, the article is partially incorrect in listing Bulldozer as supporting AVX2. It wasn't until Excavator [carizzo APUs] that AVX2 was first implemented. That was released in 2015! Placing 4+ year old hardware into the obsolete pile seems a bit extreme to me.

[finalzone]

I'm a big hater of changes like this. I still have 5 AVX2-less computers in my house.

Users willing to continue supporting AVX2 less hardware can step up and work on that effort in accordance of free and open source and Fedora philosophies. The crucial part is maintenance which is one of major weaknesses.

[boxie]

Well currently almost any distro would be an option, all I want is 1 distro built with current hardware in mind.

Clear linux kinda does this, but is more an experiment than something designed for actual use.

... and without getting into the Gentoo style systems!

though, Clear Linux is aiming for being a generally used Desktop OS. They have actual corporate users and everything!

[Venemo]

Just because they are talking about it doesn't actually mean they will do it.

A better idea would be to ship alternate, AVX2 versions of some performance critical libraries and apps, while keeping the base distro compatible with older hardware.

[kneekoo]

Wikipedia's CPUs with AVX2 section says:

• Intel
  • Haswell processor (only Core branded), Q2 2013
  • Haswell E processor (only Core branded), Q3 2014
  • Broadwell processor (only Core branded), Q4 2014
  • Broadwell E processor (only Core branded), Q3 2016
  • Skylake processor (only Core branded), Q3 2015
  • Kaby Lake processor (only Core branded), Q3 2016(ULV mobile)/Q1 2017(desktop/mobile)
  • Skylake-X processor (only Core branded), Q2 2017
  • Coffee Lake processor (only Core branded), Q4 2017
  • Cannon Lake processor, Q2 2018
  • Cascade Lake processor, Q4 2019
  • Ice Lake processor, expected in 2019
• AMD
  • Excavator processor and newer, Q2 2015
  • Zen processor, Q1 2017
  • Zen+ processor, Q2 2018
  • Zen 2 processor, Q3 2019

So Fedora's restriction leaves out some decent CPUs, which sucks. And by the way, the article mentions AVX-capable CPUs, not AVX2. So the bar is even higher for both Intel and AMD, leaving out the CPUs (initially) mentioned in the article. I don't know why they aim so high, considering how even newer CPUs are missing AVX2 (most Atom/Celeron/Pentium models). Whatever. Good job, Fedora!

[Xaero_Vincent]

Considering that there is still hardware being produced in 2019 like Penitum Gold CPUs that lack support for AVX2 instruction set, this is a terrible idea. Worse than dropping 32-bit app support if you ask me because at least there are workarounds to that.

What's up with distro developers and their ridiculous and radically ambitious design ideas lately? These developers ought to sit the f*** down and relax and stop trying to behave like Apple.

[Cape]

Can't they help projects adopt FMV more aggressively instead?

That would be a win win scenario: more speed and same support for everyone!

I don't want to retire my 4.2Ghz i7 3770K :-(

[ldesnogu]

This is a VERY ambitious goal.
AVX (not AVX2) requirement eliminates:
ALL Atom processors including Atom x7 lines
ALL Celeron processors except 725C, 4305U
ALL Pentium processors (including Coffee Lake Pentiums) except 1405, 1405v2, B915C, and a few D15xx

AVX2 will further remove all pre-Haswell processors from the support list.

Exactly. Many people don't realize AVX2 isn't present in many *current* Intel CPU. Intel likes to create segments, and segmenting at the instruction level is stupid, but that's another discussion

[fguerraz]

I'm a big hater of changes like this. I still have 5 AVX2-less computers in my house.

Which will work still find with distributions of the era you bought them.