Linus Torvalds Releases Linux 6.0 Kernel With New AMD and Intel Drivers

Linus Torvalds has released version 6.0 of the Linux kernel. This update adds support for new hardware, performance improvements and bug fixes, among other things. The new kernel version does not bring any major changes.

Linus Torvalds writes in the Linux mailing list that Linux kernel 6.0 is available as of now. It’s the first major ‘number release’ of the Linux kernel in years; Linux 5.0 was released in March 2019. At the same time, Torvalds writes that Linux 6.0 is not a major release; there are few major changes in the kernel version.

“As hopefully everyone will be aware, the big version number change is more a result of my fingers and toes being out of control than of big, fundamental changes.” Torvalds emphasizes that there are over 15,000 non-merge commits in Linux 6.0. This makes it one of the larger releases in the field of commits, according to the Linux maker.

In Linux 6.0, in addition to various bug fixes, there are new drivers from hardware manufacturers. For example, Intel is adding support for its upcoming Sapphire Rapids server chips and Raptor Lake processors. AMD is providing certain fixes for its upcoming RDNA 3 GPUs. A workaround for old AMD chipsets, which could hurt the performance of modern AMD systems, has been removed. In addition, the H.265 API has been moved to the stable branch.

With the release of Linux 6.0, the merge window of Linux version 6.1 will open shortly. That release is expected to get major changes, including official support for the Rust programming language, also writes Phoronix.