Linux drops support for 486 and early Pentium CPUs: 20 years after Microsoft
a year ago
- #Linux
- #Hardware
- #Legacy
- Linux 6.15 kernel will drop support for 486 and early Pentium processors.
- Linus Torvalds and other developers cite wasted development effort on outdated hardware as the reason.
- Minimum x86 CPU requirement now includes Time Stamp Counter (TSC) and CMPXCHG8B (CX8) instruction.
- Legacy code removal (14,000 lines) simplifies the kernel and improves performance.
- Hobbyists can still use older Linux distributions or specialty distros like MuLinux for vintage hardware.
- The 486 processor was last commercially produced in 2007.