A new Linux kernel patch brings hardware enablement for Intel's Bartlett Lake-S family of processors. In the same patch, an Intel engineer has seemingly confirmed the existence of a P-core-only counterpart to Bartlett Lake, via Phoronix. This update enables the kernel to properly identify these processors at boot, assigning them a CPUID for recognition in software. Likewise, these CPUIDs also allow the compiler to execute hardware-specific code path optimizations using the Intel CPU dispatcher mechanism.
At CES, Intel formally introduced the Bartlett Lake-S platform, which includes three CPUs configured with hybrid cores intended for NEX (Network and Edge) applications. Since last year, rumors have alleged the existence of a performance-core-only analog, wielding up to 12P cores and 24 threads. Bartlett Lake targets the LGA 1700 platform, so these CPUs should be drop-in replacements for existing 600-series and 700-series motherboards, after updating the BIOS, of course.
