--- title: "The Linux Kernel Ready To Make TSC A Hard Requirement For x86 CPUs" url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-linux-kernel-ready-to-make-tsc-a-hard-requirement-for-x86-cpus-yiexmkbe9 source_url: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Kernel-TSC-Unconditional type: article source: "Phoronix" published: 2026-06-02T13:33:04.547Z updated: 2026-06-02T13:33:26.154Z tags: ["linux", "typescript", "kernel-development"] reading_time: 2 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The Linux Kernel Ready To Make TSC A Hard Requirement For x86 CPUs **[Phoronix](https://daily.dev/sources/phoronix)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The Linux kernel is set to make Time Stamp Counter (TSC) support a hard requirement for all x86 processors. TSC, which has existed since the Intel Pentium era, was previously optional because the kernel supported older CPUs like the i486 that lacked it. With the recent removal of i486, AMD K5, and AMD Elan CPU support, the kernel can now safely assume TSC is always present. A patch in the tip/tip.git x86/cpu branch makes TSC unconditional, and separate patches will strip out non-TSC code paths. This change is expected to land in the Linux 7.2 merge window as part of broader code cleanup following the removal of vintage CPU support. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [AMD K5 CPUs The Latest To Be Retired With Linux's Aging & Stagnate Hardware Support](https://daily.dev/posts/amd-k5-cpus-the-latest-to-be-retired-with-linux-s-aging-stagnate-hardware-support-euw3zqmvf) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Linux 7.2 Continues Removing Old i486 Code Remnants, Adds Rugged Panther Lake](https://daily.dev/posts/linux-7-2-continues-removing-old-i486-code-remnants-adds-rugged-panther-lake-lv9p923pm) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#typescript](https://daily.dev/tags/typescript), [#kernel-development](https://daily.dev/tags/kernel-development) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-linux-kernel-ready-to-make-tsc-a-hard-requirement-for-x86-cpus-yiexmkbe9)