Why Linus Torvalds Wants AVX-512 Gone: Inside Intel’s Power‑Hungry Instruction Set

Since last month Linus Torvalds rejected Intel security patches, he again attacked Intel’s AVX‑512, calling it a “power virus” and demanding it die.

AVX‑512, introduced by Intel in 2013, expands vector width to 512 bits, enabling 32 double‑precision or 64 single‑precision floating‑point operations per clock cycle and targeting workloads such as image/video processing, data analysis, scientific computing, encryption, compression, and deep learning.

Intel’s upcoming Alder Lake processors will restrict AVX‑512 and other large extensions to the big cores, supporting only AVX‑2 on the small cores, to achieve higher clock speeds and better efficiency on the small cores.

“I want AVX‑512 to die a painful death, so Intel can focus on solving real problems instead of creating flashy instructions for benchmark gymnastics.” “I hope Intel returns to basics, letting processes run normally and improving everyday user experience rather than chasing high‑performance edge cases.” “Everyone only cares about benchmark scores; AVX‑512’s drawbacks outweigh any benefits, and I’d rather see CPU power used for more relevant tasks.” “I admit I have a bias against Intel’s FP benchmarks, but AVX‑512 is a mistake that fragments the market.”

Overall, Linus believes Intel adds AVX‑512 merely to boost benchmark scores, inflating CPU complexity and degrading the experience for most users.

While AVX‑512 has limited impact on mainstream desktop PCs, it may affect data‑center and mobile workloads. Linus has previously criticized Intel’s security patches, such as the Spectre‑related IBRS patch in 2018 and an AWS‑submitted Intel fix, calling them unnecessary and overly intrusive.