charles

Dear @serpro69: I think you did not understand my post at all, so please allow me explain once more. Ubuntu (and other open-source Linux distributions) are fully modular and therefore can be made fully compatible with Alder Lake (or other hardware like Arc GPU) by Intel, OEM (like Dell), software company (like Canonical) or even the end user. Windows 10 is a closed-source product so it can be made compatible with Alder Lake by Microsoft and Microsoft only. You made the argument that the lack of Windows 10 could not be only a compatibly matter because Ubuntu 20.04 was available for new Precision 5x70 systems, and there you were wrong. Ubuntu 20.04 can be and will be (thanks to customs kernels) fully compatible with Alder Lake. Windows 10 will not. Dell is providing customs kernels for Ubuntu, and also mainstream kernel 5.18 will be available this summer for Ubuntu 20.04.5 (and of course 22.04.1). Edit: Maybe you did not know that, but Ubuntu LTS is semi-rolling release distribution [i.e. it gets not only security updates but also prompt upgrades for crucial packages including the kernel]. For example, the original Ubuntu 20.04 LTS was released in April 2020 with the kernel 5.4, so of course it has not support for Alder Lake at all, but we are currently on Ubuntu 20.04.4 with support for Alder Lake, and in the summer there will be Ubuntu 20.04.5 (and the new 22.04.1) with kernel 5.18+ and full support for all Alder Lake features (like the Thread Director).

As a Windows user for 20 years and Linux user for another 10 years, I can see a trend. Microsoft was a software company – making crappy software – but software company nevertheless. Since around 2015 Microsoft is morphing into a data/advertisement company, and Windows is evolving accordingly. Windows was never a good piece of software, but can you imagine full telemetry on Windows 2000 or ads in the Start Menu on Windows XP? Or the requirement to have a Microsoft account just to log into your local computer? In the past, there was no difference for Microsoft whether you purchase Windows XP, Vista or 7 as long as you paid for the license. Now user data is the the product, so Microsoft is pushing hard on Windows 11 and they will try to reserve all new features for the newest version.

You are right, but keep in mind that will change. At the moment the Thread Director does not make a huge difference because most software does not take advantage of the hybrid architecture. Over time more and more software will be designed with efficiency cores and performance cores in mind, and then the difference between OS supporting Thread Director (Linux 5.18 and Windows 11) vs not-supporting (Windows 10 and Linux below 5.18) will be very substantial. NVIDIA drivers are atrocious, especially on Linux but even on Windows, so hopefully Intel will bring some fresh air to the GPU industry. Bottom line is that if you want to use systems based on Intel Core 12th or AMD Ryzen 6000 processors, you should use Linux or, in case your work requires Windows, seriously consider Windows 11.

That is unfortunately incorrect. Thread Director implementation (and other hybrid architecture features like multiGPU between iGPU and Arc dGPU) is not a matter of drivers. For example, process scheduler is an integral part of the kernel. You can not add Alder Lake specific features (like Thread Director) to Windows 10 without Microsoft. Microsoft and Microsoft only could add those features to Windows 10, which they are not going to do. Drivers are not enough. In terms of compatibility, Windows 10 runs on Alder Lake without a problem, but will not be supported and will not have access to Alder Lake-specific features.

It was necessary. There is a lot of discussion in this thread around software support, so it is useful to put the record straight. Windows 10 does not support Alder Lake and Microsoft pushes hard to propagate Windows 11, so it is very unlikely Thread Director (and other features) will be added to Windows 10. Microsoft wants to serve you even more ads and collect even more of your data… Dell will not wait for Microsoft to add Alder Lake features to Windows 10, Precision 3x70, 5x70 and 7x70 workstations should be released as soon as parts are officially released by Intel (Arc Graphics and later HX processors).

I decided to register on the forum just to reply to the stupid poorly informed post above. @serpro69 Please understand that Ubuntu is: (1) open-source, (2) fully modular. Therefore Ubuntu 20.04 can be fully compatible with Alder Lake, whilst Windows 10 can not (unless Microsoft decides to gracefully bless poor users with an update). This is the beauty (and one of many huge advantages) of Linux in professional applications, you can update kernel and get your “old” system compatible with the newest hardware. FYI Dell provides customs kernels for Ubuntu, so Ubuntu 20.04 on Dell machines will be compatible with Alder Lake, unlike Windows 10 that does not support Thread Director.