Linux Creator Linus Torvalds Ditches Intel CPU Over AMD Threadripper

A few days ago, with the release of Linux Kernel 5.7-rc7, Linus Torvalds shared his biggest excitement of the week. After a long span of 15 years, he has finally upgraded his personal desktop, replacing his previous Intel CPU with the AMD Threadripper 3970x.

Linus further confirmed that he has not yet switched to ARM, rather he has only dropped his Intel-based CPU to adopt AMD. However, in 2015 while expressing his views on security and the future of ARM-powered laptops, Linus affirmed having a machine with an ARM in the coming year.

Linus Torvalds also added that his ‘allmodconfig’ test build now runs three times faster than it used to. For those who don’t know, AMD Threadripper 3970X is a 32-core processor with 64 threads that cost around $2,000.

According to The Register, Torvalds has probably acquired a whole new PC, as the Threadripper range requires an sTRX4 socket that debuted on motherboards in late 2019. Even a recent video depicts a new Threadripper-based PC built for Linus Torvald’s long-time Linux collaborator Greg Kroah-Hartman.

AMD Beating Intel CPU

You may know that Intel is one of the top contributors to the Linux kernel codebase and has a close relation with Linus. But it does not mean AMD is far behind as AMD is also committing to accelerate graphics driver support for Linux Kernel.

The preference of AMD over Intel CPU seems for obvious reasons. Recently, AMD has notched up to offer better and faster performance than Intel. For instance, AMD Ryzen 9 3950X that became the fastest desktop CPU, beating Intel Core-i9 9980 XE.

Not only that, AMD also dominates with the midrange desktop GPU market; Radeon RX 5600 XT costs just $279. Even AMD is the first preference for gamers with 25.17% Linux users using AMD processors.

Furthermore, Linux-computer makers have not started to prefer AMD in their Linux laptops, for instance the first AMD-only Linux laptop by Tuxedo Computer. Now the Linux founder has publicly advertised his preference, it will definitely influence the ‘AMD vs Intel CPU’ public debate.