After several updates to the open source graphics technology, AMD seems to be working on a new patch for Zen 4 and the rumored Mendocino APU that has to do with the CPU Temperature driver (K10Temp). Typically, members of the open source community are informed of these changes in advance so that they can be supported before the Linux mainline kernel is released.
Previously, we have seen k10Temp support in advance of the official release of AMD Rembrandt APU. But now the company is looking to offer similar support for Zen 4.
For ordinary people, though, there seems to be no need to maintain a high level of concern. But for those of you familiar with Linux technology, it makes it easy to view hardware monitoring parameters (including CPUS, Gpus, and other components) from system controls.
It's also a safe bet if you need to fix a specific product's cooling problems after launch.
Phoronix's Michael Larabel points out that AMD mentioned a new product ID for the next generation architecture in last year's patch. But even so, the company has withheld some product details.
AMD Linux engineer Mario Limonciello wrote: "This series of patches looks like a few corrections to previous submissions, which were for different families of the same chip model. We also note that some upcoming chips already have new PCIe ids and CCD offsets that are not yet supported -- so they will be added to AMD_NB/K10Temp.
The following product families are supported in the K10temp enablement patch for the fifth release:
● Family 17H A0H-AFH ● Family 19h 70H-7FH ● Family 19h 60H-6FH
Family 17H refers specifically to AMD Zen/Zen 2 architecture, while Family 19H is assigned to Zen 3.
Larabel then pointed out, citing information extracted from previous Linux kernel patches, that Family 19H would also be used to refer to the Zen 4 CPU architecture.
WCCFTech speculates that 60h / 70h components may be assigned to Zen 4 / Zen 4C processors separately.
Also, with AMD developing a Mendocino SoC for entry-level notebooks, we may see some new ids in the Family 17H Family in the future.
For those interested, check out the new patch for version 5 of the K10Temp CPU temperature driver at Kernel.org.
With the exception of the upcoming Linux 5.20 kernel, however, we don't expect to see changes coming soon when AMD releases its new CPU architecture.