Here is a new way to quickly know if Alder Lake supports AVX-512

The Intel Alder Lake processor uses a high-performance hybrid architecture with Performance Cores based on the Golden Cove architecture and Efficient Cores based on the Gracemont architecture. Initially, Alder Lake processors enabled the AVX-512 instruction set when E-Core was turned off and only P-Core was used, but Intel later disabled the feature.

Although it is no longer officially supported, Alder Lake processors can still support the AVX-512 instruction set and run benchmark tests, and some motherboard manufacturers even provide corresponding options. Here is a new way to quickly know if Alder Lake supports AVX-512In March of this year, Intel officially clarified that the Alder Lake processor no longer supports the AVX-512 instruction set, and things came to an end. According to VideoCardz, overclocking enthusiasts have recently discovered that Intel seems to have marked the Alder Lake processors it sells to quickly distinguish whether it supports the AVX-512 instruction set.

Intel Alder Lake CPUs with and without AVX512, Source: VideoCardz/Luumi

As you can see from the labeling of the picture, the integrated heat sink (IHS) of the Alder Lake processor is marked with a similar “halo”, indicating that it supports the AVX-512 instruction set. If it is marked as “rectangular”, it means that the AVX-512 instruction set is disabled at the factory. It is understood that almost all Alder Lake processors produced in 2022 will have the AVX-512 instruction set disabled. If players have this demand, they can pay attention to it when purchasing, and it is best to choose the batch produced in 2021.

For most users, it doesn’t matter whether the Alder Lake processor they use supports the AVX-512 instruction set. However, in some specific application scenarios, it is still useful to turn off E-Core and enable the AVX-512 instruction set, such as RPCS3 on the PlayStation 3 emulator to improve performance.