Intel Preps Linux For Directed Package Thermal Interrupts

Intel engineers are preparing Linux kernel patches to support Directed Package Thermal Interrupts, a feature in newer Intel CPUs. Instead of broadcasting package-level thermal interrupts to all CPU cores, this mechanism directs them to a single designated handler CPU per package. This reduces resource contention, avoids unnecessary wakeups of idle cores, and improves efficiency. The feature is enabled via bit 25 in IA32_THERM_INTERRUPT, with CPU hotplug infrastructure used to reassign the handler if it goes offline. It's unclear exactly which Intel CPU generations support this, though it may debut with Nova Lake or Diamond Rapids.