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By Zayden R., August 18, 2026
Fedora's plan to introduce x86-64-v3 packages has been postponed to Fedora 46 after FESCo sought more performance data. This delay impacts users on modern Intel and AMD CPUs hoping for enhanced performance with newer ISA features.
Fedora has decided to delay the introduction of x86-64-v3 optimized packages until at least Fedora 46, following a decision by the Fedora Engineering and Steering Committee (FESCo). This move comes after months of discussion and hinges on the need for more comprehensive performance data. The x86-64-v3 architecture, which includes ISA features like AVX, AVX2, FMA, and BMI2, is supported by Intel Haswell and AMD Excavator CPUs, covering most systems from the last decade.
The proposal initially aimed to enhance performance by building Fedora packages with x86-64-v3, while still retaining support for x86-64-v1 for older systems. The anticipation around these packages was high, especially with stakeholders like Microsoft, which is building its Azure Linux base on Fedora and had shown interest in an x86-64-v3 baseline. However, the lack of sufficient performance data led FESCo to reject the proposal for Fedora 45, although they remain open to reconsideration for Fedora 46 next year.
This decision means that users running Fedora on newer hardware will have to wait longer to take advantage of potential performance improvements. Meanwhile, FESCo is also seeking additional details on managing installation media in a future where x86-64-v3 support becomes mainstream. While some distributions like RHEL 10 have already adopted x86-64-v3 as a default architecture, Fedora users will need to be patient as this transition unfolds.
As Fedora 46 looms on the horizon, engineers and developers should keep an eye on updates and prepare for the potential shift in architecture support. This delay underscores the importance of robust performance data in the decision-making processes of Linux distribution committees.
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