Linux 7.3 to Enable Intel Nova Lake S Graphics by Default

Intel is laying the groundwork for its next-generation Nova Lake processors, whose rollout is slated to begin around the start of 2027. One of those steps is the decision to treat the integrated graphics of the Nova Lake S variants as stable in the upcoming Linux 7.3 kernel cycle.

Intel's engineers have spent many months working on Xe3P graphics support in the mainline kernel, and Nova Lake's integrated video core is part of that effort. Experimental support is already present in the mainline kernel today, but enabling it requires manually setting the force_probe= module parameter with the PCI ID of the Intel graphics device. Starting with Linux 7.3, Nova Lake S graphics will be considered stable and enabled by default.

The patch that lifts the force_probe requirement for NVL-S is worded with utmost brevity: “NVL-S is stable enough to drop the force_probe requirement. Let's do that.”

This change made it into the final drm-xe-next pull request, which has already been submitted to DRM-Next in preparation for the Linux 7.3 merge window opening next month. Beyond enabling NVL-S graphics by default, the update brings a number of new workarounds for hardware bugs, GuC updates, RAS improvements and other fixes.

As such, Linux 7.3 should be regarded as the safe minimum baseline for anyone looking to use Nova Lake S integrated graphics under Linux in the coming months.

Source: Phoronix