Linux 7.1 arrives with a massive NTFS speed boost and the end of an era for i486

Linus Torvalds debuts Linux 7.1-rc1, featuring a ground-up NTFS driver rewrite for blazing-fast transfers and the final sunset of i486 hardware.

Linux founder, Linus Torvalds, has announced the release of Linux 7.1-rc1. It follows the closure of the merge window where developers frantically submitted the new features, patches, and removals they want to see in this upcoming release. Over the next few months, these changes will undergo rigorous testing before giving it to the public.

This is a important kernel update for anyone running legacy hardware as it begins the phase out of i486 suppor. So far, configs have been deleted, but code still needs to be taken out carefully, to ensure nothing snaps. Some really old networking hardware support is also being removed, as well as some System-on-Chip support for hardware that “never went anywhere.”

The removal of i486 support is what has been making headlines in recent weeks. Practically, most people aren’t going to be affected by this given that it was introduced in 1989 and discontinued in 2007.

Despite the removals, this kernel release is going to deliver, if you look at the logs, you will see that many more lines of code have been added. This is because new features are being added such as the ground-up reworking of the NTFS driver. This new feature alone will give Windows-Linux dual booters drastically faster and safer file transfers between OS partitions now that the FUSE-based drivers, with their extra overhead, are not being used.

There is also initial support for Intel Xe3P_LPG and Nova Lake P graphics, as well as support for NVIDIA GA100 accelerators in the Nouveau driver. For handheld gamers, there are also improved Lenovo Legion Go drivers for a better gaming experience.

In terms of the hecticness of this update, Torvalds reports that things look fairly normal right now, which is a good sign for a timely release in a few months. When things start to get hairy, that’s when delays happen, and we don’t want that!

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Posted Monday 27 April 2026 at 3:43 pm AEST (my time).

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