
The Intel 486, the fourth generation of Intel’s x86 processor line, was initially released in 1989, marking the x86 architecture’s transition from 16-bit to a mature 32-bit era. The Intel 586, unveiled in 1993, represented a significant upgrade, focusing on enhanced overall performance and improved multitasking capabilities.
Linux, renowned for its exceptional compatibility, has historically extended full kernel support even to these ancient architectures. Unfortunately, the Linux Kernel team’s resources are finite, making it unsustainable to maintain compatibility with such obsolete hardware indefinitely.
The Linux kernel development community is now engaged in discussions about deprecating support for the aging i486 and i586 architectures, aiming to reduce both code complexity and maintenance burden.
Recently, Linux Kernel developer Ingo Molnar proposed, in an RFC patch thread, the removal of support for these outdated 32-bit processors. He pointed out that, in practical terms, there are now only a handful of users still relying on such antiquated CPUs—and even fewer who would seek to run the latest Linux Kernel versions on them.
Consequently, phasing out support for i486 and i586 would significantly streamline the kernel’s codebase, ease the workload on developers, and eliminate the need for ongoing compatibility testing for these legacy architectures.
In fact, as early as 2022, there were already considerations to drop support for the i486 architecture. Although those discussions did not yield a conclusive decision, the topic has resurfaced for community deliberation, with hopes of finally reaching a consensus on abandoning support for these relics.
The last time the Linux Kernel dropped support for a CPU family was back in 2012, when it discontinued support for the Intel 386. Thirteen years have since passed, and now the Linux community stands at the threshold of retiring another generation of processors—though the final outcome remains to be seen.