Zen 6 EPP defaults shift toward power savings in Linux 7.4
AMD's P-State driver patch moves the Zen 6 performance core's power EPP from 64 to 115, pulling the Linux default toward power savings ahead of the 7.4 merge.

That is the new power EPP value the AMD P-State driver will assign to Zen 6 performance cores under Linux, up from 64 in the prior submission. A companion adjustment moves the low-power core's balance-performance EPP from 51 to 64 and its power EPP from 115 to 64. The efficiency core, per the filing, needs no change from last month.
EPP is a 0-to-255 policy knob inside the P-State governor. Lower values bias the scheduler toward higher frequency and voltage; higher values pull the bias toward power savings. The big core's jump to 115 means the OS will hold it back harder on the power axis, trading headroom for thermal margin. The small core's power value dropping to 64 does the opposite: the OS will let it run closer to its performance ceiling. The balance-performance nudge from 51 to 64 is a smaller step in the savings direction, a compromise between the two extremes.

None of this is a measurement. The patch sets a default policy; it does not report a wattage, a frequency, or a TDP figure. The lore.kernel.org filing that would carry the actual diff and commit identifier was behind an Anubis proof-of-work challenge at the time of review, so the primary document remains unverified. What the buyer of a Zen 6 laptop learns from this is that Linux 7.4 will not default to maximum performance on the big core out of the box. What the fab learns is nothing: no node, no SKU, no power envelope appears in the numbers.

What is still unmeasured: the actual delta in milliwatts between the old and new EPP settings at a sustained workload, the TDP ceiling AMD has set for the Zen 6 client die, and whether the efficiency core's unchanged values were validated against a real silicon sample or remain a placeholder from the prior submission. Watch for the Linux 7.4 merge window and any independent benchmark run that pairs the new EPP defaults with a power meter on the bench.
The patch is a policy default, not a measurement: no wattage, TDP, or node appears in the numbers. The buyer learns Linux 7.4 will not max out the big core by default; the fab learns nothing about the silicon.
EPP values are OS-side governor parameters. Adjusting them changes frequency and voltage selection bias but does not alter the silicon's power envelope. The absence of a commit hash or diff in the accessible record means the patch content is unverified beyond the Phoronix summary.
Power EPP: 64 to 115 (performance core) · Balance-perf EPP: 51 to 64 (low-power core) · Power EPP: 115 to 64 (low-power core) · Linux 7.4 target for Zen 6 support
After lore.kernel.org. We did not report this. The pictures, if any, are theirs.

