The kernel is the most important part of any distribution. At the end of the day, it is the Linux kernel, where all the drivers and all the necessary components that make this operating system work. Distributions generally usually start from said Kernel (original, or modified by its creators) to which, above it, they place a series of packages and layers that allow it to be useful for users. Installing the new kernel versions is important because, in addition to fixing bugs, we will make sure that the hardware works as stable and efficient as possible.
The Linux kernel is in constant development. Every so often, the community, led by Linus Torvalds, releases new versions of this operating system. Some are minor updates (subversions) focused on maintenance or bug fixes. But others are big updates, full of improvements and changes, that we must install as soon as possible in order to experience the true potential of this OpenSource system first hand.
At the end of 2020, Linus released the first Release Candidate of the new Linux 5.11 Kernel . And, after a month and a half of testing, analysis and debugging, this version has finally reached its stable phase. If you use a Linux distribution, you should consider updating to this version as soon as possible, since, although it has not been as big as 5.10, it does bring some very interesting news like the ones we are going to see below.
If you want to know all the changes in detail, we recommend reading the following link .
Reasons to upgrade to Linux kernel 5.11
Better graphics drivers for AMD and NVIDIA
The new Linux kernel 5.11 has new free drivers for AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards, as well as drivers for Intel iGPUs. In the specific case of AMD, support has been added for the Van Gogh and Green Sardine APUs, as well as important improvements for the new Radeon RX 6800. And in the case of Intel, this version adds support for Keem Bay, Integer Scaling, Big Joiner and various asynchronous and DRM enhancements.
Ready for next-gen CPUs
If we have a PC with Intel, the SGX enclaves will finally be available, in addition to including a series of efficiency and performance improvements, as well as the enablement of the Intel Platform Monitoring Technology . If on the contrary we have an AMD processor, then we will find that we now have support for S2idle, PowerCap and improvements in the Zen2 and Zen3 architectures.
The OpenRISC, RISC-V and ARM architectures also receive their share of enhancements, with this operating system making its way within them.
More stable and faster storage
This new version of Linux has focused on improving everything related to storage and file transfers. Popular file systems like BTRFS, F2FS, XFS, and of course EXT4 have received their share of performance improvements, stability, and bug fixes. Additionally, major enhancements have been added to USB 4.0 and Thunderbolt support, now working much better with external storage drives.
Better Wi-Fi connectivity
Do you connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi? This kernel update will help you improve your connection. The new Linux kernel 5.11 adds support for WiFi 6E , in addition to improving the Qualcomm Ath11k driver and acceleration of the ChaCha and AEGIS128 cryptography. Thanks to this, we can get a much more stable, fast and secure connection from our Linux.
A kernel designed for gamers
Improving the performance of graphics cards is not the only thing that has come for gamers. If we have an ASUS brand gaming laptop, from now on the keyboard will work without any problem, being able to use all its functions without limitations. Also, if we want to become true guitar heroes, it is important to know that this version adds compatibility with Guitar Hero Live PS3 and WiiU dongles.
How to update
If we have a Rolling Release distribution , this new version of the kernel will not take long to arrive through the standard updates of the program. Without a doubt, it is the best thing about this type of distribution, that we can always be up to date.
However, if we use versions with a standard update plan, such as Ubuntu or Linux Mint, then we will have to install the latest version of the Kernel ourselves by hand. Either that, or wait for the next version of the distribution, which may take months, that includes this new kernel.