Windows 11 Preps For Intel Nova Lake With A New CPU Performance Toggle
Self-described "feline fan" and longtime Windows Insider Xeno (@XenoPanther on X) has spotted a curious new toggle in Microsoft's Windows 11 Experimental builds that seems to let users enable Intel APX, an upcoming instruction set extension expected to arrive with Intel's Nova Lake processors. The setting, found under Windows' Developer options, promises better performance, although it's not yet clear why Microsoft is apparently making APX an explicit opt-in rather than enabling it automatically when supported hardware becomes available.
Intel's APX, short for "Advanced Performance Extensions," is a significant expansionof the x86-64 instruction set. One of its biggest changes is a doubling of the number of GPRs, or "general-purpose registers," from 16 to 32. This gives compilers more room to keep data close at hand instead of shuffling it between registers and memory. APX also brings along the usual bundle of extra instructions intended to improve performance in specific scenarios...
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