Microsoft has introduced a new setting for Advanced Performance Extensions (APX) in the Windows 11 build 29295. This feature is designed to support upcoming Intel processors, although it currently remains inactive as no APX-capable hardware is available on the market.
Intel first announced APX in 2023, detailing an architecture that increases general-purpose registers from 16 to 32. According to the company, this design allows code to run with 10% fewer loads and 20% fewer stores compared to the Intel 64 baseline. Developers must recompile applications with specific flags to utilize these instructions.
The first processors to feature APX support are expected to be the Intel Nova Lake Core Ultra 400-series, slated for release in early 2027. The lineup will likely debut with a 28-core version, followed by a 52-core model later that year. Additionally, Intel plans to bring APX support to data centers with the Xeon 7 Diamond Rapids chips, which will offer up to 256 cores.
Support for APX is already present in the GCC compiler starting from version 14, with ongoing updates through GCC 17. Both LLVM and MSVC also provide preliminary support for the instruction set. While development has been underway for two years, the technology will only reach consumers with the launch of the new hardware in 2027.
