this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2026
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I built a custom kernel specifically for AMD ThinkPads — detkernel (github.com)
submitted 1 week ago by Detcom@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.world
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I've been running AMD ThinkPads for a while and always felt like the stock kernel carries a lot of dead weight, like Intel CPU/GPU drivers, NVIDIA, Dell/HP/Asus vendor blobs, server SCSI controllers, legacy filesystems, ancient WiFi drivers from 2003. None of that belongs on a ThinkPad.

So I built detkernel (yeah, I know), a custom kernel that strips all of that out and keeps only what AMD ThinkPads actually need.

What's removed:

  • Intel CPU/GPU (i915, xe, microcode)
  • NVIDIA (nouveau)
  • All non-ThinkPad vendor drivers (Dell, HP, Asus, Sony, Apple...)
  • Server SCSI controllers (Adaptec, LSI, HP SmartArray...)
  • Legacy WiFi (Prism, ZyDAS, old Ralink, IPW2100/2200...)
  • Dead filesystems (ReiserFS, HFS, UFS, JFFS2...)
  • Legacy network protocols (AppleTalk, ATM, X.25...)

What stays:

  • Full AMD support (Zen1–Zen5, RDNA GPU, ACP audio, PMC, P-state)
  • All ThinkPad WiFi chips (Intel AX, Qualcomm WCN, MediaTek MT7921/MT7925, Realtek RTW89)
  • Realtek LAN (it's in every ThinkPad)
  • HDA Realtek audio + USB audio
  • ThinkPad ACPI, HID Lenovo
  • KVM/AMD, VFIO

Two variants:

  • detkernel-universal — x86-64-v3, works on all AMD ThinkPads (T495 and newer)
  • detkernel-zen5 — znver5, for Ryzen AI 300 series (T14 G5-G6, T16 G3, P14s G5-G6), includes 500Hz tick, BBRv3 TCP, NTSYNC for Wine/Proton

Distributed as UKI (.efi) for systemd-boot users — just drop it in /boot/EFI/Linux/ and reboot. vmlinuz + initramfs also available for GRUB/rEFInd.

Currently based on Linux 7.0.12-zen1.

GitHub: https://github.com/Detcom-GH/detkernel

Looking for testers, especially on older models (T495, T14 G1-G2, L14/L15). Would love to hear how it runs on your machine.

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[–] AcornTickler@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

While I like the premise, I don't think the advantages of running a stripped down kernel warrants the tedium necessary to do it. If it was simply a package that you could update with your package manager, then I guess it would be worth it.

[–] Detcom@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

That's actually the plan — working on proper packages so it can be updated like any other kernel. For now the UKI file is a single drop-in which is about as simple as it gets for systemd-boot users.