At first glance, it looks like a debug output fragment or a mismatched identifier. However, this string is rich with technical meaning. It ties together three critical components of modern x86 computing: (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface), GenuineIntel (the CPU vendor string), and the Intel64 family-model-stepping encoding (Family 6, Model 58).
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/acpi_id dmesg | grep -i "acpi.*processor" acpidump | grep -i "processor" The exact triple-dash string is not standard in any major Linux distribution’s clean logs. Searching the internet yields few direct results; those who see it often ask on forums about “strange CPU identifier” or “acpi genuineintel---”. It is likely an artifact of a custom build , an old kernel (2.6.32 era with certain ACPI debug flags), or a poorly written kernel module that prints raw CPUID and ACPI concatenated fields.
Sometimes this appears as Intel64 (or EM64T in older kernels). In the string, it explicitly distinguishes from ia64 (Itanium) or plain i386/i686 . This is the most hardware-specific part. Intel assigns a family (major generation) and model (specific core design) to every processor. Family 6 has been used since the Pentium Pro (1995) for almost all recent Intel Core, Xeon, Atom, and Celeron processors. Model 58 (decimal) or 0x3A (hex) corresponds to:
Decoding “ACPI GenuineIntel---Intel64-Family-6-Model-58”: A Deep Dive into Processor Identification and Linux ACPI Introduction If you have ever dug through Linux kernel logs, examined /proc/cpuinfo , or tried to debug power management issues on an Intel-based system, you may have stumbled upon a cryptic string: acpi genuineintel---intel64-family-6-model-58
grep "model name" /proc/cpuinfo grep "family" /proc/cpuinfo To see ACPI processor info:
| Feature | Detail | |---------|--------| | Microarchitecture | Ivy Bridge | | Process technology | 22 nm (Intel’s first Tri-Gate “FinFET” transistor) | | Supported sockets | LGA1155, Socket G2 (rPGA988B), BGA1023 | | Supported chipsets | Z77, H77, Q77, Z75, B75, HM77, UM77 etc. | | Memory support | DDR3-1333/1600, dual-channel (max 32GB desktop, 16GB mobile) | | Integrated GPU | Intel HD Graphics 2500/4000 (DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.0) | | Instruction set additions | AES-NI, RDRAND, MOVBE, AVX (not AVX2), F16C | | TDP range | 17W (ULV) to 77W (desktop quad-core) |
