diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_counter.c b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_counter.c
index 275bc142cd5d..3c37c3930ca1 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_counter.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/perf_counter.c
@@ -1459,6 +1459,10 @@ static int intel_pmu_init(void)
 
 static int amd_pmu_init(void)
 {
+	/* Performance-monitoring supported from K7 and later: */
+	if (boot_cpu_data.x86 < 6)
+		return -ENODEV;
+
 	x86_pmu = amd_pmu;
 
 	switch (boot_cpu_data.x86) {