diff --git a/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
index 7936b801fe6a..4c6b4150266d 100644
--- a/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
+++ b/Documentation/kernel-parameters.txt
@@ -2484,12 +2484,13 @@ and is between 256 and 4096 characters. It is defined in the file
 			Format:
 			<io>,<irq>,<dma>,<dma2>,<sb_io>,<sb_irq>,<sb_dma>,<mpu_io>,<mpu_irq>
 
-	tsc=		Disable clocksource-must-verify flag for TSC.
+	tsc=		Disable clocksource stability checks for TSC.
 			Format: <string>
 			[x86] reliable: mark tsc clocksource as reliable, this
-			disables clocksource verification at runtime.
-			Used to enable high-resolution timer mode on older
-			hardware, and in virtualized environment.
+			disables clocksource verification at runtime, as well
+			as the stability checks done at bootup.	Used to enable
+			high-resolution timer mode on older hardware, and in
+			virtualized environment.
 
 	turbografx.map[2|3]=	[HW,JOY]
 			TurboGraFX parallel port interface
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/tsc.c b/arch/x86/kernel/tsc.c
index 71f4368b357e..648fb269e5d1 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/tsc.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/tsc.c
@@ -825,6 +825,9 @@ __cpuinit int unsynchronized_tsc(void)
 
 	if (boot_cpu_has(X86_FEATURE_CONSTANT_TSC))
 		return 0;
+
+	if (tsc_clocksource_reliable)
+		return 0;
 	/*
 	 * Intel systems are normally all synchronized.
 	 * Exceptions must mark TSC as unstable:
@@ -832,10 +835,10 @@ __cpuinit int unsynchronized_tsc(void)
 	if (boot_cpu_data.x86_vendor != X86_VENDOR_INTEL) {
 		/* assume multi socket systems are not synchronized: */
 		if (num_possible_cpus() > 1)
-			tsc_unstable = 1;
+			return 1;
 	}
 
-	return tsc_unstable;
+	return 0;
 }
 
 static void __init init_tsc_clocksource(void)