diff --git a/drivers/net/sfc/efx.c b/drivers/net/sfc/efx.c
index d3e240b736c7..bde8b7ac398a 100644
--- a/drivers/net/sfc/efx.c
+++ b/drivers/net/sfc/efx.c
@@ -894,9 +894,9 @@ static int efx_wanted_rx_queues(void)
 	int count;
 	int cpu;
 
-	if (!alloc_cpumask_var(&core_mask, GFP_KERNEL)) {
+	if (unlikely(!alloc_cpumask_var(&core_mask, GFP_KERNEL))) {
 		printk(KERN_WARNING
-		       "efx.c: allocation failure, irq balancing hobbled\n");
+		       "sfc: RSS disabled due to allocation failure\n");
 		return 1;
 	}