CONFIG_XTENSA_VARIANT_HAVE_PERF_EVENTS is not available for thedefaultarchitecture x86.
Result is shown for architecture xtensa

Core variant has Performance Monitor Module

modulename: perf_event.ko

configname: CONFIG_XTENSA_VARIANT_HAVE_PERF_EVENTS

Linux Kernel Configuration
└─>Processor type and features
└─>Core variant has Performance Monitor Module
In linux kernel since version 4.1 (release Date: 2015-06-21)  
Enable if core variant has Performance Monitor Module with
External Registers Interface.

If unsure, say N.

source code: