Linux often the leads Windows in benchmark comparisons, at least for certain tasks. However, performance between different Linux distros can also vary drastically. Phoronix benchmarked AMD's latest Ryzen 9 9950X in five different Linux distros, including one featuring Intel optimizations, and discovered the Zen 5 chip runs up to 16% faster with the Intel-optimized distro.
The distro in question is called Clear Linux, and it's purportedly one of the most highly optimized Linux distros for x86 processors. Clear Linux's focus is to prioritize app performance by using a plethora of optimizations across the entire operating system, including optimizations made from the kernel, middleware layers, and runtime.
Another advantage Clear Linux has over its contemporaries is dedicated optimization work done by Intel software engineers, helping to boost Clear Linux's performance on x86 processors. In this case, it seems Intel's engineers are helping out all x86 processors, including those from arch-rival AMD.
Phoronix tested Clear Linux against an assortment of other Linux distros on the Ryzen 9 9950X: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.10, Fedora Workstation 40, Arch Linux and CachyOS. That last is another performance-focused Linux distro that purportedly shares some of the same patches as Clear Linux.
Across 59 benchmarks, Phoronix saw up to a 16% improvement in performance with Clear Linux compared to the slowest Linux distro that was tested — Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Clear Linux came in first place, with CachyOS coming in second, Arch Linux 3rd, Fedora Workstation 4th, Ubuntu 24.10 5th, and Ubuntu 24.04 LTS coming in last.
Phoronix's testing reveals that OS-level CPU optimizations can be extremely important for boosting CPU performance. A 16% performance difference is massive, basically matching the improvement seen by the Ryzen 9 9950X over it's 7950X predecessor.
Improving Ryzen 9 9950X performance under Linux shows that Zen 5 has more fuel in the tank. How AMD's latest and greatest stacks up to Intel CPUs, including the upcoming Intel Arrow Lake offerings, remains to be seen.
