19-Way CPU Comparison On Ubuntu With Linux 4.15
Following the release of the Linux 4.15 kernel with KPTI and Retpoline introduction, many Phoronix readers were interested in seeing a fresh Linux CPU performance comparison. For those reasons plus in preparing for the Raven Ridge testing, here are benchmarks of 19 different systems when using Ubuntu x86_64 with the Linux 4.15 stable kernel.
An assortment of 19 different systems from old to new and from low-end to high-end were tested, ranging from old AMD A10 Kaveri APUs to the high-end AMD EPYC 7601 server processor, with a similar breadth of CPUs tested on the Intel side. Again, these tests are mostly being done for reference purposes. And in the days ahead will be a larger low-end-focused CPU comparison for the upcoming Ryzen 3 2200G / Ryzen 5 2400G Linux benchmarking.
The CPUs for this interesting test roundabout today included:
- A10-7870K
- FX-8350
- Ryzen 3 1200
- Ryzen 3 1300X
- Ryzen 7 1700
- Ryzen 7 1800X
- Threadripper 1950X
- EPYC 7601
- Core i3 7100
- Core i3 8100
- Core i5 4670
- Core i5 8400
- Core i7 4770K
- Core i7 5960X
- Core i7 7740X
- Core i7 8700K
- Core i9 7980XE
- Xeon Silver 4108
- 2 x Xeon Gold 6138
Each system was equipped with RAM at each CPU's optimal frequency and number of memory channels, the same Crucial MX300 525GB SATA 3.0 SSD was used for testing on all nineteen different systems. The OS used throughout was Ubuntu 17.10 x86_64 with the Linux 4.15.2 stable kernel and GCC 7.2.0 compiler. These tests are looking at just the CPU performance and all benchmarks were carried out via the Phoronix Test Suite. The Linux 4.15.2 kernel was a stock configuration and has the relevant mitigation support for Spectre and Meltdown. Here's the out-of-the-box look at all systems tested:
Thanks to the Phoronix Test Suite, for maximum value if you want to see how your own Linux system(s) compare to the 19 different processors tested in this article, simply install the Phoronix Test Suite and then run phoronix-test-suite benchmark 1802125-FO-LINUX415N23 for a fully-automated, side-by-side benchmark comparison.