Fresh Linux vs. BSD CPU/System Benchmark Results Across Five Operating Systems

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Fresh Linux vs. BSD CPU/System Benchmark Results Across Five Operating Systems

With carrying out the ZFS/HAMMER2 vs. Linux ZoL and other file-system benchmarks this weekend, while having those clean installs of each operating system under test, I also took the opportunity to run some other non-storage benchmarks...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=BSD-Linux-January-2019-Bench

[r08z]

BSDs are well respected as true Unix but GNU/Linux has beaten them in performance. This is the cost of running old unoptimized userland tools.

[linner]

There is something about Clear Linux that feels off. Like running an OS distributed by the government or something. Keeps me from running it but I'm not sure why.

Would just enabling the modern processor compiler flags and rebuilding everything make a common distro like Ubuntu perform as well as Clear Linux? Has anyone benchmarked that?

[Michael]

There is something about Clear Linux that feels off. Like running an OS distributed by the government or something. Keeps me from running it but I'm not sure why.

Would just enabling the modern processor compiler flags and rebuilding everything make a common distro like Ubuntu perform as well as Clear Linux? Has anyone benchmarked that?

I've tried the reasonable techniques to make Ubuntu run like Clear, no luck: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pa...st-clear&num=1

[linner]

I've tried the reasonable techniques to make Ubuntu run like Clear, no luck: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pa...st-clear&num=1

Awesome, thanks for the work!

[milkylainen]

There is something about Clear Linux that feels off. Like running an OS distributed by the government or something. Keeps me from running it but I'm not sure why.

Would just enabling the modern processor compiler flags and rebuilding everything make a common distro like Ubuntu perform as well as Clear Linux? Has anyone benchmarked that?

A modern compiler can only do so much with regards to speed increases.
I'd venture to say that most of the optimizations in Clear are not in compiler flags.

Stupid and slow code is always stupid and slow, no matter the compiler flags.

But if you start optimizing every library mem*, str*, all the slow library calls. Every compression, hash, crypto and video functions with better ones... then you can usually begin to talk serious speedups.

[r08z]

There is something about Clear Linux that feels off. Like running an OS distributed by the government or something. Keeps me from running it but I'm not sure why.

Would just enabling the modern processor compiler flags and rebuilding everything make a common distro like Ubuntu perform as well as Clear Linux? Has anyone benchmarked that?

The developers patch most programs in order to help the compiler at build time. Glibc for example has some FMA and AVX patches and many of those patches have been submitted upstream thanks to Clear Linux. Like it was mentioned before, the compiler can only go so far with code that wasn't vectorizer friendly to begin with. Also Clear Linux uses AUTOFDO with many critical applications like databases and such.

You can look into their github page to get an idea what flags they use on certain critical programs. And btw, not every single software they run has aggressive flags. Because they've been deemed non critical/placebo.

[schmidtbag]

BSDs are well respected as true Unix but GNU/Linux has beaten them in performance. This is the cost of running old unoptimized userland tools.

True, but considering the lack of attention the BSDs get (relative to Linux), they actually hold up impressively well.

There is something about Clear Linux that feels off. Like running an OS distributed by the government or something. Keeps me from running it but I'm not sure why.

Would just enabling the modern processor compiler flags and rebuilding everything make a common distro like Ubuntu perform as well as Clear Linux? Has anyone benchmarked that?

I don't use Clear because I don't like how packages are lumped together with other stuff I probably won't want. In addition to that, none of my computers have impressive specs and despite this, I never felt they needed to be faster. So - I'd rather be able to have more customization and control over my system than receive benefits I otherwise don't need.

I sure hope other distros take Clear more seriously and attempt to add their patches.

[Vistaus]

Would just enabling the modern processor compiler flags and rebuilding everything make a common distro like Ubuntu perform as well as Clear Linux? Has anyone benchmarked that?

Maybe not Ubuntu, but some others: yes, as Solus proves. Solus uses a lot of Clear's optimizations and compiler flags.