The Disappointing Direction Of Linux Performance From 4.16 To 5.4 Kernels
The Python PyBench test saw an improvement from Linux 4.16 to 4.17 while remaining the same after that point.
Similarly, PHP performance did see an improvement from 4.16 to 4.17.
Nginx and Apache web server performance is slower on Linux 5.2+ or kernel point releases where MDS is back-ported.