Ryzen 9 9950X runs 16% faster on an Intel-optimized Linux distro

Phoronix conducted benchmarks on AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X across five different Linux distributions, revealing that the processor performs up to 16% faster on Clear Linux, an Intel-optimized distro. Clear Linux is designed to enhance application performance through extensive optimizations at various system levels, including the kernel and middleware. The testing compared Clear Linux with other distributions such as Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Ubuntu 24.10, Fedora Workstation 40, Arch Linux, and CachyOS. Clear Linux emerged as the top performer, while Ubuntu 24.04 LTS ranked last. The results indicate that operating system-level optimizations can significantly impact CPU performance, with the 16% improvement being comparable to the performance leap from the Ryzen 9 7950X to the 9950X. This suggests that the Zen 5 architecture has additional performance potential. The implications of these findings for the Ryzen 9 9950X's competitiveness against Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake CPUs remain to be seen.

- Ryzen 9 9950X shows up to 16% performance increase on Intel-optimized Clear Linux.

- Clear Linux is highly optimized for x86 processors, benefiting from Intel's dedicated optimization efforts.

- Benchmarking included comparisons with several other Linux distributions, with Clear Linux outperforming them all.

- OS-level optimizations are crucial for maximizing CPU performance.

- The performance gains highlight the potential of AMD's Zen 5 architecture.