Microsoft Windows 8 vs. Ubuntu 13.04 - Intel OpenGL + KDE/Xfce Comparing Microsoft Windows 8 graphics performance to Ubuntu 13.04 Linux. Benchmarking with ASUS Ultrabook bearing Intel Ivy Bridge processor. Benchmarking by Michael Larabel for a future article on Phoronix.com. Adding in KDE and Xfce results... Microsoft Windows 8: Processor: Intel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9 Intel (4 Cores), Disk: 187GB OS: Windows NT, Kernel: 6.2 (x86_64) Ubuntu 13.04: Processor: Intel Core i3-3217U @ 1.80GHz (4 Cores), Motherboard: ASUS K56CA v1.0, Chipset: Intel 3rd Gen Core DRAM, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 500GB Hitachi HTS54505 + 24GB SanDisk SSD i100, Graphics: Intel 3rd Gen Core, Audio: Realtek ALC270, Network: Realtek RTL8111/8168B + Atheros AR9485 Wireless OS: Ubuntu 13.04, Kernel: 3.8.0-12-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 6.6.0, Display Server: X Server 1.13.2, Display Driver: intel 2.21.4, OpenGL: 3.0 Mesa 9.0.2, Compiler: GCC 4.7, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1366x768 Ubuntu 13.04 + Git: Processor: Intel Core i3-3217U @ 1.80GHz (4 Cores), Motherboard: ASUS K56CA v1.0, Chipset: Intel 3rd Gen Core DRAM, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 500GB Hitachi HTS54505 + 24GB SanDisk SSD i100, Graphics: Intel 3rd Gen Core, Audio: Realtek ALC270, Network: Realtek RTL8111/8168B + Atheros AR9485 Wireless OS: Ubuntu 13.04, Kernel: 3.9.0-999-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 6.6.0, Display Server: X Server 1.13.2, Display Driver: intel 2.21.4, OpenGL: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.0 (git-4e8f5c5), Compiler: GCC 4.7, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1366x768 Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce: Processor: Intel Core i3-3217U @ 1.80GHz (4 Cores), Motherboard: ASUS K56CA v1.0, Chipset: Intel 3rd Gen Core DRAM, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 500GB Hitachi HTS54505 + 24GB SanDisk SSD i100, Graphics: Intel 3rd Gen Core, Audio: Realtek ALC270, Network: Realtek RTL8111/8168B + Atheros AR9485 Wireless OS: Ubuntu 13.04, Kernel: 3.9.0-999-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Xfce 4.10, Display Server: X Server 1.13.2, Display Driver: intel 2.21.4, OpenGL: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.0 (git-4e8f5c5), Compiler: GCC 4.7, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1366x768 Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE: Processor: Intel Core i3-3217U @ 1.80GHz (4 Cores), Motherboard: ASUS K56CA v1.0, Chipset: Intel 3rd Gen Core DRAM, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 500GB Hitachi HTS54505 + 24GB SanDisk SSD i100, Graphics: Intel 3rd Gen Core, Audio: Realtek ALC270, Network: Realtek RTL8111/8168B + Atheros AR9485 Wireless OS: Ubuntu 13.04, Kernel: 3.9.0-999-generic (x86_64), Desktop: KDE 4.10.1, Display Server: X Server 1.13.2, Display Driver: intel 2.21.4, OpenGL: 3.0 Mesa 9.2.0 (git-4e8f5c5), Compiler: GCC 4.7, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1366x768 Nexuiz 2.5.2 Resolution: 1024 x 768 - HDR: Yes - Sound: Off Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 43.07 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 18.16 |=================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 36.16 |===================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 36.03 |===================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 32.85 |================================== Nexuiz 2.5.2 Resolution: 1280 x 768 - HDR: Yes - Sound: Off Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 39.89 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 16.04 |================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 32.55 |==================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 32.53 |==================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 31.49 |=================================== Nexuiz 2.5.2 Resolution: 1366 x 768 - HDR: Yes - Sound: Off Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 39.96 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 15.94 |================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 32.10 |=================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 32.11 |=================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 32.03 |=================================== Nexuiz 2.5.2 Resolution: 800 x 600 - HDR: Yes - Sound: Off Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 50.37 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 24.89 |====================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 45.13 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 44.96 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 43.82 |====================================== OpenArena 0.8.5 Resolution: 1024 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 155.77 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 111.73 |=============================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 115.80 |================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 148.33 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 138.40 |====================================== OpenArena 0.8.5 Resolution: 1280 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 139.10 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 138.73 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 141.43 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 140.63 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 130.67 |======================================== OpenArena 0.8.5 Resolution: 1366 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 140.60 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 132.77 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 136.90 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 135.00 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 115.83 |=================================== OpenArena 0.8.5 Resolution: 800 x 600 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 179.43 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 158.17 |====================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 162.53 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 162.60 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 152.97 |===================================== OpenArena 0.8.8 Resolution: 1024 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 45.20 |================================= Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 55.97 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 60.37 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 59.80 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 55.37 |======================================== OpenArena 0.8.8 Resolution: 1280 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 37.73 |==================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 41.87 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 45.70 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 45.67 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 42.67 |========================================= OpenArena 0.8.8 Resolution: 1366 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 35.47 |===================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 38.87 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 42.60 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 42.00 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 27.42 |============================ OpenArena 0.8.8 Resolution: 800 x 600 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 65.07 |================================= Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 80.30 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 87.57 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 86.33 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 83.10 |========================================== Warsow 0.61 Resolution: 1024 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 85.57 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 84.53 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 88.37 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 87.40 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 86.83 |=========================================== Warsow 0.61 Resolution: 1280 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 79.73 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 76.33 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 80.43 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 80.27 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 78.93 |=========================================== Warsow 0.61 Resolution: 1366 x 768 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 77.77 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 73.30 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 76.53 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 75.67 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 68.13 |======================================= Warsow 0.61 Resolution: 800 x 600 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 106.60 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 111.33 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 114.57 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 114.67 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 118.33 |=========================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1024 x 768 - Effects Quality: High Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 71.98 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 69.63 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 67.14 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 67.45 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 60.68 |===================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1024 x 768 - Effects Quality: Low Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 110.19 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 94.67 |===================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 98.96 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 101.51 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 94.40 |===================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1024 x 768 - Effects Quality: Ultimate Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 33.52 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 31.72 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 23.85 |=============================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 24.04 |================================ Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 22.38 |============================= Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1024 x 768 - Effects Quality: Ultra Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 53.15 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 51.66 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 46.54 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 47.64 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 44.70 |===================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1280 x 768 - Effects Quality: High Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 66.09 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 63.11 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 59.51 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 61.45 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 57.07 |====================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1280 x 768 - Effects Quality: Low Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 103.51 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 91.66 |====================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 86.73 |==================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 93.01 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 85.50 |==================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1280 x 768 - Effects Quality: Ultimate Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 28.98 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 25.60 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 19.17 |============================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 19.55 |============================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 18.09 |=========================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1280 x 768 - Effects Quality: Ultra Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 48.66 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 44.76 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 40.15 |==================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 40.99 |===================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 38.29 |=================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1366 x 768 - Effects Quality: High Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 63.27 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 61.93 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 59.35 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 60.05 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 51.91 |==================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1366 x 768 - Effects Quality: Low Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 102.74 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 90.05 |====================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 90.28 |====================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 91.75 |====================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 81.94 |================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1366 x 768 - Effects Quality: Ultimate Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 27.60 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 25.71 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 18.98 |============================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 19.20 |=============================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 17.79 |============================ Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1366 x 768 - Effects Quality: Ultra Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 47.09 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 44.81 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 39.60 |===================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 36.78 |================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 35.49 |================================= Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 800 x 600 - Effects Quality: High Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 80.69 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 79.13 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 77.69 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 77.08 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 76.19 |========================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 800 x 600 - Effects Quality: Low Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 117.59 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 110.81 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 108.05 |======================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 106.26 |======================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 105.29 |======================================= Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 800 x 600 - Effects Quality: Ultimate Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 44.56 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 43.10 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 34.06 |================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 33.85 |================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 31.65 |=============================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 800 x 600 - Effects Quality: Ultra Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Microsoft Windows 8 ....... 62.01 |============================================ Ubuntu 13.04 .............. 61.22 |=========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git ........ 58.57 |========================================== Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - Xfce . 57.11 |========================================= Ubuntu 13.04 + Git - KDE .. 55.30 |=======================================