Linux 3.4 Kernel Performance Benchmarks Testing for a future article on Phoronix.com looking at the Intel Core i7 performance with NVIDIA Quadro graphics from a Lenovo ThinkPad W510 notebook with kernel releases from Linux 2.6.39 through the Linux 3.4 development x86_64 kernel. Linux 3.4 Git: Processor: Intel Core i7 720Q @ 1.60GHz (8 Cores), Motherboard: LENOVO 4318CTO, Chipset: Intel Core DMI, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 160GB INTEL SSDSA2M160, Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M 1024MB (405/324MHz), Audio: Conexant CX20585, Network: Intel 82577LM Gigabit Connection + Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.4.0-999-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 5.10.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1600x900 Linux 3.3: Processor: Intel Core i7 720Q @ 1.60GHz (8 Cores), Motherboard: LENOVO 4318CTO, Chipset: Intel Core DMI, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 160GB INTEL SSDSA2M160, Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M 1024MB (405/324MHz), Audio: Conexant CX20585, Network: Intel 82577LM Gigabit Connection + Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.3.0-030300-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 5.10.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1600x900 Linux 3.2: Processor: Intel Core i7 720Q @ 1.60GHz (8 Cores), Motherboard: LENOVO 4318CTO, Chipset: Intel Core DMI, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 160GB INTEL SSDSA2M160, Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M 1024MB (405/324MHz), Audio: Conexant CX20585, Network: Intel 82577LM Gigabit Connection + Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.2.0-030200-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 5.10.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1600x900 Linux 3.1: Processor: Intel Core i7 720Q @ 1.60GHz (8 Cores), Motherboard: LENOVO 4318CTO, Chipset: Intel Core DMI, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 160GB INTEL SSDSA2M160, Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M 1024MB (405/270MHz), Audio: Conexant CX20585, Network: Intel 82577LM Gigabit Connection + Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.1.0-030100-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 5.10.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1600x900 Linux 3.0: Processor: Intel Core i7 720Q @ 1.60GHz (8 Cores), Motherboard: LENOVO 4318CTO, Chipset: Intel Core DMI, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 160GB INTEL SSDSA2M160, Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M 1024MB (405/270MHz), Audio: Conexant CX20585, Network: Intel 82577LM Gigabit Connection + Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 3.0.0-0300-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 5.10.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1600x900 Linux 2.6.39: Processor: Intel Core i7 720Q @ 1.60GHz (8 Cores), Motherboard: LENOVO 4318CTO, Chipset: Intel Core DMI, Memory: 4096MB, Disk: 160GB INTEL SSDSA2M160, Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M 1024MB (550/950MHz), Audio: Conexant CX20585, Network: Intel 82577LM Gigabit Connection + Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 OS: Ubuntu 12.04, Kernel: 2.6.39-020639-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Unity 5.10.0, Display Server: X Server 1.11.3, Display Driver: nouveau 0.0.16, OpenGL: 2.1 Mesa 8.0.2 Gallium 0.4, Compiler: GCC 4.6, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 1600x900 FS-Mark 3.3 Test: 1000 Files, 1MB Size Files/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 81.10 |==================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 81.83 |===================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 80.80 |==================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 86.57 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 79.20 |=================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 81.72 |===================================================== FS-Mark 3.3 Test: 5000 Files, 1MB Size, 4 Threads Files/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 97.87 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 95.33 |======================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 94.00 |====================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 94.50 |====================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 94.07 |====================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 94.03 |====================================================== FS-Mark 3.3 Test: 4000 Files, 32 Sub Dirs, 1MB Size Files/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 80.53 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 78.07 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 77.70 |====================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 80.47 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 79.17 |======================================================= Linux 2.6.39 .. 77.97 |====================================================== FS-Mark 3.3 Test: 1000 Files, 1MB Size, No Sync/FSync Files/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 146.38 |===================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 147.92 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 142.40 |==================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 148.48 |====================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 146.37 |===================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 151.23 |======================================================= TTSIOD 3D Renderer 2.2w Phong Rendering With Soft-Shadow Mapping FPS > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 63.20 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 63.27 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 62.39 |======================================================= Linux 3.1 ..... 62.36 |======================================================= Linux 3.0 ..... 60.44 |===================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 60.25 |===================================================== Lightsmark 2008 Resolution: 1600 x 900 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 26.47 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 26.40 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 26.02 |======================================================= Linux 3.1 ..... 26.35 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 23.79 |================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 23.84 |================================================== OpenArena 0.8.5 Resolution: 1600 x 900 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 95.50 |====================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 95.70 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 94.70 |====================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 98.70 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 97.27 |======================================================= Linux 2.6.39 .. 96.90 |======================================================= OpenArena 0.8.8 Resolution: 1600 x 900 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 33.73 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 33.73 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 33.10 |======================================================= Linux 3.1 ..... 33.30 |======================================================= Linux 3.0 ..... 32.40 |====================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 32.40 |====================================================== Xonotic 0.6 Resolution: 1600 x 900 - Effects Quality: Low Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 96.78 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 96.69 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 95.96 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 95.39 |======================================================= Linux 3.0 ..... 83.26 |================================================ Linux 2.6.39 .. 83.38 |================================================ VP8 libvpx Encoding 0.9.7-p1 vpxenc Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 9.93 |======================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 10.02 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 9.98 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 9.74 |====================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 9.60 |====================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 9.81 |======================================================= x264 2011-12-06 H.264 Video Encoding Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 58.63 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 58.54 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 58.38 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 57.57 |======================================================= Linux 3.0 ..... 56.42 |====================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 56.43 |====================================================== Dbench 4.0 Client Count: 1 MB/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 242.81 |======================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 240.86 |======================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 204.47 |============================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 214.83 |================================================= Linux 3.0 ..... 206.57 |=============================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 207.97 |=============================================== Compile Bench 0.6 Test: Compile MB/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 107.67 |======================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 104.85 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 104.75 |====================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 105.37 |====================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 103.45 |===================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 104.13 |===================================================== Compile Bench 0.6 Test: Initial Create MB/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 95.71 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 94.57 |======================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 90.76 |===================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 95.47 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 95.12 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 92.35 |====================================================== Compile Bench 0.6 Test: Read Compiled Tree MB/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 126.90 |============================= Linux 3.3 ..... 128.11 |============================= Linux 3.2 ..... 116.55 |=========================== Linux 3.1 ..... 120.43 |============================ Linux 3.0 ..... 240.53 |======================================================= Linux 2.6.39 .. 119.46 |=========================== FFTE 5.0 Test: N=64, 1D Complex FFT Routine MFLOPS > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 3266.19 |====================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 3269.52 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 3239.22 |===================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 3243.00 |===================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 3228.48 |===================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 3287.02 |====================================================== Himeno Benchmark 3.0 Poisson Pressure Solver MFLOPS > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 1075.27 |====================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 1068.26 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 1061.27 |===================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 1071.32 |====================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 1077.99 |====================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 1069.50 |====================================================== 7-Zip Compression 9.20.1 Compress Speed Test MIPS > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 8908 |========================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 8912 |========================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 8820 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 8190 |==================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 8327 |===================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 8196 |==================================================== John The Ripper 1.7.9 Test: Blowfish Real C/S > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 2216 |========================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 2213 |========================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 2187 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 2187 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 2176 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 2162 |======================================================== NGINX Benchmark 1.0.11 Static Web Page Serving Requests Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 14630.52 |============================================ Linux 3.3 ..... 16403.72 |================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 16738.06 |================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 17610.94 |===================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 16252.86 |================================================= Linux 2.6.39 .. 15374.92 |============================================== Apache Benchmark 2.2.21 Static Web Page Serving Requests Per Second > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 14099.66 |===================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 13287.26 |================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 13197.81 |================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 12621.27 |=============================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 12014.53 |============================================= Linux 2.6.39 .. 13198.09 |================================================== NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3 Test / Class: BT.A Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 5561.23 |====================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 5567.22 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 5501.83 |===================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 5523.62 |====================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 5492.40 |===================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 5486.26 |===================================================== NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3 Test / Class: IS.C Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 86.46 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 86.25 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 86.35 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 86.36 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 86.07 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 86.43 |======================================================== NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3 Test / Class: LU.A Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 5324.90 |====================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 5341.25 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 5071.81 |=================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 5172.27 |==================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 4683.10 |=============================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 4978.46 |================================================== NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3 Test / Class: MG.B Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 2537.84 |====================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 2539.99 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 2514.63 |===================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 2476.31 |===================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 2440.64 |==================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 2437.40 |==================================================== NAS Parallel Benchmarks 3.3 Test / Class: UA.A Total Mop/s > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 20.93 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 20.73 |======================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 20.41 |======================================================= Linux 3.1 ..... 20.21 |====================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 19.72 |===================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 20.00 |====================================================== PostgreSQL pgbench 8.4.11 TPC-B Transactions Per Second TPS > Higher Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 2385.42 |================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 2389.34 |================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 2394.06 |================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 2546.24 |===================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 2574.24 |====================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 2538.96 |===================================================== Timed HMMer Search 2.3.2 Pfam Database Search Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 27.76 |======================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 27.81 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 27.88 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 27.93 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 28.03 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 27.87 |======================================================== Timed MAFFT Alignment 6.864 Multiple Sequence Alignment Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 13.55 |================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 13.97 |=================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 14.31 |==================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 14.53 |===================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 15.31 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 15.10 |======================================================= Timed Linux Kernel Compilation 3.1 Time To Compile Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 181.97 |====================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 182.34 |====================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 184.18 |======================================================= Linux 3.1 ..... 183.95 |======================================================= Linux 3.0 ..... 185.17 |======================================================= Linux 2.6.39 .. 185.36 |======================================================= C-Ray 1.1 Total Time Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 131.46 |======================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 106.44 |============================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 106.79 |============================================= Linux 3.1 ..... 106.78 |============================================= Linux 3.0 ..... 106.90 |============================================= Linux 2.6.39 .. 106.91 |============================================= Parallel BZIP2 Compression 1.0.5 256MB File Compression Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 19.59 |======================================================= Linux 3.3 ..... 19.71 |======================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 20.03 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 19.89 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 20.01 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 19.88 |======================================================== Smallpt 1.0 Global Illumination Renderer; 100 Samples Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 245 |========================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 244 |========================================================= Linux 3.2 ..... 245 |========================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 245 |========================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 247 |========================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 247 |========================================================== FLAC Audio Encoding 1.2.1 WAV To FLAC Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 10.30 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 10.29 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 10.30 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 10.28 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 10.30 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 10.31 |======================================================== LAME MP3 Encoding 3.99.3 WAV To MP3 Seconds < Lower Is Better Linux 3.4 Git . 22.79 |======================================================== Linux 3.3 ..... 22.85 |======================================================== Linux 3.2 ..... 22.78 |======================================================== Linux 3.1 ..... 22.86 |======================================================== Linux 3.0 ..... 22.84 |======================================================== Linux 2.6.39 .. 22.86 |========================================================