Ubuntu 19.04 Gaming Desktops End of year 2018 Linux gaming benchmarks on different desktop environments using Ubuntu 19.04 snapshot. Tests with a Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics card and run by Michael Larabel for a future article on Phoronix. GNOME Shell 3.30.1: Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core @ 3.00GHz (32 Cores / 64 Threads), Motherboard: ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME (1601 BIOS), Chipset: AMD Family 17h, Memory: 32768MB, Disk: 2000GB SABRENT + Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 64 8GB (1630/945MHz), Audio: Realtek ALC1220, Monitor: ASUS VP28U, Network: Intel I211 Gigabit Connection + Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless OS: Ubuntu 19.04, Kernel: 4.18.0-11-generic (x86_64), Desktop: GNOME Shell 3.30.1, Display Server: X Server 1.20.3, Display Driver: amdgpu 18.1.0, OpenGL: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 (LLVM 7.0.1), Vulkan: 1.1.70, Compiler: GCC 8.2.0, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 3840x2160 GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland: Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core @ 3.00GHz (32 Cores / 64 Threads), Motherboard: ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME (1601 BIOS), Chipset: AMD Family 17h, Memory: 32768MB, Disk: 2000GB SABRENT + Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 64 8GB (1630/945MHz), Audio: Realtek ALC1220, Monitor: ASUS VP28U, Network: Intel I211 Gigabit Connection + Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless OS: Ubuntu 19.04, Kernel: 4.18.0-11-generic (x86_64), Desktop: GNOME Shell 3.30.1, Display Server: X Server 1.20.3 + Wayland, Display Driver: amdgpu 18.1.0, OpenGL: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 (LLVM 7.0.1), Vulkan: 1.1.70, Compiler: GCC 8.2.0, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 3840x2160 KDE Plasma 5.14.4: Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core @ 3.00GHz (32 Cores / 64 Threads), Motherboard: ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME (1601 BIOS), Chipset: AMD Family 17h, Memory: 32768MB, Disk: 2000GB SABRENT + Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 64 8GB (1630/945MHz), Audio: Realtek ALC1220, Monitor: ASUS VP28U, Network: Intel I211 Gigabit Connection + Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless OS: Ubuntu 19.04, Kernel: 4.18.0-11-generic (x86_64), Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.14.4, Display Server: X Server 1.20.3, Display Driver: amdgpu 18.1.0, OpenGL: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 (LLVM 7.0.1), Vulkan: 1.1.70, Compiler: GCC 8.2.0, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 3840x2160 Xfce 4.12: Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core @ 3.00GHz (32 Cores / 64 Threads), Motherboard: ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME (1601 BIOS), Chipset: AMD Family 17h, Memory: 32768MB, Disk: 2000GB SABRENT + Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 64 8GB (1630/945MHz), Audio: Realtek ALC1220, Monitor: ASUS VP28U, Network: Intel I211 Gigabit Connection + Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless OS: Ubuntu 19.04, Kernel: 4.18.0-11-generic (x86_64), Desktop: Xfce 4.12, Display Server: X Server 1.20.3, Display Driver: amdgpu 18.1.0, OpenGL: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 (LLVM 7.0.1), Vulkan: 1.1.70, Compiler: GCC 8.2.0, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 3840x2160 LXQt 0.13.0: Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core @ 3.00GHz (32 Cores / 64 Threads), Motherboard: ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME (1601 BIOS), Chipset: AMD Family 17h, Memory: 32768MB, Disk: 2000GB SABRENT + Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 64 8GB (1630/945MHz), Audio: Realtek ALC1220, Monitor: ASUS VP28U, Network: Intel I211 Gigabit Connection + Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless OS: Ubuntu 19.04, Kernel: 4.18.0-11-generic (x86_64), Desktop: LXQt 0.13.0, Display Server: X Server 1.20.3, Display Driver: amdgpu 18.1.0, OpenGL: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 (LLVM 7.0.1), Vulkan: 1.1.70, Compiler: GCC 8.2.0, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 3840x2160 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland: Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core @ 3.00GHz (32 Cores / 64 Threads), Motherboard: ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME (1601 BIOS), Chipset: AMD Family 17h, Memory: 32768MB, Disk: 2000GB SABRENT + Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 64 8GB (1630/945MHz), Audio: Realtek ALC1220, Monitor: ASUS VP28U, Network: Intel I211 Gigabit Connection + Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless OS: Ubuntu 19.04, Kernel: 4.18.0-11-generic (x86_64), Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.14.4, Display Server: X Server 1.20.3 + Wayland, Display Driver: amdgpu 18.1.0, OpenGL: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 (LLVM 7.0.1), Vulkan: 1.1.70, Compiler: GCC 8.2.0, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 3840x2160 MATE 1.20.3: Processor: AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32-Core @ 3.00GHz (32 Cores / 64 Threads), Motherboard: ASUS ROG ZENITH EXTREME (1601 BIOS), Chipset: AMD Family 17h, Memory: 32768MB, Disk: 2000GB SABRENT + Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 64 8GB (1630/945MHz), Audio: Realtek ALC1220, Monitor: ASUS VP28U, Network: Intel I211 Gigabit Connection + Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless OS: Ubuntu 19.04, Kernel: 4.18.0-11-generic (x86_64), Desktop: MATE 1.20.3, Display Server: X Server 1.20.3, Display Driver: amdgpu 18.1.0, OpenGL: 4.5 Mesa 18.2.6 (LLVM 7.0.1), Vulkan: 1.1.70, Compiler: GCC 8.2.0, File-System: ext4, Screen Resolution: 3840x2160 Dota 2 Resolution: 3840 x 2160 - Renderer: Vulkan Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 75.38 |========================================== GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 77.43 |=========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 75.17 |========================================== Xfce 4.12 .................. 76.57 |=========================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 77.00 |=========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 76.77 |=========================================== MATE 1.20.3 ................ 76.67 |=========================================== ET: Legacy 2.75 Renderer: Renderer2 - Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 198 |============================================ GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 200 |============================================= KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 197 |============================================ Xfce 4.12 .................. 199 |============================================= LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 199 |============================================= KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 201 |============================================= MATE 1.20.3 ................ 201 |============================================= F1 2018 Configuration: 2560 x 1440 - Ultra High Quality Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 . 66 |===================================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .. 67 |====================================================== Xfce 4.12 .......... 65 |==================================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ........ 67 |====================================================== MATE 1.20.3 ........ 64 |==================================================== F1 2018 Configuration: 2560 x 1440 - Ultra High Quality - Total Frame Time Milliseconds < Lower Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 . MIN: 11.0 AVG: 14.8 MAX: 38.6 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .. MIN: 11.0 AVG: 14.8 MAX: 56.7 Xfce 4.12 .......... MIN: 8.8 AVG: 15.5 MAX: 40.7 LXQt 0.13.0 ........ MIN: 11.2 AVG: 14.9 MAX: 33.9 MATE 1.20.3 ........ MIN: 9.3 AVG: 15.5 MAX: 55.9 Metro: Last Light Redux Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 69.93 |======================================== GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 72.78 |========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 71.18 |========================================= Xfce 4.12 .................. 74.76 |=========================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 69.73 |======================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 71.20 |========================================= MATE 1.20.3 ................ 72.12 |========================================= OpenArena 0.8.8 Resolution: 2560 x 1440 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 337 |============================================ GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 317 |========================================= KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 322 |========================================== Xfce 4.12 .................. 330 |=========================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 335 |============================================ KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 322 |========================================== MATE 1.20.3 ................ 344 |============================================= OpenArena 0.8.8 Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Total Frame Time Milliseconds < Lower Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... MIN: 1.0 AVG: 3.0 MAX: 28.0 GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . MIN: 1.0 AVG: 3.2 MAX: 23.0 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... MIN: 1.0 AVG: 3.0 MAX: 24.0 Xfce 4.12 .................. MIN: 1.0 AVG: 2.9 MAX: 25.0 LXQt 0.13.0 ................ MIN: 1.0 AVG: 3.0 MAX: 25.0 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. MIN: 1.0 AVG: 3.2 MAX: 24.0 MATE 1.20.3 ................ MIN: 1.0 AVG: 2.9 MAX: 24.0 Portal Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 485 |============================================ GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 479 |============================================ KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 444 |======================================== Xfce 4.12 .................. 446 |========================================= LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 494 |============================================= KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 484 |============================================ MATE 1.20.3 ................ 408 |===================================== Rise of the Tomb Raider Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Graphics Preset: Very High - Anti Aliasing: SMAA - Scene: Spine Of The Mountain Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 . 82.70 |=================================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .. 82.55 |=================================================== Xfce 4.12 .......... 80.35 |================================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ........ 82.65 |=================================================== Rise of the Tomb Raider Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Graphics Preset: Very High - Anti Aliasing: SMAA - Scene: Prophets Tomb Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 . 60.05 |=================================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .. 60.05 |=================================================== Xfce 4.12 .......... 58.20 |================================================= LXQt 0.13.0 ........ 60.15 |=================================================== Rise of the Tomb Raider Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Graphics Preset: Very High - Anti Aliasing: SMAA - Scene: Geothermal Valley Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 . 59.55 |=================================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .. 59.70 |=================================================== Xfce 4.12 .......... 58.05 |================================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ........ 59.70 |=================================================== Tesseract 2014-05-12 Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 321 |============================================= GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 314 |============================================ KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 319 |============================================ Xfce 4.12 .................. 310 |=========================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 324 |============================================= KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 312 |=========================================== MATE 1.20.3 ................ 281 |======================================= The Talos Principle Renderer: Vulkan - Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 63.16 |========================================== GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 63.27 |========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 61.87 |========================================== Xfce 4.12 .................. 62.27 |========================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 63.63 |=========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 64.07 |=========================================== MATE 1.20.3 ................ 61.67 |========================================= Total War: WARHAMMER II 1.0 Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Graphics Preset: High - Scenario: Skaven Battle Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 68.40 |=========================================== GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 66.27 |========================================= KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 68.07 |=========================================== Xfce 4.12 .................. 66.90 |========================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 68.70 |=========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 66.93 |========================================== MATE 1.20.3 ................ 66.73 |========================================== Total War: WARHAMMER II 1.0 Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Graphics Preset: High - Scenario: Skaven Battle - Total Frame Time Milliseconds < Lower Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... MIN: 5.5 AVG: 14.7 MAX: 47.9 GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . MIN: 7.3 AVG: 15.1 MAX: 71.7 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... MIN: 6.6 AVG: 14.7 MAX: 51.3 Xfce 4.12 .................. MIN: 8.5 AVG: 14.8 MAX: 65.2 LXQt 0.13.0 ................ MIN: 6.6 AVG: 14.8 MAX: 52.9 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. MIN: 6.4 AVG: 15.1 MAX: 47.2 MATE 1.20.3 ................ MIN: 6.6 AVG: 14.9 MAX: 62.4 Total War: WARHAMMER II 1.0 Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Graphics Preset: High - Scenario: Fallen Gates Battle Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 57.60 |=========================================== GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 56.20 |========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 57.73 |=========================================== Xfce 4.12 .................. 56.20 |========================================== LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 57.70 |=========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 56.50 |========================================== MATE 1.20.3 ................ 55.97 |========================================== Total War: WARHAMMER II 1.0 Resolution: 2560 x 1440 - Graphics Preset: High - Scenario: Fallen Gates Battle - Total Frame Time Milliseconds < Lower Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... MIN: 7.9 AVG: 17.4 MAX: 49.5 GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . MIN: 7.5 AVG: 17.7 MAX: 55.0 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... MIN: 7.3 AVG: 17.3 MAX: 51.6 Xfce 4.12 .................. MIN: 8.2 AVG: 17.8 MAX: 52.5 LXQt 0.13.0 ................ MIN: 7.6 AVG: 17.3 MAX: 57.9 KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. MIN: 7.5 AVG: 17.6 MAX: 49.9 MATE 1.20.3 ................ MIN: 7.5 AVG: 17.9 MAX: 52.1 Xonotic 0.8.2 Resolution: 3840 x 2160 - Effects Quality: Ultimate Frames Per Second > Higher Is Better GNOME Shell 3.30.1 ......... 207 |======================================== GNOME Shell 3.30.1 Wayland . 228 |============================================ KDE Plasma 5.14.4 .......... 212 |========================================= Xfce 4.12 .................. 233 |============================================= LXQt 0.13.0 ................ 217 |========================================== KDE Plasma 5.14.4 Wayland .. 231 |============================================ MATE 1.20.3 ................ 234 |=============================================