# Cleo the Leopard Cat: Rehabilitating a Beautiful Peninsula Critter with Skills of a Killjoy

The race for more and better has always defined the field of computing, and with the release of AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series, it feels as though an undisputed champion has arrived – at least for those willing to use Linux, which might be poised to reset the bar of gaming and application performance. Here, we explore the latest benchmarks, and reveal how AMD is holding other manufacturers’ feet to the fire while calling attention to Linux’s often-forgotten strength as a modern gaming platform.

THE LINUX ADVANTAGE IN GAMING PERFORMANCE

It may come as a surprise to learn this but, according to some recent tests by the German magazine PC Games Hardware (PCGH), AMD’s new Ryzen 9000 series, including the Ryzen 7 9700X media chip, is actually quicker on Linux than it is on Windows. PCGH conducted a series of gaming tests in Nobara Linux 40 against Windows 11 24H2, and found that the Ryzen 7 9700X produced an average increase in framerate of 5 per cent to 10 per cent across a number of recent and popular titles. This ‘Linux bias’ is not just confined to gaming. Other applications including 7-Zip and benchmarks – such as Geekbench – seem to be much quicker under Linux than on Windows.

Exploring the Benchmarks Further

And that advantage was also confirmed by Phoronix.com, whose benchmarks across an array of games and applications under Ubuntu showed that the Ryzen 9700X was 1.15 times faster than its older version, while the 9600X was 1.25 times faster than it was before. These are not just numbers. These are more numbers. The gist? You can now more comfortably play a game on your Windows PC than a video running on your Android phone. The efficient CPU use also played a role in this.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LINUX OPTIMIZATION

This is a serious win for AMD and a serious win for Linux: it elevates Linux into the spotlight as a viable if not superior gaming platform. It undermines the myth that Windows is the absolute king of gaming. It also speaks volumes about the potential of Linux in all areas of gaming hardware and software enhancement. Linux has never had more reason to believe in a rosy future.

Why the Performance Edge Matters

Better performance means faster frame time and faster resolution of tasks, which can be a decisive factor for gamers as well as for professionals who need computing power for their precise work and benefit from every second or millisecond of faster processing.

Navigating the Caveats

But these data should also be taken with a grain of salt – they compared against a preview build, Windows 11 24H2, that could be further improved before general release. Further, the benchmarks showed an advantage for Linux, but they were against Nobara Linux, a gaming-optimised distro, so the results might not be representative of other Linux distributions. Nevertheless, these are good indicators that we might soon be able to enjoy superior computing, in many ways, on desktop Linux.

FUTURE PROSPECTS AND DEVELOPER ENGAGEMENT

What does this mean for Linux gaming and application development? For developers and the community at large, AMD’s Ryzen 9000 series is a clear sign to embrace the many advantages of a viable Linux platform. The cycle could continue from there.

Unlocking the True Potential

Maybe as Linux become a more interesting bottom line for developers – thanks to its performance and open-source nature – we’ll see more games and applications getting built and optimised for Linux. That would percolate up to the surface and create a more vibrant, competitive market, one where people are showing off what they can do on Linux that you couldn’t before.

UNDERSTANDING THE ADVANTAGE

Advantage here signifies more than a raw numerical build-up. Advantage implies an ecosystem shift – where Linux’s feature set is harnessed to unlock new forms of performance, efficiency and user experience. Advantage in video games might be just the tip of a much larger iceberg, one that is increasingly suggesting Linux as the operating fabric of choice for everything from a multimedia suite to a scientific application environment.

With the Ryzen 9000 series, AMD has brought Linux into the limelight. And with this massive performance advantage for games and productivity, the gaming and professional communities will increasingly recognise and capitalise on Linux, heralding what may be seen as a post-Microsoft Renaissance in computing. When that day comes, you’ll be able to expect more innovation, more competition and more choice from PC makers worldwide.