Windows vs. Linux Scaling Performance From 16 To 128 Threads With AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

As has been known for a while now, AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors really show their true potential on Linux with often significant increases to the performance thanks to the kernel's better scalability compared to Microsoft Windows. While Microsoft has made some improvements in this area over the past year, with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 64-core / 128-thread HEDT processor it really shines on Linux. In this article are benchmarks of Windows 10 Professional and Windows 10 Enterprise against Linux on the Threadripper 3990X when going from 16 cores to 128 threads for seeing how the three operating systems are scaling.

This serves not only our first direct look at the Windows vs. Linux performance for the new Ryzen Threadripper 3990X but also seeing how well each operating system is scaling on the same hardware. Our Threadripper 3990X testing continues to be based around the System76 Thelio Major with the Linux-focused PC vendor having kindly sent out their new high-end workstation to us last week for allowing our AMD 3990X coverage. Those wanting to learn more about the System76 Thelio with AMD Threadripper and other options can do so at System76.com.

This test system for the Windows and Linux testing besides having the Threadripper 3990X is equipped with 4 x 32GB Corsair DDR4-3000 memory, Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB NVMe SSD, and dual Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics cards. The same hardware was (obviously) used throughout all of the testing on Windows and Linux. Core/Thread controls were toggled via the UEFI BIOS with the downcore control for adjusting the active CCd configuration and SMT knobs for adjusting the core/thread count enabled during each step of the testing process.

On the Linux side was Clear Linux 32280 with the Linux 5.5 kernel. On the Windows side was Windows 10 Enterprise Build 18363 and Windows 10 Pro Build 18363 (November 2019 Update). Both Windows 10 releases were freshly installed and had all available system updates as of testing time plus the very latest AMD chipset drivers.

Via the Phoronix Test Suite for complete test automation and reproducibility, various benchmarks were carried out on the Linux and Windows OS setups at 16 cores, 32 cores, 48 cores, 64 cores, and 64 cores + SMT for looking at the scalability of these operating systems while using a variety of multi-threaded software packages that are of similar quality on Windows and Linux.