RTX 5070 Ti versus the RX 9070 XT in gaming benchmarks – Linux & Windows
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Windows is overwhelmingly popular among PC gamers. Just look at any Steam Hardware & Software Survey – Windows makes up 95% of users on the biggest PC gaming platform, but Linux is slowly making up ground. Much of this is thanks to SteamOS on Valve’s popular Steam Deck handheld, which represents just under a third of Linux users on Steam.
Valve has been pushing to support SteamOS on more devices, notably handhelds like the Legion Go S. And once it is properly supported for desktop users, we can expect to see a spike in Linux users, or at least that’s what we think. New gaming benchmarks for Linux reveal where it stands right now, but there are a couple of drawbacks – one of them being ray tracing.
Windows vs Linux benchmarks in 1440p and 4K – 5070 Ti & 9070 XT
New benchmarks sourced from German publication ComputerBase reveal how well AMD and Nvidia’s latest mid-high range cards perform on Windows versus Linux. The test was conducted across 21 titles. A lack of Linux support for a couple of games meant they had to be left out, notably F1 25, due to EA’s anti-cheat software. Assumedly, the same one that blocked the OS on Apex Legends. Anyway, let’s jump into the results:
1440p
1440p benchmarks, source: ComputerBase
1440p benchmarks w/ ray tracing, source: ComputerBase
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Here, we can already see the clear advantage AMD has versus rival Nvidia on Linux-based operating systems. RTX 5070 Ti performance is around 25% faster on Windows compared to Linux, whereas the RX 9070 XT remains solid, albeit with slightly lower performance compared to the gamer’s usual OS of choice. Once we move over to ray tracing benchmarks, however, there’s a large drop-off for Linux users, especially on AMD, which has long been the best choice for Linux gamers. This is despite the RX 9000 series offering significant gen over gen gains in the ray tracing department.
4K
4K benchmarks w/ ray tracing, source: ComputerBase
4K benchmarks, source: ComputerBase
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At 4K, it’s a similar story. AMD is clearly better for Linux gaming in raster, but performance drops close to 40% once ray tracing is turned on (versus Windows), and the Nvidia card is supreme. Radeon cards have long been better optimized thanks to having largely open-source Linux drivers – something Nvidia only decided to transition towards last year. On top of that, a SteamOS developer suggested earlier this year that Nvidia drivers are holding back a widespread SteamOS release. So, there’s still much work to be done for Team Green in that area.
AMD remains the go-to, but if you want ray tracing, support is lackluster. On top of that, the problem with anti-cheat support on Linux will discourage fans of many popular multiplayer games (such as Fortnite, Call of Duty, or League of Legends) from making the switch. Many devs continue to have Linux support low on their priority list.
Indeed, most games don’t require you to have ray tracing on, but the industry is slowly changing. Real-time lightning as standard is becoming more commonplace in AAA titles. The two that spring to mind are Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and DOOM: The Dark Ages, two id Tech engine games that have ray tracing as a minimum requirement, straight up locking out anyone on an old GTX card.
If the industry keeps moving in this direction, and the anti-cheat problem isn’t resolved, Linux gaming could remain niche. Even still, SteamOS on desktop is the next big step and will hopefully cause a shake-up, no matter how small.
