AMD Watch posted an update
AMD EPYC server performance has risen by about 8% on average in Phoronix’s 2026 testing, comparing Linux 6.18 LTS with the in-development Linux 7.3 kernel. The useful point is not that every server will suddenly become 8% faster, but that kernel work is delivering measurable gains on existing AMD hardware.
Why it mattersWhat happened Phoronix tested more than 100 Linux server benchmarks on the same AMD EPYC 8635P system, using an Ubuntu 26.04 LTS base and comparing Linux 6.18.52 with a Linux 7.3 build from 17 September. The machine has 84 Zen 5 cores, 384GB of DDR5 memory and a PCIe Gen5 NVMe drive. The test found an approximately 8% geometric-mean performance improvement across the suite. Phoronix also points to earlier gains in areas including I/O, meaning the result reflects a year of accumulated Linux optimisation rather than one heroic patch arriving with a cape.
Discuss: Would you trial a newer kernel for a measurable performance gain, or is the operational risk of changing a stable server still too high for single-digit improvements?
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