'Left 4 Dead 2' Runs Faster on Linux Than Windows

In a new blog post, Valve Linux team has reported that Left 4 Dead 2 runs faster on Linux than Windows, thanks to efficiency of Linux Kernel and OpenGL.

They tested the game on an Intel Core i7 3930k computer with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 and 32 GB RAM (loaded with Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit and Ubuntu 12.04 32bit).

When Left 4 Dead 2 was initially ported to Linux, it ran at 6 fps while Windows version had 270.6 fps.

Now after they have Modified L4D2 to work better with the Linux kernel and OpenGL, it is running at 315 fps on Linux. Valve Linux Team is also working with Nvidia, AMD and Intel engineers to optimize Linux graphic drivers and boost performance of the game.

[...] That the Linux version runs faster than the Windows version (270.6) seems a little counter-intuitive, given the greater amount of time we have spent on the Windows version. However, it does speak to the underlying efficiency of the kernel and OpenGL.

[...] We’ve been working with NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel to improve graphic driver performance on Linux. They have all been great to work with and have been very committed to having engineers on-site working with our engineers, carefully analyzing the data we see. We have had very rapid turnaround on any bugs we find and it has been invaluable to have people who understand the game, the renderer, the driver, and the hardware working alongside us when attacking these performance issues.

This is a great example of the benefits that are the result of close coordination between software and hardware developers and should provide value to the Linux community at large.

They have closely analysed L4D2 performance on Linux and taking cues from it, they will now make necessary changes to make the game run as fast as Linux on Windows.