Ubuntu 23.04, the latest Ubuntu release, uses Wayland by default as the display server for its desktop sessions instead of the traditional X.Org. Wayland is considered a modern replacement for X.Org, offering better security, stability, and performance. But for Linux gamers, does Wayland match or surpass X.Org?
To answer this question, the Phoronix website conducted a series of tests comparing the gaming performance of Wayland and X.Org sessions in the GNOME desktop environment on Ubuntu 23.04. The test uses the latest NVIDIA and AMD graphics card drivers, as well as some native Linux games and Windows games running through Steam Play.
This round of testing was done on Ubuntu 23.04 using the GNOME 44.1 desktop components. AMD and NVIDIA were tested under GNOME's X.Org session, followed by (X)Wayland gaming performance under the Wayland Mutter compositor session, mixing native Linux games and Windows games by running them on Linux via Steam.
On the AMD side is the Radeon RX 7900 XTX running the Linux 6.3.2 kernel and Mesa 23.2-devel to revisit the open source graphics driver's performance. On the NVIDIA side is a GeForce RTX 4080, while using the latest version of the 535.43.02 driver.
The test results show that, except DiRT Rally 2.0, which has problems under Wayland, the performance of all other games under Wayland and X.Org is very close, and there is no obvious difference. This shows that it is possible to play games on Ubuntu 23.04 using a GNOME Wayland session without losing too much performance. Of course, with future Wine Wayland drivers and other synth optimizations coming out, Wayland may have more advantages.
In summary, both Wayland and X.Org sessions on Ubuntu 23.04 can provide a good gaming experience, and players can choose which display server to use according to their preferences.
Related links, sources of related information:
[1]: https://www.phoronix.com/review/ubuntu-2304-wayland-xorg-gaming "GNOME Wayland vs. X.Org Performance For Radeon & NVIDIA Gaming On ... "
[2]: https://www.phoronix.com/review/ubuntu-2304-wayland-xorg-gaming/3 "GNOME Wayland vs. X.Org Performance For Radeon & NVIDIA Gaming On..."
[3] : https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2486167 "Ubuntu 23.04 -- login not possible using \"Ubuntu on Xorg\""