x11perfcomp

x11perfcomp file1 [file2 ...]

file1 [file2 ...]
    One or more paths to output files generated by the x11perf command. These files contain the raw performance data that x11perfcomp will process and compare.

x11perfcomp is a command-line utility designed to compare the performance results generated by the x11perf benchmarking tool. It takes two or more x11perf output files as input and produces a consolidated report, highlighting the differences in various X11 graphics operations. This comparison helps users, developers, and system administrators analyze the performance characteristics of different X servers, display drivers, or system configurations. By presenting side-by-side metrics for operations like line drawing, rectangle filling, text rendering, and image transfers, x11perfcomp assists in identifying performance bottlenecks or verifying improvements after system changes.

The utility's effectiveness is directly dependent on the quality and consistency of the x11perf input files. It assumes that the tests run in the input files are largely comparable. x11perfcomp typically outputs text-based comparisons, which may require further analysis or scripting for graphical visualization. It also does not perform the benchmarks itself, only processes existing results. Due to the evolving nature of graphics stacks (favoring OpenGL/Vulkan over pure X11 primitives), x11perf and x11perfcomp are less frequently used for modern system benchmarking.

To use x11perfcomp, you must first generate x11perf output files. This is typically done by running x11perf and redirecting its output to a file, for example:
x11perf > first_run.log
x11perf > second_run.log
These files can then be fed into x11perfcomp for comparison:
x11perfcomp first_run.log second_run.log

The output of x11perfcomp is usually a textual report, often formatted as a table or a series of comparisons, showing operations per second or frames per second for each test, along with percentage differences. While not graphically rich, this format is suitable for quick command-line analysis or for piping into other tools for further processing.

x11perfcomp is part of the X.Org (and previously XFree86) utility suite, which provides a collection of tools for managing and interacting with the X Window System. It emerged as a companion tool to x11perf, facilitating the comparison of benchmark results during the development and optimization of X servers and their drivers. Its primary use case was prevalent during eras when X11 rendering performance was a more direct measure of graphics subsystem efficiency, particularly before the widespread adoption of hardware-accelerated 3D rendering APIs like OpenGL.

x11perf(1), xdpyinfo(1), xlsclients(1)