Unveiling Krackan Point’s Linux Performance: Budget Laptop Benchmarks
Curious about the real-world performance of AMD’s latest APUs on an open-source platform? This in-depth analysis dives into the Linux performance of the budget-friendly HP OmniBook 5, featuring the Ryzen AI 5 340 “Krackan Point.” We put this promising hardware to the test, comparing its capabilities head-to-head against Windows 11. Discover whether this ~$450 laptop delivers the expected punch for your everyday computing and development needs within the Linux ecosystem.
AMD Krackan Point on Linux: A Budget Powerhouse?
Earlier this month, we introduced the formidable capabilities of AMD’s Krackan Point, specifically the Ryzen AI 5 340, when running on a Linux laptop. Integrated within the HP OmniBook 5, a device that has been spotted for as low as ~$450 during sales, this combination offers a compelling value proposition. With six Zen 5 cores and RDNA 3.5 graphics, Krackan Point demonstrated solid potential as an economical option for the Linux community.
The HP OmniBook 5: A Budget Contender
The specific model rigorously tested was the HP OmniBook 5 Laptop 16z-ag100 8DF4. This machine, readily available in the US around the ~$450 price point during promotional sales, comes equipped with the 6-core Krackan Point AMD Ryzen AI 5 340, boasting Radeon 840M Graphics. It’s further enhanced by 16GB of LPDDR5-7500 memory, a crisp 1200p display, and a responsive 512GB Western Digital SN5000S SDEPNSJ-512G-1006 SSD. This configuration positions it as an intriguing contender for those seeking robust performance without breaking the bank.
Operating System Showdown: Linux vs. Windows 11
For tech enthusiasts and developers, the question often arises: how does a new hardware platform truly perform when liberated from proprietary operating systems? To address this, we conducted a direct comparison between the out-of-the-box Microsoft Windows 11 Home installation (as shipped by HP) and a clean installation of Ubuntu 25.04. Before wiping the drive, benchmarks were run on the default Windows 11 setup with all stable updates as of late July. Subsequently, a pristine Ubuntu 25.04 installation was performed, leveraging the Linux 6.14 kernel, Mesa 25.0 graphics drivers, and other default packages. This meticulous approach ensures a fair and relevant comparison of Linux performance against its Windows counterpart.
While previous analyses have explored Windows 11 vs. Linux performance on high-end hardware like AMD Strix Halo, the current benchmarks provide a crucial reference point at the opposite end of the spectrum: the budget-conscious Krackan Point. The comprehensive suite of tests included a diverse range of benchmarks covering graphics, video encoding, image denoising, compression, and general CPU workloads, such as those from LuxCore, Kvazaar H.264, SVT-AV1, OpenAPV, x264, Open Image Denoise, OSPRay, 7-Zip, Stockfish, Primesieve, Indigo, Neatbench, and V-RAY. These results illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of each operating system on this specific hardware configuration.
Unique Linux Tip: For optimal performance with AMD APUs like Krackan Point, always ensure your Linux distribution is running a recent kernel and up-to-date Mesa graphics drivers. The open-source community frequently pushes significant performance optimizations and feature enhancements for AMD hardware, often leading to better graphical and computational efficiency compared to proprietary Windows drivers, especially for newer hardware generations.
FAQ
Question 1: Is the HP OmniBook 5 with AMD Krackan Point a good budget Linux laptop?
Answer 1: Based on our testing, yes. For its price point (~$450), the HP OmniBook 5 with the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 “Krackan Point” offers impressive performance and compatibility with Linux, making it a strong contender for a budget-friendly Linux laptop, especially for everyday computing and light development tasks.
Question 2: How does Linux performance compare to Windows 11 on this specific hardware?
Answer 2: Our benchmarks indicate that the performance comparison between Linux (Ubuntu 25.04) and Windows 11 on the HP OmniBook 5 with Krackan Point varies across different workloads. While specific results are detailed in our full benchmark suite, Linux generally showcases competitive, and in some cases, superior performance, especially where its open-source drivers and kernel optimizations for AMD hardware shine. Users can expect a highly responsive experience on Linux.
Question 3: Which Linux distribution was used for testing, and why?
Answer 3: For these benchmarks, a clean installation of Ubuntu 25.04 was used. Ubuntu was chosen for its widespread adoption, robust hardware support, and its inclusion of a recent Linux 6.14 kernel and Mesa 25.0 graphics drivers by default, providing a current and representative snapshot of Linux performance on modern hardware.