If you haven’t checked out CachyOS yet, it might be time. This Arch-based distro has been climbing fast, now ranking higher than Debian on DistroWatch! No, it’s not just hype.
CachyOS leans into performance. It’s optimized for modern CPUs (think x86-64-v4, AMD znver4), uses AutoFDO and PGO across packages, and ships with its own tuned kernel. That alone sets it apart from most Arch spins.
Gamers will appreciate the out-of-the-box support for new GPUs like RDNA4 and RTX 50 series, plus tools like zink-run and NTSYNC integration. Even devices like the ASUS ROG Ally are getting love.
It’s user-friendly too. Calamares installer, multiple DEs (KDE, GNOME, Xfce), and helpful tools like a Kernel Manager and GUI Package Installer make it approachable without feeling bloated.
It’s still early life but looks extremely positive! Overall, CachyOS is shaping up to be one of the more polished, performance-focused Arch-based distros out there.
Anyone running it? Curious how it holds up long-term for daily use and updates.
Yeah I have it and recently it’s been working out better than Endeavour OS.
Why I say that is twofold:
1] Cachy OS also has a few more of the applications I have been testing
2] Cachy OS works with my multi boot system configuration
EOS used to work with my setup fine.
I replaced it while I was testing other systems. When I attempted to reinstall Endeavour OS, the boot loader failed to find it. I put Kali Linux in that slot and it fits.
Too bad; I really don’t need to install Kali; if I need it I can use the USB Flash Drive. Unfortunately right now that’s the only way I can use Endeavour OS.
Cachy hadn’t had any failures; other than my boot loader struggling to locate it, Endeavour OS has always been reliable too.
Well installed it and left it to the defaults, it loads KDE Plasma (version 6 I think) and it’s very laggy. It could be I’m using Gnome Boxes for the VM but still, I installed Win 10 on the same VM and it’s faster than catchy is. Maybe it’s KDE IDK
I wasn’t that impressed with it but that’s life in the big city
This week I ran into some problems when I use the most recent available CachyOS kernel. Prior to this, it’s been an effortless experience; more than likely the more stable kernel would be a safer place to be if using CachyOS right now.
I was just about to try it instead of Pop_OS COSMIC Epoch but the performance issues is making me think twice . I’ve known about CachyOS for a while now, but haven’t found a good opportunity to switch yet and having NTSYNC is probably one of the best reasons as I do believe Proton now has NTSYNC support for kernels 6.14 and above.
I wouldn’t get too bothered by these issues.
I have Cachy OS on another system and when I updated it recently it had already fixed the one “bad” kernel build, but just to be SAFE I added a long term support kernel in addition to the cutting edge kernel so now if I encounter a future issue I have a backup plus I can still test the cutting edge stuff.
This is a very good situation; frankly doing the stuff I do it’s probably wise to keep a stable backup handy. I have that now, plus the most recent time I attempted to use my previous Cachy OS flash drive image, the image itself combined with the network indicated that I had to acquire a newer image, which I did.
Bottom line is that this is one of the best setups for those who want to try out a cutting edge Arch Linux setup.
The other really good one I like is Endeavour OS. I had some recent difficulties there too; again they were probably self imposed and I am generally quite impressed with and favorable towards Endeavour OS too.
Distro buffs should be familiar with both of them; there’s a lot of value added goodness on top of Arch Linux with both of them.
. I’ve known about CachyOS for a while now, but haven’t found a good opportunity to switch yet and having NTSYNC is probably one of the best reasons as I do believe Proton now has NTSYNC support for kernels 6.14 and above.