CachyOS Experimenting With x86-64-v4 Repository For AVX-512 Optimized Packages

[daemonburrito]

Re all the Arch comments:

If you are intimate with your daily environment (kernel, wm/de, frequently used tools), and want better utilization of hardware, why not use one of Arch's best features, Arch Build System? (ABS)

My journey to using it started when I decided to marry working on the kernel with Pacman. It's nice to avail yourself of auto `mkinitcpio`, copying to `/boot` and configuring the bootloader (gummiboot in my case), and setting up the fallback kernel; everything you'd need to do is already written and maintained in the install scripts. And, bonus, the `PKGCONFIG` is a nice wrapper around build scripts, with an API that automates applying patches, setting `CFLAGS` (`prepare()`, `build`); metadata that's used to do things like set up the bootloader and fallback (`pkgver`, `pkgname`, etc.); and even integrity checks with hashes and GPG key ids.

So kernel hacking environment set up, it wasn't long until I started downloading all important packages with `pkgctl` and setting `CFLAGS`. Btw, instead of `v2`, `v3`, etc., I just started doing `-march=native`. Though I just maintain my own `PKGCONFIG` per package, things can be set in `$USER/makecfg.conf`.

It's Gentoo evolved.

This is also related, but not dependent on AUR. The packages (an archive containing `PKGCONFIG`) can be downloaded without tooling from Arch's git servers. (And I'll stop nerding out here without a digression about how AUR helpers are harmful...)

tldr if you use Arch, then you already have a superior solution to a Cachy repo, imho.

* https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_build_system
* https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Ker...h_build_system

(and oh yeah, another advantage!)
* https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Modprobed-db

[Michael et al... if there was ever a forum that would benefit from a markdown renderer ]

[t1r0nama]

Would be interested to see if running the V4 packages on laptops does register a hit to the battery life. For now it would be only AMD SKUs, but I still think it could be interesting as AMD has 3 different flavours-> Zen4 monolithic, Zen4 (chiplets) and Zen4+4c hybrid monoliths.

That would be interesting but just running any linux hit's so much on my laptops battery life. It's 7-8 hours on windows and 5 hours at max on linux with same usecases. HP laptop. Yes i know HP laptops suck with linux. But it was very good deal. 200$ for 11th gen 4/8 i3 with Fhd IPS display new.

[dlq84]

I've been an Arch user for quite a while now. However, CachyOS is starting to look tempting given that Arch does not provide any v4 or even v3 packages. I would have expected Arch to be a bit more cutting-edge.

Just use the script that adds the cachyos repos to your Arch install, i did that a month ago and not looking back (unless arch does it officially)

[Chugworth]

Just use the script that adds the cachyos repos to your Arch install, i did that a month ago and not looking back (unless arch does it officially)

That sounds like a good way to screw up your installation.

[dlq84]

That sounds like a good way to screw up your installation.

Nah, it's easy to boot the install media and clean up if that happens.

[-MacNuke-]

I don't think this shift in focus was intentional, just a classic case of getting stuck in your own ways.

Arch lacks automatization and maintainers. It is not like that they do not discuss it. But they can't do anything now since they would have to ask every single maintainer to build the packages they maintain manually for every -v2, -v3, -v4 setting. And some maintainers hesitate to ship packages that they can't test because they do not have the hardware for it. And some maintainers just say "no" to any more effort. But automated package building is something they work on as far as I know. But they switched from SVN to Git(lab) recently so it may take some time. Some things need to settle down first.

[-MacNuke-]

If you are intimate with your daily environment (kernel, wm/de, frequently used tools), and want better utilization of hardware, why not use one of Arch's best features, Arch Build System? (ABS)]

Do you think you regain the time and energy that you spent for maintaining your own package builds? Personally I spend my time for other things than "--omg-optimized". Not that I would not like better optimized packages, but not if I am the one who has to create them. An automated build server that creates them for more than one person is a better solution in general.

[daemonburrito]

Do you think you regain the time and energy that you spent for maintaining your own package builds? Personally I spend my time for other things than "--omg-optimized". Not that I would not like better optimized packages, but not if I am the one who has to create them. An automated build server that creates them for more than one person is a better solution in general.

No. I assert that "pkgctl repo clone linux" is less effort than adding a repo (and fixing your system when things inevitably go wrong) or much less effort than installing CachyOS. And it has the added benefit of greater control.

I'm not sure if you actually understand the comment... Maybe it wasn't clear, but this is the summary.

[-MacNuke-]

No. I assert that "pkgctl repo clone linux" is less effort than adding a repo (and fixing your system when things inevitably go wrong) or much less effort than installing CachyOS. And it has the added benefit of greater control.
I'm not sure if you actually understand the comment... Maybe it wasn't clear, but this is the summary.

And your -march=native packages built in no time without any performance degradation of the whole system while doing so?

[daemonburrito]

And your -march=native packages built in no time without any performance degradation of the whole system while doing so?

You can do whatever you like [eg, v4], which is the point. [But] Blindly doing v4 on the whole distro is sure to trigger more pathological code than my one-off picks, which I can even benchmark in isolation.

You're just in a very strange niche place, if you're too busy to edit one text file, and yet willing to use a fork of Arch. I'll accept that that's you, but it's not me. I like hacking on code. 5 or 10 minutes of compilation is worth it for me.

[...] built in no time [...]

I also think it's silly to claim that if you don't get the time "back" in increased performance, then the time spent compiling isn't worth it. And surely that's obvious on reflection, right? I mean, you're using FLOSS, in a niche distro.