After spending quite some time experimenting with EndeavourOS, I’ve decided it’s time to switch distros again on my main tower. My new daily driver in my dual-boot setup will be CachyOS. To be honest, I’ve been peer-pressured into it.
If you look back at my past blog posts, you’ll notice I hop distros pretty often. Thankfully, I have methods that make switching distros easier because, honestly, I’ve been on a long quest to find the perfect Linux distribution for me.
While my laptop runs Kubuntu—it’s actually a Linux-first Kubuntu Focus Ir14 laptop—I tend to jump between distros on my tower multiple times each year. None of the distros I’ve used so far have quite fit the bill. There always seems to be another exciting option on the horizon—CachyOS being a prime example.
### My Current Distro Is Too Minimalist for Me
To clarify, I’m not abandoning EndeavourOS simply because something shiny appeared on the horizon. I installed EndeavourOS one weekend back in August, and while I’ve learned a lot from it, my experience has left me wanting more.
EndeavourOS is designed to get you comfortable with the command line, which I appreciate. Through using it, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of Arch repositories, AUR helpers, and various software sources. For that, I’m grateful.
However, as a journalist juggling deadlines, I’ve found it frustrating when software I need isn’t readily available or in the state I expect. Installing some programs requires extra steps, and I just don’t have the time to navigate dependency issues and fix problems manually.
Don’t get me wrong—I don’t regret giving EndeavourOS a try. It’s just that the responsibility it places on me to troubleshoot doesn’t mesh well with my current workflow. If I had more free time, I might invest the effort to mold EndeavourOS into my ideal OS. But since my time is limited, I found myself missing the convenience of using Octopi on Garuda Linux with Chaotic-AUR already enabled.
### CachyOS Makes Customization Easy
While feeling a bit nostalgic for my Garuda days, I realized I also wanted to branch out a little. From what I’ve heard, CachyOS similarly makes customizing the operating system to fit your needs easy—perhaps even easier than EndeavourOS.
Of course, Linux and other open-source operating systems are as customizable as your knowledge and determination allow. But CachyOS doesn’t leave all the work on you and the terminal.
What I look for in a good Linux distro is a balance: ease of customization and software acquisition without sacrificing the granular control I want. Plus, the learning curve needs to be shallow enough so it doesn’t disrupt my workflow.
I know—I’m asking a lot. My hope is that CachyOS and its software management tools can deliver that experience. Is that unrealistic? I’m about to find out.
### CachyOS Outperforms the Rest
This week, Phoronix published benchmarks showing CachyOS delivering higher performance rates than Ubuntu 25.10 and Fedora 43. Those are two titans of the Linux world, so it’s impressive to see a relative newcomer—especially one not based on an enterprise-level distribution—outperform them.
I’m no overclocking enthusiast, but it feels good knowing I’ll likely be getting the most out of my hardware by switching to CachyOS. The benchmarks were even conducted using an AMD graphics card—the same kind I use—which further boosts my confidence.
Plus, since I’ll be dual-booting CachyOS alongside Windows 11, I’ll be able to easily compare the performance and user experience between the two operating systems. It’s exciting to try one of the best options Linux has to offer.
### People Just Can’t Stop Talking About It
Finally, I’ll admit that peer pressure played a part in my decision. I keep hearing chatter about CachyOS—from Reddit discussions to comments on my own articles. Curiosity has definitely gotten the best of me.
While I’m resisting setting my expectations too high, I want to explore the hype firsthand.
I also have a theory: excitement around a distribution positively affects its quality. Generally speaking, the more users actively engaged with a distro, the more feedback goes to developers. This often attracts more volunteers who contribute in various ways, improving the distro beyond what would happen otherwise.
That said, the same dynamic can also attract malicious activity. The more popular a distro becomes, the bigger a target it is for malware. However, there’s been progress in this area recently—for example, Chaotic-AUR has launched a trusted maintainer initiative to help combat these risks.
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I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with CachyOS and seeing if it truly lives up to the promise. Stay tuned!
https://www.howtogeek.com/im-finally-jumping-on-the-cachyos-bandwagon-this-weekend/