this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2025
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Servers = Debian
Desktop/Laptop = Arch
Why Arch?
Genuine question, I have been on pop os for some time now, recently changed laptop and am thinking of changing os as well.
I'm not RanzigFettreduziert, and I don't know much about PopOS, but...
Downsides:
It's kindof the second-most hardcore OS out there after Gentoo. (Nobody actually uses LFS as a daily driver, so I'm not counting that for this.) It's the sort of OS that will teach you a lot and let you get down in the guts. But also avoids a lot of the downsides of Gentoo by remaining a binary OS.
There are a lot of binary packages in Gentoo, for the bigger packages (like LibreOffice), plus you can just use a binary repo if you want. I've been on Gentoo a while now, it's pretty fun and I like all the customization even though I know the relatively minor efficiencies don't make up for the compile times lol.
Yeah, I know about the binary repositories. I'm running Gentoo as well (on one box with the intention to expand to other machines), but haven't had occasion to use the official binary repositories yet.
I imagine I'd probably only ever use them if I wanted to install something temporarily. Install LibreOffice, view a file, uninstall. Just seems weird to have one package compiled with different USE flags than the whole rest of the system.
And, the compiler optimizations definitely aren't why I use Gentoo. Probably more than anything, I'm sick of SystemD. And Gentoo feels a whole lot more "under my control" than Arch. (Arch is great for the most part, don't get me wrong. I just like what Gentoo has to offer.)
It's sometimes even a regression. For instance, self-compiled pytorch is way slower than the official releases, and Firefox generally is too unless you are extremely careful about it. Stuff like Python doesn't get a benefit without patches.
I think the point of Gentoo is supposed to be 'truly from source' and utility for embedded stuff, not benchmark performance. Especially since there are distros that offer 'march' optimized packages now.
I came because of all the memes.
I stayed to say 'I use Arch by the way'.
Thats all and i like the idea of a rolling distribution.
I am not alone!
At first I installed Arch because I got an Arch sticker, and if I put it on my laptop that felt like the only appropriate solution.
What Toot said.
Things I would emphasize are:
The community “critical mass” is amazing with the wiki, online posts and such. You get a lot of support that isn’t ancient, jank and ad hoc like Ubuntu.
Arch emphasizes paying attention. It’s not a hands free OS: you have know what graphics drivers you run, and what your desktop environment is. When you update, you have to watch the log for emergency messages and such, including official notifications from the arch repos themself. It’s not a “hands off” OS where you can operate without knowing anything about it, but the reward is that shit gets fixed quick, officially, without having to stray from defaults and break your system, or accumulating a bunch of hacks you have to maintain yourself.
Much of Arch’s bad reputation comes from AUR. Don’t use anything from the AUR (instead of an official repo package) unless you absolutely have to. This is when stuff starts breaking. Installing standalone apps that aren’t on the repo via AUR is fine, but to be clear, avoid things that integrate with the system if you can.
It doesn’t have to be hardcore barebones like Gentoo, there are all sorts of Preconfigurations like Garuda and Endeavor. I recommend CachyOS (which I have kept for two years now, and will into the future).
This is the way.