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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The CachyOS distribution has received a big upgrade.
- Based on Arch Linux, this distro has some new tricks up its sleeve.
- CachyOS is fast, beautiful, and free to use.
Every time I’ve used and reviewed CachyOS, I’ve come away impressed. This distribution is faster than most, offers an impressive array of desktop options, and with each iteration becomes more and more user-friendly.
Based on Arch Linux, CachyOS recently received an important upgrade with several changes that affect the desktop environment.
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What are the changes for the latest CachyOS?
First off, a reminder: Because it’s based on Arch Linux, CachyOS is a rolling-release distribution. If you upgrade your current installation, it will automatically update to the latest release, which includes the new additions.
The biggest change for CachyOS is that it now uses the Wayland windowing system. Because Wayland is considerably more modern than X11, I have found it generally performs better. (X11 has been around for a very long time and uses older, sometimes outdated architecture.)
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Given that CachyOS was already one of the fastest full-blown Linux desktop distributions, you can imagine it received another speed boost. This is exactly what I experienced. I tested the X11-based CachyOS and found it fast, but the Wayland version is noticeably faster. And when you combine CachyOS, Wayland, and KDE Plasma, the desktop just screams, “On your left!” (If you don’t get the reference, ask one of your cycling buddies. 😉)
CachyOS also replaces the KDE Plasma default login manager, SDDM, with Limine. Limine is more modern and configurable than other Linux boot managers, making it a perfect fit for the CachyOS ethos. Limine can be themed and fully customized. You can check out the various options here.
One caveat: The KDE Plasma version still uses the Plasma Login Manager, so if you’re familiar with that, you’ll feel right at home.
The CachyOS installation is incredibly easy.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Of course, you don’t have to use KDE Plasma, as there are 18 different desktop environments to choose from during installation.
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There are several other, less important changes that you can read about here.
Overall impression
I’ve become one of CachyOS’s many fans. This lightning-fast distribution not only makes using Arch Linux much easier, but it also puts on display how Linux can outperform both MacOS and Windows, and do so by a long shot.
The fact that the developers were able to eke out even more performance over the previous release is impressive and should help others decide to make the leap from whatever OS they are using to CachyOS, especially if they’re using older hardware.
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However, the most significant thing I can say about CachyOS is that it’s based on Arch Linux. In my previous review, I stated, “There are distributions that are much easier for learning the ins and outs of Linux.” While that is still true, CachyOS has made great progress in producing an Arch Linux option for those with less Linux skills. The one thing that could elevate that further would be if Pamac (the GUI front end for the pacman package manager) received a more modern UI. The fact that Pamac looks more similar to Synaptic than KDE Discover is actually a bigger deal than some might be willing to admit.
If the Pamac developers brought the UI up to modern standards, I’d be more willing to recommend distributions such as CachyOS to users of all stripes. Even so, if you don’t mind an app store with an old-school feel, CachyOS is a brilliant distribution that is sure to please.
