Do I really need Secure Boot for a CachyOS and Windows dual-boot?

The main practical reason to enable it may be game compatibility. Some anti-cheat systems require Secure Boot or other platform security checks. If the games you play don’t require it, you probably won’t notice much difference with it disabled.

CachyOS can use Secure Boot, but you’ll need to follow its setup instructions and enroll the appropriate keys. It isn’t necessarily a huge process, though it can make unsigned drivers or firmware more troublesome. Test your drivers and peripherals afterward, since some third-party components may need to be signed manually.

You can reasonably install with Secure Boot disabled and turn it on later if everything works and you decide you want the added protection. A firmware administrator password and full-disk encryption are also useful safeguards, especially if someone could access the machine physically. On Linux, `bootctl status` or `mokutil --sb-state` can show whether Secure Boot is enabled.

Secure Boot mainly protects the early boot process by checking that the bootloader and kernel are trusted and signed. That can help defend against boot-level malware such as rootkits, but it doesn’t prevent normal applications from running after the system starts. For a casual user who has physical control of the PC, it usually isn’t essential.