I've been using CachyOS lately, but I've noticed that a lot of people are switching to Base Arch. What are the reasons for this? I want to make an informed decision before I dive deeper into one of these systems. By the way, I'm aware that Arch can be a bit challenging and I'm okay with that!
2 Answers
CachyOS is optimized and has a more opinionated setup compared to Base Arch, which is pretty much a blank canvas. If you're into desktop environments and don’t want to install everything from scratch, CachyOS might be easier. But if you like customizing everything yourself, Base Arch could be the way to go!
Optimization is kind of a myth with CachyOS. It just comes with a bunch of pre-installed stuff you might not even use. Base Arch keeps it leaner.
If you're looking for something minimal, Base Arch is definitely better for servers or systems where you don't need a GUI. It doesn't come overloaded with software right from the start. But for general desktop use, there's not much benefit to it over CachyOS, especially since CachyOS comes with a lot of useful stuff right away.
Honestly, I don't think CachyOS is that much more opinionated. It's basically Arch with some extra packages pre-installed. If you're running it for daily use, those extra packages can be really handy!