--- title: CachyOS rebuilds every package the 'wrong' way, and my... description: CachyOS takes a deliberately non-standard approach to Linux distribution building: it compiles every package with CPU-specific optimizations targeting modern... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: CachyOS rebuilds every package the 'wrong' way, and my Steam library runs faster for it | daily.dev og:description: CachyOS takes a deliberately non-standard approach to Linux distribution building: it compiles every package with CPU-specific optimizations targeting modern... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/AxcG3jOIz.png og:image:alt: CachyOS rebuilds every package the 'wrong' way, and my Steam library runs faster for it og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # CachyOS rebuilds every package the 'wrong' way, and my Steam library runs faster for it **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 6 upvotes · 4 comments ## Summary CachyOS takes a deliberately non-standard approach to Linux distribution building: it compiles every package with CPU-specific optimizations targeting modern hardware (dropping pre-2015 support), ships a custom kernel with EEVDF/BORE scheduler patches ahead of mainline, and builds its own Proton fork with fsync and futex2 patchsets. The result is measurably better gaming performance compared to SteamOS and Windows 11. The distro skipped the Open Gaming Collective's standardization effort and has been rewarded by users — reaching 14.03% of Linux Steam users by June 2026, second only to SteamOS Holo, and dethroning Arch on ProtonDB after a five-year reign. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why is CachyOS faster for gaming than SteamOS or stock Proton on Linux? CachyOS rebuilds its entire software stack with aggressive CPU-specific optimizations rather than the generic baseline x86-64 binaries other distros ship, dropping support for CPUs older than roughly 2015. It also ships a custom linux-cachyos kernel with the EEVDF and BORE schedulers plus early performance patches, and its own proton-cachyos and wine-cachyos builds with fsync and futex2 patchsets that stock Proton from Valve does not include. _Anyone comparing Linux gaming distros can track these performance and compatibility trade-offs on daily.dev._ ### How popular is CachyOS among Linux gamers on Steam compared to other distros? CachyOS reached 14.03% of Linux gamers on Steam by June, according to Valve's hardware survey, second only to SteamOS Holo's 22.83%, which benefits from being preinstalled on every Steam Deck. CachyOS also gained 4.99 percentage points in a single month, the largest jump of any distro that survey period, and overtook plain Arch on ProtonDB after Arch had held that spot for nearly five years. _Developers weighing Linux distro adoption trends can follow shifts like this one on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@devmandan** · 2 upvotes > Been using CachyOS as my daily driver for about a month now. Nothing but positive. Glad to drop Windows for good. **@khauma** · 1 upvotes > I might have to check this out. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [CachyOS skipped the Open Gaming Collective, and gamers rewarded it by making it the top Linux distro on Steam](https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-skipped-the-open-gaming-collective-and-gamers-rewarded-it-by-making-it-the-top-linux-distro-i3hiyhs8q) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CachyOS is dethroning Windows at the one thing it owned for decades](https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-is-dethroning-windows-at-the-one-thing-it-owned-for-decades-uv8xp5kpe) · XDA Developers · 35 upvotes · 4 comments - [CachyOS — Blazingly Fast OS based on Arch Linux](https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-blazingly-fast-os-based-on-arch-linux-owvihutie) · Hacker News · 4 upvotes · 1 comments - [CachyOS proved that SteamOS's biggest limitation isn't the Steam Deck — it's the philosophy behind it](https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-proved-that-steamos-s-biggest-limitation-isn-t-the-steam-deck-it-s-the-philosophy-behind-i-ymyordnic) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#gaming](https://daily.dev/tags/gaming) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"CachyOS rebuilds every package the 'wrong' way, and my Steam library runs faster for it","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz"},"datePublished":"2026-07-22T00:02:28.076Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T09:29:15.435Z","description":"CachyOS takes a deliberately non-standard approach to Linux distribution building: it compiles every package with CPU-specific optimizations targeting modern...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f859d1d1f9e9769a81d9bb48d17d8d6f?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f859d1d1f9e9769a81d9bb48d17d8d6f?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":4,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":6},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":4}],"keywords":"linux,gaming","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"CachyOS rebuilds every package the 'wrong' way, and my Steam library runs faster for it"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"Been using CachyOS as my daily driver for about a month now. Nothing but positive. Glad to drop Windows for good.","datePublished":"2026-07-23T07:33:44.321Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/AxcG3jOIz#c-9LFSyhDXA","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel","url":"https://daily.dev/devmandan","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--ypn2TBF9--/f_auto/v1786619820/avatars/avatar_qDApMJOupymFKtjAmmtB4?_a=BAMAMicg0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I might have to check this out.","datePublished":"2026-07-22T09:48:19.938Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/AxcG3jOIz#c-erJ9e2O3r","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Kahlil Wallace","url":"https://daily.dev/khauma","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--QvppE9Ip--/f_auto/v1767378558/avatars/avatar_7eQFeSQRDx0muV3n92gxT?_a=BAMAK+ZW0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/cachyos-rebuilds-every-package-the-wrong-way-and-my-steam-library-runs-faster-for-it-axcg3joiz#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why is CachyOS faster for gaming than SteamOS or stock Proton on Linux?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"CachyOS rebuilds its entire software stack with aggressive CPU-specific optimizations rather than the generic baseline x86-64 binaries other distros ship, dropping support for CPUs older than roughly 2015. It also ships a custom linux-cachyos kernel with the EEVDF and BORE schedulers plus early performance patches, and its own proton-cachyos and wine-cachyos builds with fsync and futex2 patchsets that stock Proton from Valve does not include. Anyone comparing Linux gaming distros can track these performance and compatibility trade-offs on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How popular is CachyOS among Linux gamers on Steam compared to other distros?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"CachyOS reached 14.03% of Linux gamers on Steam by June, according to Valve's hardware survey, second only to SteamOS Holo's 22.83%, which benefits from being preinstalled on every Steam Deck. CachyOS also gained 4.99 percentage points in a single month, the largest jump of any distro that survey period, and overtook plain Arch on ProtonDB after Arch had held that spot for nearly five years. Developers weighing Linux distro adoption trends can follow shifts like this one on daily.dev."}}]} ```