Custom kernels?

Non-technical Questions
1

i have been using linux for a while. i have doubt since i started to use linux and having the knowledge about kernals.is there any way to install custom kernals based on improving performance and stability… just like in the android phones.even tho is there any custom kernals for linux escpially manjaro??

2

Hi,

You can check the zen, liquorix and xanmod kernels, these are made for better performance, however they are not officially available in manjaro, you’ll either have to install them from the AUR or download the source code and build them yourself.

More options here

3

Keep in mind that all of the above are unsupported, so if there are any problems you will be on your own.

4

there are few thing to know about.

  1. manjaro kernel is already a custom kernel built to go with many other custom overlayed packages built by manjaro that depend on that custom kernel.

  2. kernels built from AUR are expected replace Archlinux’s kernels,and Arch is not Manjaro, and in no place is it more relevant than its kernels.

  3. building from AUR means you should switch to “unstable” branch in manjaro, because AUR maintainers expect you o have up-to-date packages as in Arch Stable == Manjaro Unstable

  4. if you are building from AUR, you will have to opt for non *-bin packages, where the entire kernel is compiled an built on host arch-based distro. opting for *-bin packages assumes you are packaging the kernel for arch.

this is not in anyway to discourage you from venturing into other custom kernels, however depending on the choice YMMV.

good luck!

5

You can build your own kernel - no problem - it may even be preferable from a performance viewpoint, as Manjaro kernels is generic kernels - whereas you can build a kernel targeting your CPU specifically.

Modifying the compiler flags in .makepkg.conf to target your specific CPU. If you don’t have the file create a copy of the default

 cp /etc/makepkg.conf ~/.makepkg.conf

Remember that you will need to maintain certain drivers yourself.

Most notably you will need to use dkms if you use Nvidia GPU.

Other applications which need kernel integration - such as VirtualBox and VMware - will also be your responsibility. Those were the ones I could think of, but there may be others as well.

You will not be able to use the drivers provided by Manjaro for VirtualBox or Nvidia.

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