Should i upgrade to latest kernel?

Should i use the distro’s default kernel or upgrade to the latest one? Are there any downsides in upgrading?

There’s no such thing. Which kernel are you referring to? You can choose the latest stable kernel or LTS (Long Term Support). See kernel.org for more info.

I’m not referring to an specific kernel version, are there any advantages in using Manjaro’s default kernel instead of the latest one? Manjaro’s default kernel is currently 5.9, is there any reason to use 5.9 instead of 5.10 or 5.11?

Manjaro doesn’t have a default kernel as this is a rolling release distro. Also, 5.9 is EOL so you should change kernels. Manjaro ISOs are typically built with the current Kernel available upon release, but that doesn’t make it a “default” kernel.

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But is there any reason to upgrade if my system is stable? Kernel 5.10 introduced some issues to my games, slow downs in some older games and some kind of tearing that turns part of the screen black for a moment

Security. You can always go back down to Kernel 5.4 which is a LTS kernel. Or try Kernel 5.11

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Security, yes and no, as the maintained kernel receives the security updates too.

Stay on a LTS kernel and don’t worry about it.

I agree with @omano. Just stay with LTS. (That is currently 5.4)

OP is using Kernel 5.9, which is EOL and no longer maintained. Just fyi.

So yes, OP should upgrade to the newest kernels or go LTS.

Kernel 5.10 is LTS as well.

We can argue and play with words. All maintained kernels (available in Manjaro) receive security updates. Unmaintained kernels are removed from Manjaro (which 5.9 will soon be). To answer the thread, no point in updating to latest kernel if everything is working. Using a LTS kernel is the way to go if you don’t know why you should use another kernel.

If you have a now unmaintained kernel installed, even if Manjaro no longer keeps it in their repo, it doesn’t force the user to upgrade or change the kernel. For example, I still have kernel 5.8 installed, because I never removed it, I can still use it if I really want. Will need to stop being lazy and remove it though haha

So… using kernel 5.9 for the next 6 months will have no issues at all you’re saying?

As far as I know Manjaro replaces the removed kernel with meta package.

Only if you install linux-latest, which pacman does suggest to replace the current kernel with when you run an update with an outdated kernel. But doesn’t force the user to install that meta package. I don’t have linux-latest installed on my computers.

OP initially wanted to keep using Kernel 5.9 even if it’s EOL and no longer in our repo, which is why they asked about if it’s bad to keep using it.

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I’ll make some research about it, but pretty confident Manjaro replace removed kernel with meta package, the exact one you talk about.

Example: Full System Upgrade Asks me to Switch to Linux-Latest?

I mean, if they did, I wouldn’t have Kernel 5.8, 5.9, 5.10, 5.11 all installed atm. Kernel 5.8, 5.9 should be automatically uninstalled and I would only have 5.10 :slight_smile:

linux-latest meta package currently installs Kernel 5.10. All other kernels are not part of that meta package, and the user do not need to install that meta package if they do not want to (like me). linux-latest only affects 1 kernel, and the Manjaro team decides which kernel that meta package currently is.


This is going off topic now though. All OP was asking if it’s okay to keep using kernel 5.9 without needing to change kernels, and if there are any downsides of using that kernel in the ongoing future.

I don’t know about you but this is what happens for normal users. You may have done things, manually refused the replacement, or forced the install of these kernels. I don’t know but for a normal user not messing with anything and just doing things ‘automatically’, it should replace the kernel when it is removed from repos.

Kernel 5.4 stutters randomly for me, i’m using 5.10, my concern is regarding to my games, kernel 5.10 makes an specific older game of mine (Grand Theft Auto San Andreas) stutter and tear, i’m not sure if it’s a kernel or driver issue.

You can open another thread to see if anyone can help with this! :slight_smile:

Have you tried kernel 5.11 yet though?

I have not because it’s experimental, i got out of Windows 10 due to it breaking stuff and i don’t expect to run into any breakage in Manjaro

It doesn’t hurt to try even if it’s experimental. It shouldn’t break your installation to boot into kernel 5.11. Worse comes to worst, it doesn’t boot in, you get a black screen, or you get kernel panic, etc, but it doesn’t ruin your installation, you just select a different kernel you have installed to boot into. It’s one of the great things about Linux!

Currently, in stable repo, it is at 5.11.rc7 (release candidate 7). 5.11.1-1, which is full stable release is currently in testing and unstable. You can wait until it gets pushed to stable, but I personally recommend just to try the current one in Stable to see it it works!