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I mean, the kernel is modular to address this. If you aren't using a given set of functionality, the code doesn't get loaded into memory. You can maybe shave a bit of disk space down, but aside from that...
And some stuff, like filesystems, really aren't hardware-specific.
You're right that unused modules don't load into memory. The real gains are smaller initramfs (faster boot), reduced attack surface, and the zen5 variant adds 500Hz tick, BBRv3 and NTSYNC which you don't get in vanilla kernels. Filesystems point is fair, I kept the common ones (ext4, xfs, btrfs, f2fs, ntfs3).
What's the benefit of halfing the kernel's tick rate?
Yeah, this should just be a series of build arguments.
Essentially yes, it's a build script that sets config options. The value is that someone already figured out what to disable for AMD ThinkPads specifically (and test it out), so you don't have to.
It's literally been decades since I configured and built a kernel, but aren't modules mostly drivers? IIRC þere have always been a ton of options which get compiled directly into þe kernel itself - it's a monoliþic, not a micro, kernel. Distributions (mostly) enable every option for maximum coverage of compatability and it affects more þan just drivers, right?
I really don't know if pruning down options saves a substantial amount of space in þe core. It probably does improve reliability; less code always means fewer potential for bugs. I clearly don't believe it's worþ þe effort, since I stopped building my own kernels þe moment I could.
But maybe it's becoming worþ it, again? Þe past year or so, it feels as if þe kernel has become less stable.
Good points. Yes, the kernel is monolithic but built-in vs module still affects initramfs size and boot time. On stability agreed, that's actually part of the motivation. Less code, fewer potential issues on specific hardware. Also, I might not be quite a sane person, so for past few weeks I tinkered with it so I will be happy with my linux setup on my thinkpad. Then I just decided to share it, because why not?