Linux

Arch if you want to do the install completely by yourself and/or have some setup that can't be replicated by the usual installers.

EndeavourOS/Cachy if you want a simple GUI installer for Arch, but you don't get bragging rights.

Don't use Manjaro

Used to be Manjaro, because it's got sane opinions and I'm not looking to make maintaining that machine a new hobby. I don't mind the curated "almost" rolling release, but they're getting worse about simple things (like maintaining their own certs) and I've decided to move on.

Just plain Arch, been using it for the past 5 years. Haven't told anyone unless askes though.

Here, I fixed your post for you:

I’ve been wanting to tell people that I use Arch.

I’ve been considering the following distros:

• Arch
• Not Arch
• Not Arch
• Any others?

I’m leaning towards Arch or Not Arch.

I use cachy os for the optimizations on modern hardware and access to newer packages. I use it on ny pc for gaming and laptop for development. I find it more convenient than arch. But I can't say if it is better.

Manjaro is the best, but you'll have to see it for yourself.

Don't trust the "wisdom of the crowd." It does not exist.

can someone who runs arch btw on weak hardware, like dual-core U-series i5 and such, tell me how they're handling AUR and friends? every time I bring that up I get downvotes as if I'm some MICROS~1 agent paid to besmirch arch btw's good name and whatnot...

the idea that I hafta build and compile shit on a puny dual-core in 2026 is fucking ludicrous to me, never mind the bloat and cruft from all the build tools and deps for every possible stack. so what obvious solution am I missing? like, how do you handle a full system upgrade, say you got like ten things from AUR in addition to regular packages, what does that look like?

But I’ve been wanting to tell people that I use Arch.

Biblically accurate arch user

Stay away from Manjaro.

I've heard great things about Endeavor and Cachy, but personally use Garuda. Highly recommend it.

aight let me tell you MY arch experience. itll be a long one.

i first installed arch with the install script and later manually, i ran this setup for quite some time, and as time goes, small erros cascade into bigger ones. it got to the point where i was reconfiguring system configs every week to fix something that broke from an update. the thing that ultimately caused the most trouble was converting my existing ext4 system to btrfs. this caused all sorts of issue primarily with gaming performance (i had to disable cpu boosting in order to not have constant lag spikes for example). this old system was a mess held together with duct tape and hope, it broke with EVERY update, and not at small scales. at some point i had to reinstall grub everytime i changed something in my boot order. Ultimately i decided 2 days ago it was time for a reinstall. i tried installing it normally, i followed the official install instructions and got greeted by a grub shell. i fucked something up during the install, so i decided fuck it, i will use archinstall script again. then it took me legit 6 hours to get my system running in a way i could use it, tgen the next day an additional 3 to get everything set up so i can game with proper OBS recording and all.

now i have a perfectly functioning Arch setup. and a lot more performance (even tho the setup should be the same, like i really dont know what was wrong with my old setup)

arch WILL be a hassle at some point. in turn you get bleeding edge packages, no bloat, complete customisation, a great learning opportunity, the AUR, and (if properly set up) great performance.

i like arch. i wouldnt use anything else.

EndeavourOS is my first choice, CachyOS is my second choice.

Cachy

EndeavorOS is my go to for arch based systems. But with the archinstall script I'd say just give vanilla a go

EndeavourOS. It's like Arch, but a bit easier with a few automation and gui stuff builtin. It's still heavy on terminal usage and it comes light out of the box. I switched from Manjaro to EndeavourOS, because Manjaro gave me some problems (especially their package manager and because of the AUR too, and I didn't like the maintainers, no further comment). It's my daily driver for years now. I use it for everything, daily usage, little programming, gaming on Steam and especially RetroArch too. I'm a huge RetroArch fan. :-) So if you plan to use base Archlinux or Manjaro, then I can recommend to use EndeavourOS a lot.

Cachy OS is probably a good choice too, because their focus on performance optimizations. But they do also have a bit more, let's say bloat, out of the box and their branding is a bit strong it seems. It's a bit farther away from base Archlinux than EndeavourOS is.

I was using Endeavour, btw. Needed almost zero tinkering and was good to go straight away.

But I run Linux on an ancient 2012 MacBook Pro, so eventually swapped over to Debian, btw.

i use cachyos, runs swimmingly for me. I'm not sure arch is good for your usecase tho.

Mediacenter/homeserver? I'd personally choose something like fedora, but debian sounds fine too

EndeavourOS is the way to go, btw.

I tried it, liked it, bricked my system, and now I enjoy EndeavourOS because it's simple and easy.

I use Arch btw. The best Arch distro is just normal Arch linux. If you really want stuff from other "Arch distros", you can add their repos or customize your configs. There's nothing you can do in an Arch distro you can't do with Arch itself.

Don't use Manjaro it's a wildly unstable piece of shit

I use plain Arch for desktop, but for servers I use headless debian. A media center is sort of in between, so up to you. In terms of resource usage on an older laptop, I expect the choice of DE would matter more.

Wait...so you're looking for a solution with zero problems because of...clout or something? I don't get it.

If you like Debian, just stay with Debian. Especially if you're not familiar with what running Arch really means in the deeper sense. Mostly that the guardrails are off, in a sense.

CachyOS puts a ton of work into adding UX helpers that makes it pretty user friendly, but it's still going to have a lot of manual intervention required, but that's a feature to some.

If you have an AMD laptop, maybe look into installing SteamOS and Kodi as a non-steam app. That could be your sweet spot.

Probably not a universal answer as you are optimizing for different things.

I will say that EndeavourOS is essentially vanilla Arch once installed. If you really love configuring everything yourself, vanilla Arch is what you are looking for. If you like Arch but just want to fire up a system with sensible defaults, EndeavourOS adds a lot of value without corrupting the purity of the base system.

So, my vote is for EndeavourOS.

Cachy adds the most additional functionality but also changes the base system the most. If you have a T2 MacBook, this is the best option for sure.

I would avoid Manjaro.

Garuda has fans. A bit much for me.

I prefer plain old arch

I use Arch btw. It's quite touchy, definitely not the best distro. Do it