I mean yes if time is an issue, but compiled code on your own hardware is specifically tuned to your machine, some people want that tiny tweak of performance and stability.
I use both for different purposes. Gentoo’s feature flags are the reason I wait for compiles, but only for computers a touch the keyboard with. Everything else gets Arch.
would you mind elaborating on the benefits? like what does one actually gain in a real-world scenario by having the software tuned to a specific machine?
disk space aside, given the sheer amount of packages that come with a distro, are we talking about 30% less CPU and RAM usage (give or take), or is it more like squeezing out the last 5% of possible optimization?
Closer to thr 5% . Between the intermediate code and final code writing there is an optimization stage. The compiler can reduce redundant code and adjust based on machine. i.e. my understanding is an old 4700 can have different instruction sets available than the latest intel.gen chip features. Rather than compile for generic x86 the optimization phase can tailor to the machine’s hardware. The benefits are like car tuning, at some point you only get marginal gains. But if squeezing out every drop of performance and reducing bytes is your thing then the wasted compiling time may not been seen as waste.
Man updating packages by compiling them is so stupid
Oh look 15 updated packages from AUR
I always go with the binary version if it’s available in the AUR, ain’t nobody got time for that.
Chaotic-aur gang has joined the chat…
Oh you mean the
[package]-gitgangI mean yes if time is an issue, but compiled code on your own hardware is specifically tuned to your machine, some people want that tiny tweak of performance and stability.
The point being most AUR packages are compiled on each update
But compiled on some other machine. Compiling on your own hardware optimizes it for that specific hardware and what that chip supports etc.
I use both for different purposes. Gentoo’s feature flags are the reason I wait for compiles, but only for computers a touch the keyboard with. Everything else gets Arch.
would you mind elaborating on the benefits? like what does one actually gain in a real-world scenario by having the software tuned to a specific machine?
disk space aside, given the sheer amount of packages that come with a distro, are we talking about 30% less CPU and RAM usage (give or take), or is it more like squeezing out the last 5% of possible optimization?
Closer to thr 5% . Between the intermediate code and final code writing there is an optimization stage. The compiler can reduce redundant code and adjust based on machine. i.e. my understanding is an old 4700 can have different instruction sets available than the latest intel.gen chip features. Rather than compile for generic x86 the optimization phase can tailor to the machine’s hardware. The benefits are like car tuning, at some point you only get marginal gains. But if squeezing out every drop of performance and reducing bytes is your thing then the wasted compiling time may not been seen as waste.
It’s nice to have the option though!
That’s why Gentoo now has binary repos!
oh, i should check it out then!