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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Linux Performance Tuning Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to performance tuning on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including CPU optimization, memory management, I/O optimization, kernel parameters, and system tweaks.

Table of Contents

  1. CPU Optimization
  2. Memory Management
  3. I/O Optimization
  4. Kernel Parameters
  5. System Tweaks
  6. CachyOS Performance Benefits
  7. Troubleshooting

CPU Optimization

CPU Governor

Set governor:

# Install cpupower
sudo pacman -S cpupower

# Set performance
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g performance

# Set ondemand
sudo cpupower frequency-set -g ondemand

CPU Affinity

Set affinity:

# Set CPU affinity
taskset -c 0,1 command

Memory Management

Swappiness

Configure swappiness:

# Check current
cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness

# Set swappiness
echo 10 | sudo tee /proc/sys/vm/swappiness

# Make permanent
echo "vm.swappiness=10" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.d/99-sysctl.conf

Transparent Huge Pages

Configure THP:

# Disable THP
echo never | sudo tee /sys/kernel/mm/transparent_hugepage/enabled

# Make permanent
echo "never" | sudo tee /sys/kernel/mm/transparent_hugepage/enabled

I/O Optimization

I/O Scheduler

Set scheduler:

# Check scheduler
cat /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler

# Set scheduler
echo noop | sudo tee /sys/block/sda/queue/scheduler

# Make permanent
# Add to /etc/udev/rules.d/60-ioschedulers.rules

Kernel Parameters

Edit Kernel Parameters

Edit GRUB:

# Edit GRUB
sudo vim /etc/default/grub

Add parameters:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="... mitigations=off"

Regenerate:

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

System Tweaks

sysctl Tweaks

Performance tweaks:

# Edit sysctl
sudo vim /etc/sysctl.d/99-performance.conf

Add:

# Performance tweaks
vm.swappiness=10
vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50
kernel.sched_migration_cost_ns=5000000

CachyOS Performance Benefits

BORE Scheduler

CachyOS uses BORE scheduler which provides:

  • Lower input lag: Prioritizes interactive tasks
  • Better responsiveness: Games and desktop feel more responsive
  • Consistent frame times: Smoother performance

No configuration needed - works automatically on CachyOS.

Optimized Packages

CachyOS packages are optimized:

  • LTO: Link-time optimization
  • PGO: Profile-guided optimization
  • BOLT: Binary optimization

Result: Faster application startup and better performance.

See CachyOS Performance Guide for detailed CachyOS optimizations.

See CachyOS System Tweaks for CachyOS-specific tweaks.

Troubleshooting

Performance Issues

Check resources:

# Check CPU
top

# Check memory
free -h

# Check I/O
iostat

Summary

This guide covered performance tuning for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including CPU, memory, I/O optimization, and CachyOS-specific benefits.

Next Steps

This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. CachyOS-specific performance benefits are highlighted where applicable.

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