Omarchy + CachyOS Hybrid ISO (v2) – CPU Auto-Tuning, V3/V4 Packages & Real-World Benchmarks

In this video, I share a major update to my Omarchy + CachyOS hybrid installer, continuing the experiment to see whether you can combine Omarchy’s polished desktop with CachyOS’s performance optimisations — and whether it actually makes a real-world difference.

and have access to all the scripts i make and support

This is a public walkthrough, but the installer itself is currently available to members, as it’s still very much experimental.

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🔹 What’s New in Version 2

This update fixes several real issues from earlier versions and adds some important improvements:
• Proper CPU detection
• Automatic installation of V3 / V4 / Zen 4 / Zen 5 optimised packages
• Correct CachyOS repo handling (no more PGP key loops)
• Fixed Wi-Fi issues caused by conflicts between:
• wpa_supplicant
• iwd (used by Omarchy)
• Cleaner install flow
• Fewer post-install errors

The installer now behaves much closer to a real CachyOS install, while still layering Omarchy cleanly on top.

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🔹 Why Not Just Switch Repos?

I explain why simply “flipping” Omarchy to CachyOS repos doesn’t work reliably:
• Plymouth boot issues
• Black screens after disk unlock
• Hyperland makes this even more fragile
• Removing Plymouth breaks disk unlocking entirely

I spent days testing this approach, and while some people claim it works, it’s not stable enough to recommend.

That’s why this project sticks to:

Building a hybrid ISO instead

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🔹 How the Hybrid Installer Works

The flow shown in the video:

1. CachyOS installs as the base system
2. CPU is detected automatically
3. Correct V3 / V4 optimised packages are installed
4. Omarchy is layered on top
5. Encrypted disk setup is preserved
6. System boots into a full Omarchy desktop
7. GameScope launcher is installed for testing

This keeps everything predictable and recoverable.

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🔹 Important Warnings

⚠️ This is highly experimental
⚠️ Do not use CachyOS kernel switchers
⚠️ Do not replace kernels manually
⚠️ This is not recommended for production work

Kernel switching currently breaks bootloader visibility, which can leave you with no bootable kernel.

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🔹 Gaming Benchmarks (Real Numbers)

I run real benchmarks comparing:
• Vanilla Omarchy
• Base CachyOS
• Omarchy + CachyOS with V3/V4 optimisations

Games tested include:
• Cyberpunk
• Homeworld 3
• Doom
• Returnal
• Tomb Raider

Results:
• On high-end systems → gains are minimal
• On older / lower-end hardware → gains are more noticeable
• Doom shows the biggest jump
• Some games gain only 1–2 FPS
• Others gain up to ~10 FPS depending on workload

The takeaway:

The worse your hardware, the more this matters

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🔹 Laptop vs Desktop

Testing includes:
• Desktop with RTX 5060 Ti
• Laptop with RTX 3050 (6GB)

On the laptop, performance gains are much more noticeable, reinforcing the idea that this setup is most useful for mid-range and older systems.

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🔹 Current Limitations
• AMD and Intel systems still need testing
• Some UI quirks remain
• Python screensaver needed a patch (included)
• A few menu glitches remain under investigation

I’m continuing to refine this until:

ISO creation → install → gaming just works

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💬 Final Thoughts

This isn’t about chasing magic FPS numbers.

It’s about squeezing more life out of aging hardware, without forcing users to manually rebuild an OS from scratch.

For daily work:
👉 Standard Omarchy is still the sensible choice

For experimentation and gaming tweaks:
👉 This is where things get interesting

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