What makes Arch so fast?

k.mandla · 2006-07-02 01:35:15

I'm sorry if this is a thumbsucker of a post. It's an honest question; the fact is, I see a distinct speed difference between Arch setups and other distros. Boot times are faster, load times are shorter and there's a general liveliness that doesn't show up with other versions of Linux.

For example, I can install an Ubuntu server, strip out the same stuff I don't include in an Arch build, and on the same machine Arch will outrun it. The partitions are the same. The file systems are the same. So why the difference?

I don't get it. Is it the optimization? Is it something in the water?

Gullible Jones · 2006-07-02 02:00:58

Part of it is the optimization, so I hear - there's supposed to be a lot more difference between -march=i486 and -march=i686 than -march=i686 and, say, -march=pentium4.

Another part would be the initscripts, which are much simpler and speedier than what most distros use,

twiistedkaos · 2006-07-02 02:42:54

Not to mention most distros include a ton of modules that YOU don't need, and alot of session startup programs that have no real purpose for 'most' people. Arch installs only as a base system and only loads what it needs to boot up. The rest is up to you

iBertus · 2006-07-02 02:43:54

Another thing is that Arch is pretty plain on first install. With the big name linux distros you get a whole bunch of services running by default. This can slow things down a bunch too.

benplaut · 2006-07-02 09:52:22

No Bloat.

iphitus · 2006-07-02 10:29:27

the cacti

deficite · 2006-07-02 17:41:58

Judd sold his soul to the devil. I don't know if that's true or not, I just heard it from a blind man at a street corner in Moscow one rainy night.

cactus · 2006-07-03 22:43:29

iphitus wrote:

the cacti

:?:

user · 2006-07-03 22:48:49

i686? CELL! yeah baby!

clarence · 2006-07-04 01:15:35

Is that a special kind of cacti or just regular?

Pick2 · 2006-07-04 02:03:17

Be gentile or you will phrakture the cacti !

deficite · 2006-07-04 05:46:13

Pick2 wrote:

Be gentile or you will phrakture the cacti !

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profoX · 2006-07-04 15:04:57

^^ freaks

k.mandla · 2006-07-05 00:51:17

You people are wacky.

Just for the record, I tried to set up an Ubuntu machine to compare with the Arch system. I started with a Dapper server installation and added just x-window-system-core, xfce4, xfce4-terminal, thunar, prelink and preload. (I also disabled IPv6, but that's just a side note.)

I also took out xfs and reiserfs support, since I don't use those file systems (I stuck with jfs so I could avoid bogging down my speed-demon 750mhz CPU ) No desktop manager; I log in at the terminal screen and start with startxfce4.

But it doesn't seem to matter. Arch is still 7 or 8 seconds quicker on the draw -- er, I mean, on the boot -- and starting up XFCE is 3-4 seconds faster. Swiftfox is up and running a second or two faster in Arch.

I don't get it. But I like it.

kensai · 2006-07-05 01:05:54

Well, Arch is made in a cleaner/leaner way. Boot init scripts are clean and well done, packages are vanilla without much/any patches and they take the junk out of it.

And I think the devs are crazy for --fun-roll-loops --ricing-at-its-best -4-ever.

Mr Green · 2006-07-05 05:55:04

its devs

ScriptDevil · 2006-07-05 06:08:54

arch is 1686, no bloat, latest technology, speedy patches like beyond/ck, experienced users who know to tun off services tyhey dont need, no default wm/de!

benplaut · 2006-07-05 06:23:53

profoX wrote:

^^ freaks

YES!!!

The secret to arch's speed is that it's made by freaks!!!!

:shock:

Mr Green · 2006-07-05 06:46:26

Thats a little harsh ...... :cry:

benplaut · 2006-07-05 07:02:32

being a freak isn't a bad thing... just take a look at how happy and successful this fine [specimin] is!

Pick2 · 2006-07-05 11:24:50

profoX wrote:

^^ freaks

k.mandla wrote:

You people are wacky.

I would just like to state , for the record , that amongst my peers , I am centerline Normal !
Furthermore , it's not my fault that all my peers are freakin' whak-o lunatics !

Mr Green wrote:

Thats a little harsh ......

and That is why they gave us all padded cells !

Arch is really fast when your bouncing off the walls !

Pick2

palandir · 2006-07-05 13:24:06

I guess it's the sum of all the little parts... i686, no bloat, the kernel patches, no unnecessary daemons, ... not *one* reason alone responsible for that.

And it's true that Arch is one of the fastest distros I know of.
On my notebook you *really* notice a difference between, say, Debian and Arch. Whether it's the boot time, startup time of applications, or the general "responsiveness" (for example, with Debian, I had a few sound stutters when launching some resource-intensive apps like Firefox or OpenOffice. With Arch, there are *none*).

xerverius · 2006-07-05 13:42:05

Arch is (in most cases) very up-to-date, pacman strips the libs and binaries and other crap is removed or compressed.

deficite · 2006-07-05 21:22:27

benplaut wrote:

being a freak isn't a bad thing... just take a look at how happy and successful this fine [specimin] is!

That's a cool fricken' bird.

iBertus · 2006-07-07 04:55:19

benplaut wrote:

being a freak isn't a bad thing... just take a look at how happy and successful this fine [specimin] is!

GREAT!

Arch Linux

#1 2006-07-02 01:35:15

What makes Arch so fast?

#2 2006-07-02 02:00:58

Re: What makes Arch so fast?

#3 2006-07-02 02:42:54

Re: What makes Arch so fast?

#4 2006-07-02 02:43:54

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#5 2006-07-02 09:52:22

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#6 2006-07-02 10:29:27

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#7 2006-07-02 17:41:58

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#8 2006-07-03 22:43:29

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#9 2006-07-03 22:48:49

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#10 2006-07-04 01:15:35

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#11 2006-07-04 02:03:17

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#12 2006-07-04 05:46:13

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#13 2006-07-04 15:04:57

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#14 2006-07-05 00:51:17

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#15 2006-07-05 01:05:54

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#20 2006-07-05 07:02:32

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#21 2006-07-05 11:24:50

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#22 2006-07-05 13:24:06

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#23 2006-07-05 13:42:05

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#24 2006-07-05 21:22:27

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#25 2006-07-07 04:55:19

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