Hej Julius!

<Esc>:read /proc/version
Linux version 7.3.0 (root@europoint) (gcc (GCC) 16.2.1 20261018, GNU ld (GNU Binutils) 2.47.20260726) #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon Oct 19 20:47:29 UTC 2026

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

-o -o -o -o -o o- o- o- -o o- o- -o -o -o -o -o
(\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ /) /) (\ (\ (\ (\ (\
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Swa cystigran hiwan, swa cynnigran gystas.
The more generous the household, the more noble the guests.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.20(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)

Hey Maurice!

On Mon, Oct 19 2026 21:01:02, you wrote:

Linux version 7.3.0

Well? Any major milestones or significant changes with this one? Or was what I read (and mentioned awhile back) just a build-up to not very much? ;)

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- AmberEdit/linux 0.9.3
* Origin: thePharcyde_ telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)

Hey Nick!

Well? Any major milestones or significant changes with this one?

So far it appears to be a tad faster bootup and sharper runtime response but I don't have any hardcore numbers to back that up ... yet. As we speak this machine is the only one running a v7.3 kernel.

Or was what I read (and mentioned awhile back) just a build-up to
not very much? ;)

Offhand I think there was some truth to that hype. Definetly better than at least one of the 7.2 kernels I tried which is the reason I am holding off with v6.18 kernels on the other three machines for now.

According to https://itsfoss.com/news/linux-kernel-7-3-release/ ;

Filesystem speedups, scheduler work for gaming, and lower latency
for real-time workloads lead the way, with hardware support and a
few other smaller changes topping it off.

I'll know better once I upgrade my 'new' workstation (Epyc) as it has 6 3.5" spinney drives - hot swappable - plus an onboard nvme which is the default boot device on there.

How about Archlinux? Are we there yet?

Life is good,
Maurice

o- o- -o o- o- -o -o -o -o -o -o o-
/) /) (\ /) /) (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Sceal þegna gehwilc geþylde nimon.
Every man must acquire patience.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.20(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hej Maurice!

it has 6 3.5" spinney drives - hot swappable - plus an onboard nvme

What? Two bootable nvme's not good enough for you? Mind you they are very fast so it is difficult to measure any latency on them compared with earlier kernels. They have always been fast although a tad slower than ddr5 ramdisks no matter which kernel versions. The slower spinney drives should tell the tale.

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

^-^-^-@@-^-^-^
(..)-----;
||---||
^^ ^^
... A møøse once bit my sister ...
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.20(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)

Maurice Kinal wrote:

How about Archlinux? Are we there yet?

Not yet. I have a custom kernel build of 7.3 and so far so good, though any difference between it and 7.2 are probably imperceptible.

-esc
--- ViSiON/3 v0.9.4/Linux
* Origin: gEMENON (1:218/530)

Hey Maurice!

On Fri, Oct 23 2026 00:02:12, you wrote:

So far it appears to be a tad faster bootup and sharper runtime response but I don't have any hardcore numbers to back that up ... yet. As we
speak this machine is the only one running a v7.3 kernel.

Sounds like a treat!

Offhand I think there was some truth to that hype. Definetly better than at least one of the 7.2 kernels I tried which is the reason I am holding off with v6.18 kernels on the other three machines for now.

Already some milestones for 7.4:

[ --- snip --- ]

Key Features and Improvements

Kernel Build Speed - Patches have been introduced to significantly reduce kernel build times, with improvements of up to 70% for incremental builds.

Scheduling Latency - Enhancements to scheduling latency for short-slice tasks, improving responsiveness and performance.

Crypto Library Optimizations - The kernel's crypto library is being optimized, particularly for AES implementations on x86 and RISC-V architectures.

Control Flow Protection - Work is ongoing to implement x86 kernel shadow stacks, enhancing security against control flow attacks.

File Handling Improvements - The kernel will close files synchronously for operations like close_range, exec, and exit, improving resource management.

[ --- snip --- ]

I'll know better once I upgrade my 'new' workstation (Epyc) as it has 6 3.5" spinney drives - hot swappable - plus an onboard nvme which is the default boot device on there.

I'm keeping an eye on it all. I may soon be switching my gaming machine over to Linux (from Windows). I just need to be sure that the few games I play work 100% as good or better than they do on Windows, and I'll finally be sold. ;)

How about Archlinux? Are we there yet?

Not yet. I'm still on 7.2.11-arch1-1 at the moment. Although I probably won't really notice much (if any) differences, since I'm rarely ever on the physical hardware. I run my esxi server headless, and SSH into all my VMs from my main computer. When I switch this one over, though.. I'm hoping all their gaming updates/support, responsiveness, and performance is noticeable in all it's glory. ;)

Regards,
Nick

... I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
--- AmberEdit/linux 0.9.3
* Origin: thePharcyde_ telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)

Hey esc!

On Thu, Oct 22 2026 22:24:12, you wrote:

How about Archlinux? Are we there yet?

Not yet. I have a custom kernel build of 7.3 and so far so good, though
any difference between it and 7.2 are probably imperceptible.

I read the other day you can easily switch your repositories over to the CachyOS and get new stuff even faster. Then again, I'm liking the fact that I haven't had any issues with this rolling release distro in well over a decade, so I'll probably just keep it as-is and not push it. ;)

Regards,
Nick

... I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
--- AmberEdit/linux 0.9.3
* Origin: thePharcyde_ telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)

Nick Boel wrote:

I read the other day you can easily switch your repositories over to the CachyOS and get new stuff even faster. Then again, I'm liking the fact that I haven't had any issues with this rolling release distro in well over a decade, so I'll probably just keep it as-is and not push it. ;)

I use x86-64_v3 repos that directly mirror the Arch repos. It's an alternative of sorts to using cachyos repos. I just didn't want any opinions in my packages :)

I build my own kernel using the linux-tkg github. Every new kernel release, I build (except for the RCs) and use that on my daily driver. I like being up-to-date I suppose, even though there's probably not much point lol.

-esc
--- ViSiON/3 v0.9.4/Linux
* Origin: gEMENON (1:218/530)

Hey esc!

I have a custom kernel build of 7.3 and so far so good, though any
difference between it and 7.2 are probably imperceptible.

So far I would have to agree with the above but we'll see. I should have my 'new' workstation updated sometime this weekend and I plan to use that setup to test any 'enhancemants'. So far on this machine kernel builds are roughly the same for 7.2's and 7.3.0.

So far most of the enhancemants I've read about are graphics - amd chipsets - and memory, stuff gamers pay attention to. If that is all then it doesn't hurt my feelings any, despite not being a gamer.

Life is good,
Maurice

o- -o -o o- o- -o -o o- -o o- o- o-
/) (\ (\ /) /) (\ (\ /) (\ /) /) /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Lef mon læces behofað; læran sceal mon geongne monnan.
A sick man needs a doctor; a young man should be taught.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.20(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hey Nick!

Kernel Build Speed - Patches have been introduced to significantly
reduce kernel build times, with improvements of up to 70% for
incremental builds.

Not that I've noticed. Mind you I am counting archiving and compression (xz) as part of the build time. Perhaps I need to look at each step individually to measure the difference. More data is required.

File Handling Improvements - The kernel will close files
synchronously for operations like close_range, exec, and exit,
improving resource management.

Sounds good to me.

Life is good,
Maurice

-o -o o- -o o- -o o- o- o- o- -o o-
(\ (\ /) (\ /) (\ /) /) /) /) (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Lef mon læces behofað; læran sceal mon geongne monnan.
A sick man needs a doctor; a young man should be taught.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.20(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hey esc!

On Fri, Oct 23 2026 16:00:32, you wrote:

I use x86-64_v3 repos that directly mirror the Arch repos. It's an alternative of sorts to using cachyos repos. I just didn't want any opinions in my packages :)

Cool. I haven't even heard of those repos, but then again, I wasn't really looking. ;)

I build my own kernel using the linux-tkg github. Every new kernel
release, I build (except for the RCs) and use that on my daily driver. I like being up-to-date I suppose, even though there's probably not much point lol.

Whatever floats your boat, they say! I imagine the arch devs have some kind of "testing" phase to make sure new stuff doesn't interfere with what's already installed on a standard system. I don't mind waiting a week (or so!) for the latest and greatest. It still beats being 6+ months or more behind for "stability". ;)

Regards,
Nick

... I'm sarcastic, what's your superpower?
--- AmberEdit/linux 0.9.3
* Origin: thePharcyde_ telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)

Hey Maurice!

On Sat, Oct 24 2026 15:37:44, you wrote:

Kernel Build Speed - Patches have been introduced to significantly reduce
kernel build times, with improvements of up to 70% for incremental builds.

Not that I've noticed. Mind you I am counting archiving and compression (xz) as part of the build time. Perhaps I need to look at each step individually to measure the difference. More data is required.

This was a copy/paste of what they're aiming for for kv-7.4. You wouldn't be seeing this kind of improvement yet.

File Handling Improvements - The kernel will close files synchronously for
operations like close_range, exec, and exit, improving resource
management.

Sounds good to me.

Also slated for kv-7.4. We'll see soon, I'm sure!

Regards,
Nick

... Be kind to your kids, they'll be choosing your nursing home.
--- AmberEdit/linux 0.9.3
* Origin: thePharcyde_ telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)