On any Linux system the Kernel is the core that everything runs on, it provides the framework that connects all the Hardware in your computer to the Software applications to use. The better match a Kernel is to your individual computer the better your system will work. The Linux Kernel is absolutely mindblowing in the huge amount of Hardware it supports over various needs from old PCs to the latest Smartphones. In a case like AVL-MXE I am hoping to support anything from new computers to machines that are more than ten years old. Old computers are excellent candidates to set up as dedicated recording ‘appliances’ and even old Single and Duo Core machines can record several tracks of Audio quite easily. When trying to support computers over such a span of age and additionally provide the best low latency performance for Audio recording it becomes difficult for a single choice of Linux Kernel to be all things to all people. The primary focus of AVL-MXE is to be a Multimedia Workstation and enable the user to create content with the best possible performance. To this end in the past I provided a customized Kernel with ‘full preemption’ also known as an ‘RT’ Kernel. RT Kernels provided the best potential to provide the low Audio latencies required but they were somewhat like racing engines and were not always the best choice for all computers, they also had a crippling limitation of not easily being open to the installation of 3rd-party proprietary Video drivers by AMD and nVidia so if the Kernel Xorg AMD Drivers are not to your liking or you needed better nVidia support the default RT Kernel in AVL-MXE was not the best choice. The first thing to determine is if everything is working as you want and expect, if your Hardware is all supported and Software is all behaving as you expect then my suggestion is to leave the Kernel as it is and not make any changes. A common fallacy is that a newer Kernel is a better Kernel and that is often not the case, if your system is well-supported and you are confident that the Kernel has all of the appropriate security patches then installing a newer Kernel could introduce new issues and actually have a detrimental effect. The old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is a good rule to follow!
Starting with AV Linux MX-21 Edition the ‘Liquorix’ Kernel is now the default offered. Liquorix has long been known for it’s high-performance and on most systems it provides equivalent if not better Audio latency performance than full-preempted ‘RT’ Kernels, additionally it allows for the installation of Proprietary nVidia and AMD Video Drivers.
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