05 - OS Installation

ℹ️ NOTE

Step-by-step guides for installing Linux on the BC-250.
BIOS must be flashed first - see 02-BIOS.
Kernel: Community has moved to 6.19.x which has VRR and DP audio fixes (gennro). 6.18.18 LTS is the stable fallback. 40 CU unlock no longer requires a kernel patch — use bc250-cu-live-manager on stock kernel. Mesa 26 is now current with significant RT and performance improvements.

Distribution Comparison

Distro	Best For	Difficulty	Notes
CachyOS	Maximum performance, stability	Intermediate	Arch-based, optimized packages, latest kernel + Mesa 26. Most stable for 40 CU and governor. Community default (Jul 2026).
Bazzite	Console-like experience	Easy	Steam Deck UI out of box. ⚠ Stable kernel is 6.17.7 — too old for BC-250 (needs 6.19+). Use testing branch or expect instability with 40 CU (see below).
Fedora 43+	Most tested, general use	Easy	Mesa 25.1+ in official repos, most tested distro
Arch Linux	Full control, latest packages	Advanced	Manual setup but cutting-edge
Nobara	Gaming, Bazzite alternative	Intermediate	Fedora-based, not immutable, easier governor install (mothenjoyer69)
Debian / PikaOS	Stability, low power	Intermediate	Requires newer Mesa repos
Ubuntu 26.04+	Familiar Ubuntu experience	Easy	Needs Mesa PPA
Manjaro	User-friendly Arch	Easy	GNOME recommended over KDE for stability

Bazzite vs CachyOS — Direct Comparison

CachyOS has become the community default as of July 2026 due to Bazzite's stable branch lagging on an outdated kernel.

Factor	Bazzite	CachyOS
Performance	Behind — stable branch on kernel 6.17.7, old Mesa (fforduck, Jul 2026)	Best — kernel 6.19+, Mesa 26, optimized packages, BORE scheduler (dznuts, gennro)
Stability	⚠ Unstable with 40 CU — green screen on idle/download, random freezes. "A bunch of people moved from Bazzite to CachyOS" (community, Jul 2026).	Rock solid — "5 days no crashes after switching from Bazzite" (evo9899). Several users report identical experience.
Ease of setup	Easiest — pre-patched kernel, Game Mode included. But outdated kernel causes governor install issues.	Moderate — Arch-based, manual setup. More flexible, fewer surprises.
Kernel	⚠ Stable: 6.17.7 (OLD!). Testing: kernel 7.0+ Mesa 26 — not yet released. ⚠ Kernel 7.1+ causes black screen with governor — dmoraza (Aug 3 2026). Stay on 6.19.x or 6.18 LTS for governor use.	Latest 6.19+ out of box. No waiting for updates.
40 CU unlock	CU live manager works. Legacy kernel patch available (ba29 Deck kernel only). OGC desktop kernel packages not yet available.	CU live manager works on stock kernel. Full toolkit support (redbeard1083, gennro).
Governor install	`dnf copr` + `rpm-ostree install`. Can be tricky on old kernel. Rebase to `bazzite:testing` or `bazzite:stable` helps (zerosumpr).	`yay -S` or AUR helper. Straightforward.
Updates	Immutable — safer rollbacks, but updates are slow. BC-250 needs bleeding-edge kernel which conflicts with Bazzite's philosophy.	Rolling — bleeding edge. May break occasionally but quick fixes.
Game Mode	Built-in Gamescope session. Some users report instability (Split Fiction crashes, black screen loops).	Handheld Edition includes Gamescope + FSR (stevounit). Desktop needs manual setup.
VRR / Audio	Audio issues persist for some users (Jul 2026). VRR works with custom image.	Native 6.19+ kernel support for VRR + DP audio. Working out of box.
Best for	Console experience with fully working Game Mode — IF on testing branch. Good for users willing to rebase.	Raw performance, stability, tuners, desktop use, AI/LLM. Community default.

Community consensus (July 2026):

Bazzite stable is not recommended for 40 CU builds due to outdated kernel (6.17.7). BC-250 needs 6.19+.

If you want Bazzite, rebase to the testing branch which has kernel 7.0 + Mesa 26 (not yet in stable).

CachyOS has become the de-facto recommendation for stability + performance: "definitely better in terms of stability and features" (community, Jul 2026).

The performance gap is real — Bazzite stable's old kernel causes tangible issues with 40 CU, governor, and audio.

For non-technical users who want a console experience: Bazzite desktop testing branch or CachyOS Handheld Edition.

Several users explicitly recommended CachyOS over Bazzite after experiencing instability: "5 days no crashes" (evo9899), "rock solid reliable" (multiple users).

Universal Prerequisites

Hardware Needed

☐ BC-250 board (any BIOS P2.00-P3.00 or P5.00; avoid P4.00 — unstable)

☐ 300W+ 12V PSU with PCIe 8-pin

☐ High static pressure 120mm fan (Arctic P12 recommended)

☐ DisplayPort cable or passive DP-to-HDMI adapter

☐ USB drive (8GB+) for installation media

☐ M.2 NVMe SSD or SATA drive (optional but recommended)

☐ USB WiFi adapter (no built-in wireless)

☐ Another PC to prepare USB drives

BIOS Settings (Verify After Flashing)

CODE

Integrated Graphics Controller = [Forced]
UMA Mode = [UMA_SPECIFIED]
UMA Frame Buffer Size = [512M]
IOMMU = [Disabled]
Boot Mode = [UEFI]

Broken Kernel Versions (Avoid)

Kernel versions 6.15.0-6.15.6 and 6.17.8-6.17.10 cause GPU initialization failures and kernel panics. Do not install these. Use 6.19.x (recommended — VRR and DP audio fixes) or 6.18.18 LTS (stable fallback) instead.

Bazzite (Console-Like Experience — Use Testing Branch)

ℹ️ NOTE

⚠ Bazzite stable ships kernel 6.17.7 which is too old for BC-250 (needs 6.19+). This causes instability with 40 CU, governor install failures, audio issues, and random crashes. See comparison table above.

ℹ️ NOTE

Fedora Atomic-based, SteamOS-like distro. For a stable experience, rebase to the testing branch before installing the governor and 40 CU unlock.

Installation

1. Download ISO from bazzite.gg ↗

2. Choose variant:

Deck - Steam Deck UI experience (most popular for BC-250)

KDE - Desktop users

GNOME - Minimal desktop

3. Flash to USB with balenaEtcher or Ventoy

4. Use the non-live installer image (live image has login bugs) (mothenjoyer69)

5. Boot from USB - no special parameters needed

6. Complete on-screen installation (10-15 min)

Critical: Switch to Testing Branch

After installation, immediately rebase to the testing branch for kernel 7.0 + Mesa 26:

BASH

# Rebase to testing branch (get kernel 7.0 + Mesa 26)
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-image-signed:docker://ghcr.io/ublue-os/bazzite-deck:testing

# Or stay on stable with a slightly newer build (still 6.19, better than 6.17.7)
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-image-signed:docker://ghcr.io/ublue-os/bazzite-deck:stable-43.20260210

Why: Bazzite's default stable branch is on kernel 6.17.7 which is known-bad for BC-250. The testing branch includes kernel 7.0 + Mesa 26 — necessary for 40 CU stability, audio fix, and VRR (fforduck, community Jul 2026). Multiple users report instability resolved immediately after switching.

7. Default password (if asked): bazzite

8. Reboot

Post-Install Setup

BASH

# Update system
sudo rpm-ostree update
sudo systemctl reboot

# Install GPU governor (SMU - recommended, no kernel patch needed)
sudo dnf copr enable filippor/bazzite
rpm-ostree install cyan-skillfish-governor-smu
sudo systemctl reboot
sudo systemctl enable --now cyan-skillfish-governor-smu.service

# Verify
systemctl status cyan-skillfish-governor-smu

Patched Performance Images (Optional)

Custom images with pre-configured kernel + governor exist but may kill USB WiFi after rebase (Issue #10):

BASH

# GNOME (recommended)
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-image-signed:docker://ghcr.io/vietsman/bazzite-gnome-patched:latest

# KDE
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-image-signed:docker://ghcr.io/vietsman/bazzite-kde-patched:latest

# Deck
rpm-ostree rebase ostree-image-signed:docker://ghcr.io/vietsman/bazzite-deck-patched:latest

Warning: Rebasing to patched images may remove USB WiFi/Bluetooth drivers. If WiFi stops working: use Ethernet, check available kernel modules (lsmod | grep ), install missing drivers, or rollback with rpm-ostree rollback.

Bazzite Tips

⚠ Important: Stable branch is on kernel 6.17.7 — too old. Rebase to bazzite-deck:testing for kernel 7.0 + Mesa 26 before setting up governor and 40 CU.

Install EmuDeck for emulation: use the Bazzite portal

Update with ujust update (or rpm-ostree upgrade + flatpak update)

Rollback broken updates with rpm-ostree rollback

VRR: Testing branch includes VRR support natively. Stable branch does not.

Audio: DP audio fix in kernel 6.19.10+. Bazzite stable (6.17.7) does NOT include it. Testing branch does.

Instability workaround: If experiencing green screens, freezes, or crashes on Bazzite, rebase to testing branch first. If issues persist, multiple users report switching to CachyOS resolves them (evo9899, community, Jul 2026).

40 CU Unlock on Bazzite: The bc250-cu-live-manager ↗ (UMR-based, no kernel patch) is the preferred method — works on stock Bazzite kernel (auto-detects dri path, vinnijs.dev). For legacy kernel patch: erewego posted pre-built RPMs against the ba29 Deck kernel. Download bazzite-bc250cu-rpms-ba29.7z from the Discord project-forums.

BASH

  sudo rpm-ostree override replace ./*.rpm
  sudo rpm-ostree kargs --append=amdgpu.bc250_cc_write_mode=3
  sudo systemctl reboot

Reduce GPU governor clocks to ~1850 MHz. For governor/SMU issues on Bazzite, using the testing branch (kernel 7.0) resolves most problems. For desktop Bazzite (OGC kernel), kernel packages are not yet available — check Discord for updates. See 02-BIOS & Firmware for full procedure details.

Fedora 43+ (Most Tested)

ℹ️ NOTE

Mesa 25.1+ included in official repos. Most community documentation targets Fedora.

Note: Fedora 42 is End of Life. If still running Fedora 42, upgrade to Fedora 43.

Installation

1. Download Fedora 43 Workstation ↗ (or newer)

2. Flash to USB with Fedora Media Writer, balenaEtcher, or Ventoy

3. Boot installer - select "Basic Graphics Mode" from GRUB (auto-enables nomodeset)

4. Complete installation normally, reboot

Post-Install Setup

BASH

# Update system
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

# Install GPU governor (SMU variant - no kernel patch needed)
sudo dnf copr enable filippor/bazzite
sudo dnf install cyan-skillfish-governor-smu
sudo systemctl enable --now cyan-skillfish-governor-smu.service

# Remove nomodeset (no longer needed after governor + drivers installed)
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
# Change: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet nomodeset"
# To:     GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet"
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
sudo reboot

# Install gaming tools
sudo dnf install steam mangohud goverlay

Verify Mesa (Fedora 43 ships Mesa 25.x)

BASH

dnf list mesa-\*
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"
# Should show Mesa 25.x+

Nobara (Gaming-Focused Fedora Alternative)

ℹ️ NOTE

Source: Discord community discussion. Not in elektricM official docs.

Fedora-based, not immutable - easier governor installation.

Installation:

1. Download Nobara ↗ (GNOME or KDE)

2. Flash to USB, boot normally (add nomodeset if black screen)

3. Complete installation

Post-install:

BASH

sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install steam mangohud goverlay
sudo systemctl enable --now cyan-skillfish-governor-smu.service

CachyOS (Community Recommended — Best Stability + Performance)

ℹ️ NOTE

Arch-based with optimized packages, BORE scheduler, and latest kernel (6.19+) + Mesa 26 out of the box. Community default as of July 2026.

Note (Jul 2026): CachyOS ships with kernel 6.19+ and Mesa 26 — everything needed for 40 CU, VRR, and DP audio works out of the box. No kernel patching or rebase needed.

Upcoming: CachyOS RC kernels 7.1 and 7.2 (linux-cachyos-rc) include significant amdgpu driver optimizations and bug fixes. Worth testing when available for improved stability (gennro, Jul 2026).

Standard Method (Recommended)

1. Download CachyOS ISO ↗ (KDE or GNOME)

2. Flash to USB, boot and run installer normally

3. Select GRUB bootloader

4. Verify kernel is compatible:

BASH

    uname -r  # Should be 6.19.x (recommended) or 6.18.x LTS (avoid 6.15.0-6.15.6, 6.17.8-6.17.10)

5. Install governor:

BASH

   paru -S cyan-skillfish-governor-smu
   sudo systemctl enable --now cyan-skillfish-governor-smu.service

40 CU Unlock on CachyOS

The bc250-cu-live-manager ↗ works on stock CachyOS kernel — no kernel patch needed. This is the preferred method (vinnijs.dev, May 2026).

For kernel patch method (legacy), apply the bc250-40cu-amdgpu.patch to the kernel PKGBUILD patch set. duggasco maintains a PR fork with the patch pre-applied.

BASH

# Live manager (recommended):
git clone https://github.com/WinnieLV/bc250-cu-live-manager.git
cd bc250-cu-live-manager
# Follow README for your distro

# Kernel patch (legacy):
git clone https://github.com/duggasco/bc250-40cu-unlock.git
cd bc250-40cu-unlock
sudo ./scripts/bc250-enable-40cu.sh build
sudo ./scripts/bc250-enable-40cu.sh enable   # reboots

Also available: redbeard1083/bc250-toolkit and gennro/bc250-toolkit for automated CachyOS setup.

CachyOS Architecture Fix

CachyOS pacman uses x86_64_v3 architecture by default, which can cause failed installs for x86_64-only packages. Fix (graytl):

BASH

sudo nano /etc/pacman.conf
# Change: Architecture = auto
# To:     Architecture = x86_64 x86_64_v3

Legacy Method (if standard ISO won't boot)

1. Install Arch Linux with linux-lts kernel

2. Reboot into Arch

3. Migrate to CachyOS repos:

BASH

   wget https://mirror.cachyos.org/cachyos-repo.tar.xz
   tar xvf cachyos-repo.tar.xz
   cd cachyos-repo
   sudo ./cachyos-repo.sh
   # Select x86-64-v3 optimization

4. Install CachyOS kernel:

BASH

   sudo pacman -S linux-cachyos-lts linux-cachyos-lts-headers
   sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
   sudo reboot

Arch Linux (Maximum Control)

1. Install Arch normally with linux-lts kernel (6.19.x recommended, 6.18.18 LTS stable fallback; avoid 6.15.0-6.15.6 and 6.17.8-6.17.10)

2. Install governor from AUR:

BASH

   paru -S cyan-skillfish-governor-smu
   # or: yay -S cyan-skillfish-governor-smu
   sudo systemctl enable --now cyan-skillfish-governor-smu.service

3. Automated setup script (alternative):

BASH

   git clone https://github.com/eabarriosTGC/BC250--ARCH.git
   cd BC250--ARCH
    chmod +x ./install.sh
    ./install.sh

4. Alternative setup script:

BASH

    git clone https://github.com/pnbarbeito/bc250-arch
    cd bc250-arch
    ./oberon_install.sh

5. 40 CU unlock: apply bc250-40cu-amdgpu.patch to kernel PKGBUILD (duggasco). See 02-BIOS & Firmware.

Debian / PikaOS

ℹ️ NOTE

Requires Testing/Sid - Stable is too old for Mesa 25.1+.

Installation

1. Download Debian Testing ISO ↗

2. Boot with nomodeset if needed

3. Add experimental repo:

BASH

   echo "deb http://deb.debian.org/debian experimental main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/experimental.list
   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install -t experimental mesa-vulkan-drivers libgl1-mesa-dri mesa-utils

4. Install kernel (Xanmod LTS 6.18.18 or 6.19.x from backports):

BASH

   wget -qO - https://dl.xanmod.org/archive.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/xanmod-archive-keyring.gpg
   echo 'deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/xanmod-archive-keyring.gpg] http://deb.xanmod.org releases main' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/xanmod-kernel.list
   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install linux-xanmod-lts-x64v3
   sudo update-grub
   sudo reboot

Alternative: sudo apt install linux-image-6.12 (Debian 6.12 LTS). Confirmed working: 6.18.3+ tested Jan 2026.

5. Install governor (.deb from GitHub releases):

BASH

   wget https://github.com/Magnap/cyan-skillfish-governor/releases/latest/download/cyan-skillfish-governor-smu_amd64.deb
   sudo dpkg -i cyan-skillfish-governor-smu_amd64.deb
   sudo systemctl enable --now cyan-skillfish-governor-smu.service

Info: A pre-built Debian image exists with kernel 6.18.3, Mesa 26, and GPU patches pre-applied. Check community resources.

PikaOS (Debian-based gaming distro) includes Mesa 25.1+ out of the box and GPU frequency patch pre-applied - easiest Debian option.

Ubuntu 26.04+

ℹ️ NOTE

Ubuntu 26.04 daily server ISO includes Mesa 25+ and kernel 6.17/6.18 with out-of-box BC-250 support.

1. Download Ubuntu 26.04 daily server ISO or newer

2. Flash to USB, boot with nomodeset if needed

3. Install normally

4. Add Mesa PPA if needed:

BASH

   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa
   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

5. Kernel: 6.19.x recommended, 6.18.x LTS stable fallback (verify with uname -r)

6. Install governor (see .deb package from GitHub)

Manjaro

1. Download Manjaro (KDE or GNOME edition - GNOME more stable per source)

2. Install normally (boots out-of-box, no nomodeset needed)

3. Mesa in official repos is sufficient

4. Recommended kernel: linux618 or linux619 (kernel 6.19.x preferred for VRR/DP audio; source: Discord)

BASH

   sudo mhwd-kernel -i linux618

5. Install governor from AUR

Community note (source): "Out of the box after the BIOS flash, Manjaro KDE just booted fine"

Verification - After Any Installation

BASH

# Mesa version (must be 25.1+, 26.x recommended)
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"
# Should show: Mesa 26.X.X

# Vulkan driver (must show RADV)
vulkaninfo | grep deviceName
# Should show: AMD Radeon Graphics (RADV GFX1013)

# Governor running
systemctl status cyan-skillfish-governor-smu
# Should show: active (running)

# GPU frequency check (should show multiple frequencies)
cat /sys/class/drm/card1/device/pp_dpm_sclk

# GPU renderer (NOT llvmpipe)
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"
# Should show: radv gfx1013

Kernel Verification

BASH

uname -r
# Expected: 6.19.x (recommended) or 6.18.18 LTS (stable fallback)
# Avoid: 6.15.0-6.15.6, 6.17.8-6.17.10

Bootable USB Creation Tools

Tool	Platform	Notes
Ventoy	All	Best option - boot multiple ISOs from one drive
balenaEtcher	All	Simple GUI flasher
Fedora Media Writer	All	Fedora's recommended tool
Rufus	Windows	Use UEFI / FAT32 mode
dd	Linux CLI	`sudo dd if=image.iso of=/dev/sdX status=progress && sync`