Ubuntu 26.10 daily builds now include an amd64-v3 installer, allowing you to try out a CPU-optimised package set from the off, without any post-install reconfiguration.
The distro began building amd64v3 packages as an opt-in archive last year, though Ubuntu 26.04 LTS continues to use the standard amd64 (v1) baseline by default (and since there have been hiccups along the way, that decision was a wise one).
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS can be manually converted to an amd64-v3 package set after install, but the sudden appearance of Ubuntu 26.10 daily builds offering them baked in, skips the hassle: it boots from and installs v3-optimised packages from the get go.
What is Amd64-v3 again?
Amd64-v3 (aka x86-64-v3) is a newer baseline for the instruction sets a CPU can be assumed to support – things like AVX2, FMA, BMI1/2, etc, which improve the performance of number-intensive workloads (but not so much basic email and web browsing).
Most Intel and AMD chips made after 2015 are v3-compatible, albeit with a few exceptions (budget and embedded chips lack AVX2). Running Ubuntu with packages optimised for the CPU means, potentially, a better experience using specific software.
Run this command to see if your CPU supports x86-64-v3:
/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 --help | grep x86-64
If not, no worries; the default ISO works (older, unsupported CPUs can’t run v3 packages, but v3 CPUs can run v2 and v1 packages).
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 already requires x86-64-v3, while openSUSE Leap 16 offers v2, but Ubuntu’s been cautious in raising its CPU baseline. Canonical’s decision to make v3 available for opt-in testing (not a forced change) has been welcome.
But Canonical hasn’t said that an amd64-v3 ISO will be the official download for 26.10, and with that release, codenamed the ‘Stonking Stingray’, now strikingly close to release, such a switch is unlikely this cycle.
But the one after?
Who knows.
An alternate installer is certainly a pragmatic way to increase testing of and feedback on an Ubuntu v3 baseline experience. That feedback is sure to inform any decision on a potential switch in the future.
You can download the latest Ubuntu 26.10 daily live ISOs from the cdimages.ubuntu.com server.