Hi Linux- how important is it to install, say Debian, the version that is specifically made for your hardware? For example, if I have a Rock64 SBC, do I have to install Debian-rock64.img or can I just go with Debian-arm64.img? Will I lose performance/features if using generic arm64 image, or conversely, will I gain performance/features if using the image made for my specific SBC? Is the generic image even compatible with all hardwares?
Thank you.
Checkout https://www.armbian.com/rock64/
Run Armbian, it is Debian optimized for SBCs, that one specifically for your board. Armbian has a very good track record and sometimes is the only option after manufacturers stop creating images for their old boards.
Generic images might underperform in your board, the GPIO and other low level components will, most likely, not work and you might burn your storage as logging and other I/O intensive operations aren’t tweaked for SD/eMMC. Armbian aims to fix all those issues and provides continuous system and kernel updates long after the manufacturer stops doing so.
To be fair I don’t trust whatever a Chinese SBC manufacturer ships for their own boards, how much spyware / calling home that will include? How messed up and mangled the kernel and the OS is? You can eventually run into issues when you least expect it.