[ShadowAce]

Do I still need to compile the OS before I manually install it using shell commands?

Only one distro (of which I am aware) requires that, and it's mainly used to learning the internals of how Linux works, and severe optimization of the code to the individual computer it's running on.

[afterhoursarmory]

Building from source is still kinda fun these days. It can really breathe life into hardware that otherwise is bogged down by un-needed services by default distro installations