diff --git a/nix/default.nix b/nix/default.nix
index f8f4800..c86bb1f 100644
--- a/nix/default.nix
+++ b/nix/default.nix
@@ -22,12 +22,15 @@
   version ? "git",
   doCheck ? false,
   debug ? false,
+  # whether to use the mold linker
+  # disable this for older machines without SSE4_2 and AVX2 support
+  withMold ? true,
 }: let
   inherit (builtins) foldl';
   inherit (lib.lists) flatten;
 
   adapters = flatten [
-    stdenvAdapters.useMoldLinker
+    (lib.optional withMold stdenvAdapters.useMoldLinker)
     (lib.optional debug stdenvAdapters.keepDebugInfo)
   ];
 
@@ -52,7 +55,7 @@ in
 
     buildInputs = [
       hwdata
-      hyprutils
+      (hyprutils.override {inherit withMold;})
       libdisplay-info
       libdrm
       libffi