diff --git a/build-all.sh b/build-all.sh
index 9eb2cbadf..03fac995d 100644
--- a/build-all.sh
+++ b/build-all.sh
@@ -195,11 +195,11 @@ echo -e "\n${#buildlist[@]} total\n"
 buildall_start=`date +%s`
 n=0
 for line in "${buildlist[@]}"; do
-	unset LINUXFAMILY LINUXCONFIG KERNELDIR KERNELSOURCE KERNELBRANCH BOOTDIR BOOTSOURCE BOOTBRANCH ARCH UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC \
+	unset LINUXFAMILY LINUXCONFIG KERNELDIR KERNELSOURCE KERNELBRANCH BOOTDIR BOOTSOURCE BOOTBRANCH ARCH UBOOT_USE_GCC KERNEL_USE_GCC \
 		CPUMIN CPUMAX UBOOT_VER KERNEL_VER GOVERNOR BOOTSIZE BOOTFS_TYPE UBOOT_TOOLCHAIN KERNEL_TOOLCHAIN PACKAGE_LIST_EXCLUDE KERNEL_IMAGE_TYPE \
 		write_uboot_platform family_tweaks setup_write_uboot_platform BOOTSCRIPT UBOOT_TARGET_MAP LOCALVERSION UBOOT_COMPILER KERNEL_COMPILER \
 		MODULES MODULES_NEXT MODULES_DEV INITRD_ARCH HAS_UUID_SUPPORT BOOTENV_FILE BOOTDELAY MODULES_BLACKLIST MODULES_BLACKLIST_NEXT \
-		MODULES_BLACKLIST_DEV MOUNT SDCARD BOOTPATCHDIR buildtext RELEASE UBOOT_ALT_GCC KERNEL_ALT_GCC IMAGE_TYPE OVERLAY_PREFIX
+		MODULES_BLACKLIST_DEV MOUNT SDCARD BOOTPATCHDIR buildtext RELEASE IMAGE_TYPE OVERLAY_PREFIX
 
 	read BOARD BRANCH RELEASE BUILD_DESKTOP <<< $line
 	n=$[$n+1]
diff --git a/common.sh b/common.sh
index 3ac0b9d9e..fee375669 100644
--- a/common.sh
+++ b/common.sh
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 # compile_uboot
 # compile_kernel
 # compile_sunxi_tools
-# check_toolchain
 # find_toolchain
 # advanced_patch
 # process_patch_file
@@ -44,14 +43,9 @@ compile_uboot()
 	display_alert "Compiling u-boot" "$version" "info"
 
 	local toolchain=""
-	if [[ -n $UBOOT_ALT_GCC ]] && ! check_toolchain "$UBOOT_COMPILER" "$UBOOT_ALT_GCC"; then
-		# try to find alternative toolchain
-		toolchain=$(find_toolchain "$UBOOT_COMPILER" "$UBOOT_ALT_GCC")
-	fi
-	if [[ -z $toolchain && -n $UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC ]] && ! check_toolchain "$UBOOT_COMPILER" "$UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC"; then
-		# try to find required toolchain if alt was not found
-		toolchain=$(find_toolchain "$UBOOT_COMPILER" "$UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC")
-		[[ -z $toolchain ]] && exit_with_error "Could not find required toolchain" "${UBOOT_COMPILER}gcc $UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC"
+	if [[ -n $UBOOT_USE_GCC ]]; then
+		toolchain=$(find_toolchain "$UBOOT_COMPILER" "$UBOOT_USE_GCC")
+		[[ -z $toolchain ]] && exit_with_error "Could not find required toolchain" "${UBOOT_COMPILER}gcc $UBOOT_USE_GCC"
 	fi
 
 	display_alert "Compiler version" "${UBOOT_COMPILER}gcc $(eval ${toolchain:+env PATH=$toolchain:$PATH} ${UBOOT_COMPILER}gcc -dumpversion)" "info"
@@ -196,14 +190,9 @@ compile_kernel()
 	display_alert "Compiling $BRANCH kernel" "$version" "info"
 
 	local toolchain=""
-	if [[ -n $KERNEL_ALT_GCC ]] && ! check_toolchain "$KERNEL_COMPILER" "$KERNEL_ALT_GCC"; then
-		# try to find alternative toolchain
-		toolchain=$(find_toolchain "$KERNEL_COMPILER" "$KERNEL_ALT_GCC")
-	fi
-	if [[ -z $toolchain && -n $KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC ]] && ! check_toolchain "$KERNEL_COMPILER" "$KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC"; then
-		# try to find required toolchain if alt was not found
-		toolchain=$(find_toolchain "$KERNEL_COMPILER" "$KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC")
-		[[ -z $toolchain ]] && exit_with_error "Could not find required toolchain" "${KERNEL_COMPILER}gcc $KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC"
+	if [[ -n $KERNEL_USE_GCC ]]; then
+		toolchain=$(find_toolchain "$KERNEL_COMPILER" "$KERNEL_USE_GCC")
+		[[ -z $toolchain ]] && exit_with_error "Could not find required toolchain" "${KERNEL_COMPILER}gcc $KERNEL_USE_GCC"
 	fi
 
 	display_alert "Compiler version" "${KERNEL_COMPILER}gcc $(eval ${toolchain:+env PATH=$toolchain:$PATH} ${KERNEL_COMPILER}gcc -dumpversion)" "info"
@@ -283,20 +272,6 @@ compile_sunxi_tools()
 	fi
 }
 
-# check_toolchain <UBOOT|KERNEL> <expression>
-#
-# checks if system default toolchain version satisfies <expression>
-# <expression>: "< x.y"; "> x.y"; "== x.y"
-check_toolchain()
-{
-	local compiler=$1
-	local expression=$2
-	# get major.minor gcc version
-	local gcc_ver=$(${compiler}gcc -dumpversion | grep -oE "^[[:digit:]].[[:digit:]]")
-	awk "BEGIN{exit ! ($gcc_ver $expression)}" && return 0
-	return 1
-}
-
 # find_toolchain <compiler_prefix> <expression>
 #
 # returns path to toolchain that satisfies <expression>
diff --git a/config/sources/cubox.conf b/config/sources/cubox.conf
index 05559dcbb..27557c2bc 100644
--- a/config/sources/cubox.conf
+++ b/config/sources/cubox.conf
@@ -7,14 +7,14 @@ BOOTENV_FILE='cubox-default.txt'
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP=';;SPL u-boot.img'
 
-UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
-KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
 
 case $BRANCH in
 	default)
 	KERNELSOURCE='https://github.com/linux4kix/linux-linaro-stable-mx6'
 	KERNELBRANCH='branch:linux-linaro-lsk-v3.14-mx6'
 	KERNELDIR='linux-cubox'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
 	;;
 
 	next)
@@ -43,9 +43,9 @@ write_uboot_platform()
 	dd if=$1/u-boot.img of=$2 bs=1K seek=42 status=noxfer > /dev/null 2>&1
 }
 
-if [[ $BOARD == "wandboard-quad" ]]; then
-	unset UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC && UBOOT_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
-	unset KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC && KERNEL_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+if [[ $BOARD == wandboard-quad ]]; then
+	UBOOT_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
 	CPUMAX=1008000
 	GOVERNOR=ondemand
 	HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
diff --git a/config/sources/meson.conf b/config/sources/meson.conf
index 6fb71d6dc..c03fe516c 100644
--- a/config/sources/meson.conf
+++ b/config/sources/meson.conf
@@ -2,14 +2,13 @@ BOOTSOURCE='https://github.com/hardkernel/u-boot.git'
 BOOTBRANCH='branch:odroidc-v2011.03'
 BOOTDIR='u-boot-odroidc1'
 BOOTPATCHDIR='u-boot-odroidc1'
-UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 4.9'
-BOOTSCRIPT="boot-odroid-c1.ini:boot.ini"
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 4.9'
+BOOTSCRIPT='boot-odroid-c1.ini:boot.ini'
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP=';;sd_fuse/bl1.bin.hardkernel sd_fuse/u-boot.bin'
 
 HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
 
-KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC='< 4.9'
 KERNEL_IMAGE_TYPE=uImage
 
 case $BRANCH in
@@ -17,6 +16,7 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	KERNELSOURCE='https://github.com/hardkernel/linux'
 	KERNELBRANCH='branch:odroidc-3.10.y'
 	KERNELDIR='linux-odroidc1'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='< 4.9'
 	;;
 
 	next)
diff --git a/config/sources/meson64.conf b/config/sources/meson64.conf
index cfe56b50e..e274feb7c 100644
--- a/config/sources/meson64.conf
+++ b/config/sources/meson64.conf
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ BOOTSOURCE='https://github.com/hardkernel/u-boot.git'
 BOOTBRANCH='branch:odroidc2-v2015.01'
 BOOTDIR='u-boot-odroidc2'
 BOOTPATCHDIR='u-boot-odroidc2'
-UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
-BOOTSCRIPT="boot-odroid-c2.ini:boot.ini"
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
+BOOTSCRIPT='boot-odroid-c2.ini:boot.ini'
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP='ARCH=arm;;sd_fuse/bl1.bin.hardkernel sd_fuse/u-boot.bin'
 
diff --git a/config/sources/mvebu.conf b/config/sources/mvebu.conf
index bfcf2ceae..1ac1c1920 100644
--- a/config/sources/mvebu.conf
+++ b/config/sources/mvebu.conf
@@ -2,14 +2,14 @@ BOOTSOURCE='https://github.com/SolidRun/u-boot-armada38x'
 BOOTBRANCH='branch:u-boot-2013.01-15t1-clearfog'
 BOOTDIR='u-boot-armada'
 BOOTPATCHDIR='u-boot-armada'
-BOOTSCRIPT="boot-marvell.cmd:boot.cmd"
+BOOTSCRIPT='boot-marvell.cmd:boot.cmd'
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP="u-boot.mmc;;u-boot.mmc u-boot-uart.mmc
 	u-boot.sata;sata;u-boot.sata u-boot-uart.sata
 	u-boot.flash;spi;u-boot.flash u-boot-uart.flash"
 
-UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
-UBOOT_COMPILER="arm-linux-gnueabi-"
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
+UBOOT_COMPILER='arm-linux-gnueabi-'
 
 BOOTENV_FILE='clearfog-default.txt'
 HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	KERNELBRANCH=$MAINLINE_KERNEL_BRANCH
 	KERNELDIR=$MAINLINE_KERNEL_DIR
 
-	KERNEL_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
 	;;
 esac
 
diff --git a/config/sources/mvebu64.conf b/config/sources/mvebu64.conf
index d3bdac943..1872a0962 100644
--- a/config/sources/mvebu64.conf
+++ b/config/sources/mvebu64.conf
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	KERNELBRANCH=$MAINLINE_KERNEL_BRANCH
 	KERNELDIR=$MAINLINE_KERNEL_DIR
 
-	KERNEL_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='> 6.1'
 	;;
 esac
 
diff --git a/config/sources/odroidc1.conf b/config/sources/odroidc1.conf
index f7a6ff090..3fe0cb2a9 100644
--- a/config/sources/odroidc1.conf
+++ b/config/sources/odroidc1.conf
@@ -2,14 +2,13 @@ BOOTSOURCE='https://github.com/hardkernel/u-boot.git'
 BOOTBRANCH='branch:odroidc-v2011.03'
 BOOTDIR='u-boot-odroidc1'
 BOOTPATCHDIR='u-boot-odroidc1'
-UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 4.9'
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 4.9'
 BOOTSCRIPT="boot-odroid-c1.ini:boot.ini"
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP=';;sd_fuse/bl1.bin.hardkernel sd_fuse/u-boot.bin'
 
 HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
 
-KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC='< 4.9'
 KERNEL_IMAGE_TYPE=uImage
 
 case $BRANCH in
@@ -17,6 +16,7 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	KERNELSOURCE='https://github.com/hardkernel/linux'
 	KERNELBRANCH='branch:odroidc-3.10.y'
 	KERNELDIR='linux-odroidc1'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='< 4.9'
 	;;
 
 	next)
diff --git a/config/sources/odroidc2.conf b/config/sources/odroidc2.conf
index 0f43a1f91..bc6c2307d 100644
--- a/config/sources/odroidc2.conf
+++ b/config/sources/odroidc2.conf
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ BOOTSOURCE='https://github.com/hardkernel/u-boot.git'
 BOOTBRANCH='branch:odroidc2-v2015.01'
 BOOTDIR='u-boot-odroidc2'
 BOOTPATCHDIR='u-boot-odroidc2'
-UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
 BOOTSCRIPT="boot-odroid-c2.ini:boot.ini"
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP='ARCH=arm;;sd_fuse/bl1.bin.hardkernel sd_fuse/u-boot.bin'
diff --git a/config/sources/odroidxu4.conf b/config/sources/odroidxu4.conf
index 8701a827f..1418e7ec7 100644
--- a/config/sources/odroidxu4.conf
+++ b/config/sources/odroidxu4.conf
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	KERNELSOURCE='https://github.com/hardkernel/linux'
 	KERNELBRANCH='branch:odroidxu3-3.10.y'
 	KERNELDIR='linux-odroidxu4'
-	UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 4.9'
+	UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 4.9'
 	;;
 
 	next)
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	BOOTPATCHDIR='u-boot-odroidxu4-next'
 	BOOTENV_FILE='odroidxu4-next.txt'
 
-	UBOOT_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
-	KERNEL_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+	UBOOT_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
 
 	HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
 
diff --git a/config/sources/rda8810.conf b/config/sources/rda8810.conf
index 86453002e..0cfa05bbc 100644
--- a/config/sources/rda8810.conf
+++ b/config/sources/rda8810.conf
@@ -10,14 +10,14 @@ OFFSET=2
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP=';;u-boot.rda'
 
-UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
 UBOOT_COMPILER='arm-linux-gnueabi-'
 
 KERNELSOURCE='https://github.com/RDA8810/linux-RDA8810'
 KERNELBRANCH='branch:rdadroid-3.10.62-rel5.0.2'
 KERNELDIR='linux-rda8810'
 
-KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
+KERNEL_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
 
 HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
 
diff --git a/config/sources/rockchip.conf b/config/sources/rockchip.conf
index 24de0765d..8e2405569 100644
--- a/config/sources/rockchip.conf
+++ b/config/sources/rockchip.conf
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ BOOTSCRIPT="boot-rockchip.cmd:boot.cmd"
 BOOTENV_FILE='rockchip-default.txt'
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP=";;$SRC/lib/bin/rk3288_boot.bin u-boot-dtb.bin spl/u-boot-spl-dtb.bin"
 
-UBOOT_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
 
 HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
 BOOTDELAY=0
diff --git a/config/sources/sun5i.conf b/config/sources/sun5i.conf
index 91e2d8860..0e655eabe 100644
--- a/config/sources/sun5i.conf
+++ b/config/sources/sun5i.conf
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	KERNELSOURCE='https://github.com/linux-sunxi/linux-sunxi'
 	KERNELBRANCH='branch:sunxi-3.4'
 	KERNELDIR='linux-sunxi'
-	KERNEL_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.0'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='< 5.0'
 	;;
 
 	dev)
diff --git a/config/sources/sunxi64_common.inc b/config/sources/sunxi64_common.inc
index 66acab6e4..66a8bef97 100644
--- a/config/sources/sunxi64_common.inc
+++ b/config/sources/sunxi64_common.inc
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ case $BRANCH in
 	KERNELSOURCE='https://github.com/Icenowy/linux/'
 	KERNELBRANCH='branch:sunxi64-next-20170216'
 	KERNELDIR='linux-sun50i-dev'
-	KERNEL_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='> 6.1'
 	LINUXCONFIG='linux-sun50i-dev'
 	;;
 esac
diff --git a/config/sources/sunxi_common.inc b/config/sources/sunxi_common.inc
index 16a578db5..7991bed9d 100644
--- a/config/sources/sunxi_common.inc
+++ b/config/sources/sunxi_common.inc
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ BOOTPATCHDIR="u-boot-sunxi"
 
 UBOOT_TARGET_MAP=';;u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin'
 
-UBOOT_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+UBOOT_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
 UBOOT_FW_ENV='0x88000,0x20000' # /etc/fw_env.config offset and env size
 
 HAS_UUID_SUPPORT=yes
@@ -25,13 +25,13 @@ case $BRANCH in
 
 	GOVERNOR=ondemand
 
-	KERNEL_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
 	;;
 
 	dev)
 	GOVERNOR=ondemand
 
-	KERNEL_ALT_GCC='> 6.1'
+	KERNEL_USE_GCC='> 6.0'
 	;;
 esac
 
diff --git a/configuration.sh b/configuration.sh
index 0f9f44c4d..6b316fd24 100644
--- a/configuration.sh
+++ b/configuration.sh
@@ -102,20 +102,6 @@ esac
 
 if [[ $RELEASE == xenial ]]; then DISTRIBUTION="Ubuntu"; else DISTRIBUTION="Debian"; fi
 
-# temporary hacks/overrides
-case $LINUXFAMILY in
-	sun*i)
-	# 2016.07+ compilation fails due to GCC bug
-	# works on Linaro 5.3.1, fails on Ubuntu 5.3.1
-	UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.3'
-	;;
-
-	# also affects XU4 next branch
-	odroidxu4)
-	[[ $BRANCH == next ]] && UBOOT_NEEDS_GCC='< 5.3'
-	;;
-esac
-
 # Essential packages
 PACKAGE_LIST="bc bridge-utils build-essential cpufrequtils device-tree-compiler figlet fbset fping \
 	iw fake-hwclock wpasupplicant psmisc ntp parted rsync sudo curl linux-base dialog crda \