2 mo. ago • 98%

NVIDIA Transitions Fully Towards Open-Source GPU Kernel Modules. Keep in mind that the drivers are still proprietary.

developer.nvidia.com NVIDIA Transitions Fully Towards Open-Source GPU Kernel Modules | NVIDIA Technical Blog

With the R515 driver, NVIDIA released a set of Linux GPU kernel modules in May 2022 as open source with dual GPL and MIT licensing. The initial release targeted datacenter compute GPUs…

64 comments

For newer GPUs from the Turing, Ampere, Ada Lovelace, or Hopper architectures, NVIDIA recommends switching to the open-source GPU kernel modules.

So 20-series onwards.

114
- My ol' 1070 doesn't make the cut hey... ;-;
  
  18
  
  Maybe it's just because I'm older and more jaded, but that really feels like the last truly good era for GPUs.
  
  Those 10 series cards had a ton of staying power, and the 480/580 were such damn good value cards.
  
  32
  
  I think it works but the performance might not be ideal. Keep on the proprietary module.
  
  3
- And 16xx
  
  11
  
  Yep! My pre-built 1660 super i got years ago is still chugging along amazingly as a streaming device for my steam deck.
  
  3
- Yes. Everything older is unsupported in terms of the new Linux stuff anymore. Planned obsolescence yk?
  
  10
  
  Permanently Deleted
  
  21
  
  Well their proprietary driver works fine for older hardware.
  
  13
Does this mean upcoming distros can have the drivers inbuilt? NVIDIA Cards working out of the box? I'm Out of the Loop.

37
- This has never been an issue. Nothing stops any distro from installing the DKMS drivers at install time. You also have the nouveau driver that can be installed by default if you don't want to ask users to agree to Nvidia's license for proprietary driver use.
  
  31
  
  You also have the nouveau driver that can be installed by default...
  
  And pretty soon, NVK!
  
  13
  
  But apparently people always had issues with NVidia graphics cards on Linux, no matter what driver it is. And the fact that even Mint and Ubuntu don't install the drivers by default tells that there indeed are some legal issues with it.
  
  5
  
  So, it's just the philosophy of FOSS stopping distros from using proprietary?
  
  1
- Well, what I really wonder is if because the kernel can include it, if this will make an install more agnostic. Like literally pull my disk out of a gaming nvidia machine, and plug it into my AMD machine with full working graphics. If so this is good for me since I use a usb-c nvme ssd for my os to boot from on my work and home machines and laptops for when I'm not worrying. All three currently have nvidia cards and this works ok. I have some games to chill and take a break. My works core OS for work MDM etc unmodified. I like it that way.
  
  I realise this is not a terribly useful case, but I could see it for graphically optimised VM migrations too not that I have many. Less work in transitioning gives greater flexibility.
  
  9
  
  this works ok
  
  People said that the new 555 Nvidia drivers works good.
  
  2
  
  Like literally pull my disk out of a gaming nvidia machine, and plug it into my AMD machine with full working graphics.
  
  This should work already, i switched from nvidia to amd this year by swapping the cards and removing the nvidia drivers some time later.
  
  I guess it's because the drivers only apply to their specific hardware, so no problems having amd and nvidia drivers present at the same time.
  
  2
- Pop OS exists my dude.
  
  -2
  
  I don't understand, If Pop OS, Nobara, Bazzite can, why not all distros? Is it a philosophical reason to not include proprietary drivers?
  
  1
I stand with AMD

24
No blobs?

23
- Use this bro
  
  36
- So still same problem with kernel updates?
  
  1
nvidia transitions fully? that's all i need to hear, good job nvidia 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

23
Forgive the stupid question, but what does this mean, exactly? Does it mean Nvidia support on par with that for AMD? Will this enable a release of Bazzite that supports Steam Gaming Mode for Nvidia cards?

14
- It means it will break less on kernel updates. I don’t think it fundamentally changes much else for gaming.
  
  9
- Does it mean Nvidia support on par with that for AMD?
  
  I'm probably not the right person to answer this, but my immediate thought was no. I believe AMD allows for open source drivers on Linux, which this specifically states Nvidia won't be doing.
  
  2
Nvidia, fix power management on open drivers. Then we are talking.

8
Cries in 1080 ti

7
Linux using proprietary drivers always feels like a plane using a transmission to me.

4

You've viewed 64 comments.