this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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How is the current Nvidia driver situation on Linux? I wanted to give it a shot on my gaming PC for a long time now but was deterred by the various driver horror stories…
For gaming? I haven't really run into any issues. If you're trying to virtualize your GPU for VMs and stuff like that, Nvidia is a lot more locked down. I use the proprietary drivers - the open source ones don't seem to perform as well. Most Distributions will just give you a prompt where you select which drivers you would prefer to use.
Not great for my use case but your mileage may vary I need very high res with 240hz which is only in beta drivers atm so it's very difficult to find a distro I can use without messing about
X11 and multi monitors is also a mess.
I also have a 240hz but it works fine? I've never heard of this, although I still hate the nvidia drivers for many things
I'm a Plasma on Wayland enjoyer, running a 1080ti, and pretty much every bug I've encountered since I've started using Linux has been resolved. There's probably some stuff I don't know about, purely because it doesn't affect me, but it's been smooth sailing here
I've been using Linux full time on my desktop since 2019 and while I don't think I'll buy nvidia again, the experience in the meanwhile has been fine. The things I can do with my computer are much more limited, especially when it comes to Wayland. But assuming you're just using your computer like a normal person you can stick to Xorg and basically have a totally normal computer experience.
Personally, one of the worst parts about nvidia proprietary drivers with Wayland is that I cannot use the night light feature in Gnome, which makes my display unreasonably uncomfortable during night time usage. When will nvidia provide the necessary support for the thing that makes it work? Who knows.
Ancient computer and nvidia card here. Not sure what Gnome's nightlight is ultimately based on, but you might try Redshift or f.lux which - I assume - do pretty much the same thing.
I've used both and am currently using Redshift. f.lux stopped working for me a few years ago and I haven't bothered trying to find out if that was a fluke and whether it will work again now. Redshift uses geolocation by default, but that can be turned off.
I would bother but I have other issues with nvidia+wayland so I just stick to xorg, which seems to be the thing nvidia really supports.
I’m currently using pop os with an etc 3070, and I haven’t noticed any major issues. I had some weird glitches on fedora because they use the open source driver by default, but using the proprietary Nvidia driver is totally usable. I even got ray tracing working on cyberpunk 2077
tbh it's overblown. I have been holding off on wayland for this and various other reasons, but gaming on x11 with nvidia proprietary drivers is fine. The only difficulties I've ever run into is installing/updating the package using a distro-specific method. I've never hit a driver bug.
I recently switched to Linux for my daily driver. I picked Nobara. It installed, detected my card, and installed drivers. Pretty straightforward. That said, performance isn't the same. I have just been playing Elden Ring and I am getting the fps, but there's some stutter and screen tearing even with VRR active. Also, ray tracing isn't a default, you need to add some stuff to your Steam launch.
Overall if you are looking to switch, get a new drive and start Linux on that. Keep your old Windows setup. At least that worked for me. Now I only boot Windows to mod Skyrim since I haven't gotten that ironed out in Linux.
The drivers break in some way or another often, but you can recover if you are good w Linux.. if not stick with AMD.