Graphics Drivers

Mesa

List of Drivers

Mesa is a library that provides a unified collection of open source graphics drivers for UNIX-like operating systems.

Vulkan

Vendor

Driver

Minimum Hardware

Vulkan Version

Official

AMD

radv

GCN

1.3

No

Intel

anv

Gen 7

1.3

Yes

NVIDIA [19]

nvk

Turing

Partial 1.0

No

Apple [20]

honeykrisp

M1

1.3

No

Broadcom

v3dv

VC5

1.2

Yes

Mali

panvk

Valhall [16]

Partial 1.0 [17]

No

Qualcomm

tu (Turnip)

Adreno 6XX*

1.3

No

* Adreno 650 and newer GPUs provide the best Vulkan support. The Turnip driver will run on older Adreno 6XX series hardware but their support is incomplete. [14][15]

OpenGL

Vendor

Driver

Minimum Hardware

OpenGL Version

OpenGL ES Version

Official

AMD

radeonsi

Southern Island

4.6

3.2

Yes

Intel

i965

Gen 8

4.6

3.2

Yes

NVIDIA

nouveau/nv<NUMBER>

Riva TNT

4.5

3.1

No

Apple

agx

M1

Partial 2.1 [18]

Partial 2.0 [18]

No

Broadcom

v3d

VC5

(None)

3.1

Yes

Mali

panfrost

Midgard v4

3.1

3.1

No

Qualcomm

freedreno

Adreno A2XX

4.5

3.2

No

[11][12][13]

AMD

AMD provides an open source driver that is part of the Linux kernel. For the best experience, use the latest development versions of the Linux kernel, Mesa, and LLVM. Compared to the open source driver, the AMDGPU-Pro proprietary driver provides a more stable interface with full OpenGL and Vulkan capabilities.

Installation

Proprietary (AMDGPU-Pro)

Supported operating systems:

  • CentOS 8

  • RHEL 8

  • Ubuntu 18.04

  • SLED/SLES 15

[7]

SUSE Linux Enterprise

The Enterprise Desktop, Enterprise Server, and openSUSE Leap variants are all supported.

  • Enable the stable kernel repository. Install Linux >= 5.4 and latest linux-firmware for the best stability with Navi cards. Linux 5.5 is required for overclocking support on Navi cards. [9]

  • Download the latest driver for the graphics card by putting in the product details here.

  • Extract the driver archive and run the amdgpu-pro-install script to install a local repository of the RPMs.

  • Install the required packages: zypper install amdgpu-pro libgl-amdgpu-pro vulkan-amdgpu-pro.

  • Reboot.

[8]

NVIDIA

Installation

Open Source

Block Proprietary Drivers

By blocking the proprietary NVIDIA graphics drivers, the open source Linux kernel modules should be loaded instead. [24]

$ sudo -E ${EDITOR} /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia-blacklist.conf
blacklist nvidia
blacklist nvidiafb
blacklist nvidia_drm
# NVIDIA USB-C driver.
blacklist i2c_nvidia_gpu

Proprietary

Redistribution

As of NVIDIA proprietary driver version 535.43.02, both the Linux kernel driver and the GSP firmware binary are allowed to be redistributed by anyone. Before this, operating system maintainers required explicit written permission from NVIDIA to distribute these files. [21][22] The GSP firmware will also allow the open source drivers to perform better. They will have the ability to support newer hardware and run them at higher clock speeds while gaming or lower clock speeds while idle. [23]

Install NVIDIA GPU firmware:

  • Arch Linux

    $ sudo pacman -S linux-firmware

  • Debian (requires the non-free-firmware repository to be enabled) [26]

    $ sudo apt-get install firmware-misc-nonfree

  • Fedora [27]

    $ sudo dnf install nvidia-gpu-firmware
Services

As of NVIDIA driver version 550, these services need to be enabled to prevent crashes on a laptop. [25]

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-hibernate nvidia-persistenced nvidia-powerd nvidia-resume nvidia-suspend
Fedora

If the official NVIDIA installer was originally used then those libraries need to be cleaned up.

$ sudo rm -f /usr/lib{,64}/libGL.so.* /usr/lib{,64}/libEGL.so.*
$ sudo rm -f /usr/lib{,64}/xorg/modules/extensions/libglx.so
$ sudo dnf reinstall xorg-x11-server-Xorg mesa-libGL mesa-libEGL libglvnd\*
$ sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.saved

The the unofficial NVIDIA driver RPMs can be installed. Starting with Fedora 27 [2], the RPMFusion repository can be officially enabled and used to manage the driver.

$ sudo dnf install fedora-workstation-repositories
$ sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled rpmfusion-nonfree-nvidia-driver
$ sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia akmod-nvidia vdpauinfo libva-vdpau-driver libva-utils vulkan

[1][2]

Block Open Source Drivers

The proprietary drivers provide the best performance. It is possible for the open source drivers to load up first. That would prevent the proprietary driver from being able to load and bind to the NVIDIA graphics card. Block the open source driver from being able to load. [3]

$ sudo -E ${EDITOR} /etc/modprobe.d/nouveau-blacklist.conf
blacklist nova
blacklist nouveau
blacklist rivafb
blacklist nvidiafb
blacklist rivatv
blacklist nv
blacklist uvcvideo

nvidia-xrun

This is an unofficial utility for running an application or window manager on a different TTY that uses the dedicated NVIDIA graphics card. This is useful for laptops as it removes the need to deal with NVIDIA Optimus technology, provides a way to run games that require the Vulkan library, and fields better performance.

Install the NVIDIA graphics driver, Bumblebee, OpenBox (openbox and obmenu packages), and nvidia-xrun. Bumblebee is optionally used to turn the graphics card off and on. OpenBox is the most common window manager to use.

Configure bbswitch kernel module from Bumblebee to handle power management of the NVIDIA card. File: /etc/modprobe.d/bbswitch.conf.

bbswitch
options bbswitch load_state=0 unload_state=1

Set nvidia-xrun to launch OpenBox.

$ echo "openbox-session" >> ~/.nvidia-xinitrc

Switch to a free TTY. This is normally done in Linux by pressing CTRL + ALT + F2. Log in and then run nvidia-xrun. OpenBox will now be running with full access to the NVIDIA graphics card.

[4][10]

optimus-manager (Arch Linux and Manjaro Linux)

optimus-manager provides an easy way to change the graphics card in use on a laptop.

$ yay -S optimus-manager
$ sudo systemctl start optimus-manager

Temporarily switch the primary graphics card mode (this will restart the Xorg session):

$ optimus-manager --switch [intel|nvidia|hybrid]

Or change it on the next boot (this way is more reliable):

$ optimus-manager --set-startup [intel|nvidia|hybrid]

For using a HDMI port, the laptop must be in the nvidia mode.

[5]

With NVIDIA version >= 435 drivers and Xorg >= 1.20.6, the hybrid mode supports GPU offloading. This means the integrated Intel graphics can be used for power efficiency until the dedicated NVIDIA GPU is required for gaming or productivity. The example below offloads graphical power to the NVIDIA GPU for Vulkan and OpenGL while running Steam. [6]

$ __NV_PRIME_RENDER_OFFLOAD=1 __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=nvidia steam

History

Bibliography

  1. “Howto NVIDIA.” RPM Fusion. May 28, 2018. Accessed October 7, 2018. https://rpmfusion.org/Howto/NVIDIA

  2. “New third-party repositories - easily install Chrome & Steam on Fedora.” Fedora Magazine. April 27, 2018. Accessed October 7, 2018. https://fedoramagazine.org/third-party-repositories-fedora/

  3. “blacklisting nouveau driver.” Arch Linux Forums. March 20, 2021. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=213042

  4. “DesktopEnvironment.” Debian Wiki. June 7, 2018. Accessed November 26, 2018. https://wiki.debian.org/DesktopEnvironment

  5. “NVIDIA Optimus.” ArchWiki. October 28, 2019. Accessed November 20, 2019. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus#Using_optimus-manager

  6. “Manjaro Gaming with Nvidia Offloading & D3 Power Managment.” Reddit r/linux_gaming. September 28, 2019. Accessed November 20, 2019. https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/dac4bc/manjaro_gaming_with_nvidia_offloading_d3_power/

  7. “Radeo Software for Linux 19.30 Release Notes.” AMD. November 5, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/rn-rad-lin-19-30-unified

  8. “SDB:AMDGPU-PRO.” openSUSE Wiki. July 17, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:AMDGPU-PRO

  9. “AMD OverDrive Overclocking To Finally Work For Radeon Navi GPUs With Linux 5.5 Kernel.” Phoronix. November 16, 2019. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-5.5-AMD-Navi-Overclocking

  10. “nvidia-xrun.” Arch Linux Wiki. Accessed November 4, 2018. September 11, 2018. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/nvidia-xrun

  11. “Home.” The Mesa 3D Graphics Library. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://www.mesa3d.org/

  12. “Platforms and Drivers.” The Mesa 3D Graphics Library latest documentation. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://docs.mesa3d.org/systems.html

  13. “Mesamatrix.” The Mesa drivers matrix. February 6, 2023. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://mesamatrix.net/

  14. “How To Guide Getting Freedreno Turnip (Mesa Vulkan Driver) on a Poco F3.” XDA Forums. February 15, 2022. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/getting-freedreno-turnip-mesa-vulkan-driver-on-a-poco-f3.4323871/page-3#post-86420275

  15. “Mesa’s Turnip Now Advertises Vulkan 1.3 Support.” Phoronix Forums. September 22, 2022. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://www.phoronix.com/forums/forum/linux-graphics-x-org-drivers/vulkan/1347399-mesa-s-turnip-now-advertises-vulkan-1-3-support?p=1347507#post1347507

  16. “panvk: Drop support for Midgard.” GitLab Mesa/mesa. February 20, 2023. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/-/merge_requests/16915

  17. “panvk: Stop advertising Vulkan 1.1.” freedesktop.org git repository browser. March 14, 2022. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://cgit.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa/commit/?id=a35e721162bb7dad087e75fd07fec08bc635dc96

  18. “Apple GPU drivers now in Asahi Linux.” Alyssa Rosenzweig. December 7, 2022. Accessed March 14, 2023. https://rosenzweig.io/blog/asahi-gpu-part-7.html

  19. “Introducing NVK.” Collabora News & Blog. October 4, 2022. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.collabora.com/news-and-blog/news-and-events/introducing-nvk.html

  20. “Vulkan 1.3 on the M1 in 1 month.” Rosenzweig. June 5, 2024. Accessed June 5, 2024. https://rosenzweig.io/blog/vk13-on-the-m1-in-1-month.html

  21. “NVIDIA Cleans Up GSP Firmware Binary License.” Phoronix. May 31, 2023. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.phoronix.com/news/NVIDIA-GSP-Firmware-License

  22. “License For Customer Use of NVIDIA Software.” NVIDIA. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.nvidia.com/content/DriverDownloads/licence.php?lang=us

  23. “NVK update: Enabling new extensions, conformance status & more.” Collabora. June 26, 2023. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://www.collabora.com/news-and-blog/news-and-events/nvk-update-enabling-new-extensions-conformance-status-more.html

  24. “Problem with GPU Passthrough.” Proxmox Support Forum. January 29, 2023. Accessed May 2, 2024. https://forum.proxmox.com/threads/problem-with-gpu-passthrough.55918/page-4

  25. “You may want to avoid NVIDIA driver 550 if you’re on a laptop.” GamingOnLinux. June 11, 2024. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/06/you-may-want-to-avoid-nvidia-driver-550-if-youre-on-a-laptop/page=1/#r264670

  26. “NVIDIA Proprietary Driver.” Debian Wiki. September 19, 2024. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers

  27. “How to Install nVidia drivers in Fedora.” Linux.org. February 12, 2024. Accessed September 23, 2024. https://www.linux.org/threads/how-to-install-nvidia-drivers-in-fedora.48635/