Nvidia works just fine on Linux despite what anyone says. People are just upset because it’s a closed source driver. I have used Nvidia exclusively for like decades without issue. Just purchased an RTX3090ti (upgrade from a 2060) for Ollama, InvokeAI, and ComfyUi. Plus I do a lot of gaming. All of it works right out of the box with no tweaking.
My experience with Nvidia (granted, 3 years old experience):
Going with the closed source driver means stuff breaking each kernel update.
Going with the opensource driver (while it may work for you): not everything is supported.
So its not just “people being annoyed with Nvidia” i’d say.
Well, every kernel update is overstated maybe, but I had my fixed workflow of dropping to text mode and reinstalling the latest drivers from vendor, which is annoying as hell.
Dropped the card after meddling about for almost a year. Been using Linux since slackware was still hip & happening.
Keeps jumping to the latest kernel instead of the latest stable release.
Blames nvidia for not keeping up…
I’ve been on Manjaro for years and have literally NEVER had your issue. Why, because I don’t just automatically change to the latest kernel and then wonder why shit doesn’t work.
After an update, it’ll tell me if a newer kernel is available, I’ll look at it and if its a new stable release I’ll change to it with no issue because an NVIDIA update was likely included with that update.
Stop forcing early adoption on your computer and then blaming others when it fucks up your shit.
I agree. User is probably doing unsupported options. If they want to live on the bleeding edge, that is fine, but dont blame the hardware if something does not work.
I suppose if you don’t know what you’re doing - that’s true. It’s not something unique to nvidia either - it’s true of any drivers outside the kernel source. But that’s what dkms is for - it automatically handles it for you when you update your kernel.
If you don’t want to learn how the system you use works then you suffer the consequences. Or you just continue to blame nvidia for your own ignorance as I’m sure you will.
If you don’t want to learn how the system you use works then you suffer the consequences.
No consequences here. I’m perfectly happy continuing on using AMD.
you just continue to blame nvidia for your own ignorance as I’m sure you will.
It’s nothing to do with my ignorance and everything to do with me simply not want to spend hours upon hours digging through forums and entering commands that do nothing.
Why do you think AMD always work out of the box and people constantly have problems with Nvidia? Is it because they’re “ignorant” or because it’s unnecessarily convoluted?
No consequences here. I’m perfectly happy continuing on using AMD.
Sure - and you’re limited to systems that use an AMD chip. Consequences. I’m sure you justify this to yourself though.
Why do you think AMD always work out of the box and people constantly have problems with Nvidia? Is it because they’re “ignorant” or because it’s unnecessarily convoluted?
I don’t think - I know. Because one is integrated with the kernel and built and distributed with it and the other is a separate module. This isn’t something unique to nvidia either - my system has modules from system76 as well as v4l2loopback that are also compiled separately.
But since I install my packages using “apt” they are all managed by dkms and I don’t need to worry about it. Because I took a few minutes to learn about how my computer works.
I’ve tried a 3060 as well, which was a nightmare too. Although that was in a laptop so I’m not sure if that’s a laptop-specific thing.
I doubt it though, since every other update would render it unbootable, and there was excessive flickering, both of which also happened with the 1080 Ti.
I do know that AMD “just works”, though.
Nvidia needs to seriously improve before they’re right for a typical Linux user.
Shit, Valve’s new big picture mode was delayed for like a year because it was unusable on Nvidia hardware. Doesn’t exactly sound bug-free to me mate.
I think it would make sense to actually specify what you mean by nightmare and on what disto to make an argument. Many people have 30xx GPU and they all use the same driver too and if it works for them (same card, same driver) that means it might not be a NVIDIA issue but a distro/setup issue. Don’t expect a proper counter argument if you don’t make a proper argument. I use a laptop similar to OP’s question and the GPU is sleeping all the time because it uses Intel’s integrated GPU for generic tasks, dGPU only wakes up for Vulkan or CUDA tasks like gaming and AI. I don’t remember when was the last time NVIDIA broke the boot process but it was at least 5 years ago back when I was still using Arch and init.d and it was an Arch problem for pushing a kernel which was incompatible with NVIDIA driver and not specifying version compatibility. The GTX 2060 is supported by the opensource kernel driver so that cannot be an issue either anymore. On the other hand I also have a AMD card which does not support hardware acceleration on Fedora by default because of mesa and I have to swap packages to add support which breaks dnf sometimes. So should I hate AMD now?
Nvidia’s issues on Linux are very well documented… even by the inventor of Linux himself. I didn’t realise I had to bring receipts.
As for what do I mean by nightmare, I already said. It would break after updates, I had constant flickering, stuttering, and artefacts. No it wasn’t a hardware issue. They’re Nvidia driver issues.
To me, that’s a nightmare. I need my machine to function, and with Nvidia, it couldn’t.
People are just upset because it’s a closed source driver.
Absolute nonsense. I’ve attempted to install them on several Nvidia devices with no success. Even distros that explicitly state Nvidia support out of the box. Could I have made it work? Maybe. Do I have time to fuck with it? No. Just get AMD and be guaranteed it’ll work. Why bother?
Just because you’ve had a different experience doesn’t invalidate others’.
I have no idea how you are having trouble with this. Are you using some weird disto or something bleeding edge? Like with Ubuntu, select “use proprietary drivers” and it always works. NixOS works fine too without hassle.
I’ve had lots of problems with Nvidia over the years; you’re lucky not to. Latest has been with Wayland which are ongoing. That being said Nvidia drivers are much better generally than they used to be, and I’ve not had the myriad of small issues I used to get.
This is less to do with them being closed source drivers so much as their drivers being poorly maintained in the past. They seem much better maintained but even now the software support lags behind windows - you have to use 3rd party open source software to make use of the streaming features for example.
Nvidia works just fine on Linux despite what anyone says. People are just upset because it’s a closed source driver. I have used Nvidia exclusively for like decades without issue. Just purchased an RTX3090ti (upgrade from a 2060) for Ollama, InvokeAI, and ComfyUi. Plus I do a lot of gaming. All of it works right out of the box with no tweaking.
My experience with Nvidia (granted, 3 years old experience):
Going with the closed source driver means stuff breaking each kernel update. Going with the opensource driver (while it may work for you): not everything is supported.
So its not just “people being annoyed with Nvidia” i’d say.
What distro are you using if nvidia breaks after every kernel update? What do you need to do to fix the breakage?
Debian.
Well, every kernel update is overstated maybe, but I had my fixed workflow of dropping to text mode and reinstalling the latest drivers from vendor, which is annoying as hell.
Dropped the card after meddling about for almost a year. Been using Linux since slackware was still hip & happening.
Installing
nvidia-driver
package wasn’t enough?https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers#Installation
Keeps jumping to the latest kernel instead of the latest stable release.
Blames nvidia for not keeping up…
I’ve been on Manjaro for years and have literally NEVER had your issue. Why, because I don’t just automatically change to the latest kernel and then wonder why shit doesn’t work.
After an update, it’ll tell me if a newer kernel is available, I’ll look at it and if its a new stable release I’ll change to it with no issue because an NVIDIA update was likely included with that update.
Stop forcing early adoption on your computer and then blaming others when it fucks up your shit.
I agree. User is probably doing unsupported options. If they want to live on the bleeding edge, that is fine, but dont blame the hardware if something does not work.
Did you use your package manager and dkms? You need to recompile the driver hook with each kernel update.
I’ve had Nvidia cards since the Riva TNT2 and it’s been reasonably smooth sailing… 🤷♂️
That doesn’t sound remotely like “smooth sailing”…
Literally just follow the distro instructions. Even NixOS works fine.
That literally doesn’t work.
I suppose if you don’t know what you’re doing - that’s true. It’s not something unique to nvidia either - it’s true of any drivers outside the kernel source. But that’s what dkms is for - it automatically handles it for you when you update your kernel.
If you don’t want to learn how the system you use works then you suffer the consequences. Or you just continue to blame nvidia for your own ignorance as I’m sure you will.
No consequences here. I’m perfectly happy continuing on using AMD.
It’s nothing to do with my ignorance and everything to do with me simply not want to spend hours upon hours digging through forums and entering commands that do nothing.
Why do you think AMD always work out of the box and people constantly have problems with Nvidia? Is it because they’re “ignorant” or because it’s unnecessarily convoluted?
Sure - and you’re limited to systems that use an AMD chip. Consequences. I’m sure you justify this to yourself though.
I don’t think - I know. Because one is integrated with the kernel and built and distributed with it and the other is a separate module. This isn’t something unique to nvidia either - my system has modules from system76 as well as v4l2loopback that are also compiled separately.
But since I install my packages using “apt” they are all managed by dkms and I don’t need to worry about it. Because I took a few minutes to learn about how my computer works.
Once again, not a consequence.
You know…what?
My guy, I don’t even know what these words mean. And with AMD, I don’t have to become a software engineer. It just works.
This is the literal definition of a consequence. 🤣
Fucking hell…
Not anymore, at least if you not use an outdated distro 😜
I’ll interpret this as “it worked for you”. It did not work for me.
It did not 3 years ago, what kernel was latest then? This is lake ages ago.
Man I wish my time with Nvidia was as easy as you claim it to be.
I had a 1080 Ti that I was forced to sell because Nvidia drivers made my PC unusable.
The performance drop going from a 1080 Ti to a RX 580 was huge, but it was well worth it for a system that would actually work reliably.
A lot has changed since 1080…
I’ve tried a 3060 as well, which was a nightmare too. Although that was in a laptop so I’m not sure if that’s a laptop-specific thing.
I doubt it though, since every other update would render it unbootable, and there was excessive flickering, both of which also happened with the 1080 Ti.
I do know that AMD “just works”, though.
Nvidia needs to seriously improve before they’re right for a typical Linux user.
Shit, Valve’s new big picture mode was delayed for like a year because it was unusable on Nvidia hardware. Doesn’t exactly sound bug-free to me mate.
😂I would love to travel to you to show that it works
Except, as I and others are telling you, it doesn’t “just work”.
A crying-laughing emoji is not a counter-argument.
I think it would make sense to actually specify what you mean by nightmare and on what disto to make an argument. Many people have 30xx GPU and they all use the same driver too and if it works for them (same card, same driver) that means it might not be a NVIDIA issue but a distro/setup issue. Don’t expect a proper counter argument if you don’t make a proper argument. I use a laptop similar to OP’s question and the GPU is sleeping all the time because it uses Intel’s integrated GPU for generic tasks, dGPU only wakes up for Vulkan or CUDA tasks like gaming and AI. I don’t remember when was the last time NVIDIA broke the boot process but it was at least 5 years ago back when I was still using Arch and init.d and it was an Arch problem for pushing a kernel which was incompatible with NVIDIA driver and not specifying version compatibility. The GTX 2060 is supported by the opensource kernel driver so that cannot be an issue either anymore. On the other hand I also have a AMD card which does not support hardware acceleration on Fedora by default because of mesa and I have to swap packages to add support which breaks dnf sometimes. So should I hate AMD now?
Debian, Fedora, EndeavourOS (arch).
Nvidia’s issues on Linux are very well documented… even by the inventor of Linux himself. I didn’t realise I had to bring receipts.
As for what do I mean by nightmare, I already said. It would break after updates, I had constant flickering, stuttering, and artefacts. No it wasn’t a hardware issue. They’re Nvidia driver issues.
To me, that’s a nightmare. I need my machine to function, and with Nvidia, it couldn’t.
Absolute nonsense. I’ve attempted to install them on several Nvidia devices with no success. Even distros that explicitly state Nvidia support out of the box. Could I have made it work? Maybe. Do I have time to fuck with it? No. Just get AMD and be guaranteed it’ll work. Why bother?
Just because you’ve had a different experience doesn’t invalidate others’.
I have no idea how you are having trouble with this. Are you using some weird disto or something bleeding edge? Like with Ubuntu, select “use proprietary drivers” and it always works. NixOS works fine too without hassle.
I have no idea how you’re not having trouble with this.
You’re assuming that it “always” happens because it happens for you. It simply does not. Everyone in this thread agreeing with me is not just stupid.
I’ve had lots of problems with Nvidia over the years; you’re lucky not to. Latest has been with Wayland which are ongoing. That being said Nvidia drivers are much better generally than they used to be, and I’ve not had the myriad of small issues I used to get.
This is less to do with them being closed source drivers so much as their drivers being poorly maintained in the past. They seem much better maintained but even now the software support lags behind windows - you have to use 3rd party open source software to make use of the streaming features for example.