Few days ago NVIDIA announced the launch of the new version stable of its new driver branch, NVIDIA 570.124, which introduces significant improvements and tweaks designed to optimize performance and compatibility on Wayland.
Among the new features presented in the new version, it stands outThe redesign of the nvidia-settings control panel, which now uses the NVML library instead of NV-CONTROL to manage GPU frequency and fan speed. This change ensures correct operation in Wayland environments, where the old NV-CONTROL X extension was not supported; however, some features previously available to unprivileged users now require elevated permissions.
On the other hand, in NVIDIA 570.124 Support for the Vulkan extension VK_KHR_incremental_present has also been added, improving performance in applications that use this API. For GPUs that allow software frequency overclocking, overclocking options are already enabled by default in nvidia-settings, eliminating the need to enable them manually through the “Coolbits” section.
Another notable improvement is directed to GPUs based on the Ada architecture and newer microarchitectures, in which power saving mode has been disabled for the Dumb-Buffers DRM API. This setting solve black screen problems when rendering via the front buffer instead of correctly switching using KMS. Also, the parameter "conceal_vrr_caps" has been added to the nvidia-modeset module, which allows to manage the activation of certain display features, such as LMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur), that may be incompatible with VRR.
Regarding energy management, the file /proc/driver/nvidia/gpus/*/power Now includes data on the status of Dynamic Boost technology, and the NVIDIA GBM backend features a compatibility mode for 32-bit applications. For sandbox environments, a file has been added that lists all the driver files used, facilitating integration with tools such as nvidia-container-toolkit and enroot.
By default, the parameters "nvidia-drm modeset=1" and "nvidia-drm fbdev=1" are set, causing the nvidia-drm module to replace the framebuffer-based console, which fixes output issues on single-display systems.
Also It has been introduced, although experimentally and disabled by default, a new way of handling interrupts for the display driver, which reduces stuttering on VR systems under high load; this mode can be enabled using the parameter "NVreg_RegistryDwords=RMIntrLockingMode=1" in the nvidia.ko module.
Among other technical improvements, the controller now supports compiling with the latest Linux kernel versions and specific profiles have been added to optimize performance in games such as "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle", as well as to correct screen tearing issues in "Assassin's Creed Valhalla" and "Assassin's Creed Mirage".
Performance issues have also been resolved. and freezing when scrolling through windows on Wayland systems with GSP firmware, and bugs that caused crashes have been fixed in Vulkan-based applications when handling resize events, and crashes in multi-threaded applications using OpenGL in Xwayland environments, as was the case in Civilization 6.
Of the other changes that stand out:
- New version adds support for VRR in multi-monitor setups
- Support for enabling sleep followed by hibernation via systemd has been improved.
- Added /usr/share/nvidia/files.d/sandboxutils-filelist.json which lists all driver files used by container runtimes such as nvidia-container-toolkit and enroot.
- Added support for systemd suspend-then-hibernate. This feature requires systemd version 248 or newer.
- The nvidia-drm option fbdev=1 has been enabled by default. When supported by the kernel and the nvidia-drm option modeset=1 is enabled, nvidia-drm will replace the system framebuffer console with a DRM-controlled one. This feature can be disabled by setting fbdev=0.
- Fixed a bug, introduced in 555.58, where some DVI outputs would not work with HDMI monitors.
- In Linux kernel 6.11, drm_fbdev_generic was renamed to drm_fbdev_ttm. Use drm_fbdev_ttm when present to continue supporting direct framebuffer access required for Wayland compositors to render content on newer kernels.
Finally if you want to know more about it About releasing this new version of the drivers, you can check the following link.
How to install NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu and derivatives?
To use NVIDIA drivers on Ubuntu and derivatives, you first need to identify your graphics card model and the appropriate drivers. Open a terminal and run the following command to list the NVIDIA devices on your system:
lspci | grep -i nvidia
Method 1: Using the NVIDIA repository (recommended for beginners)
This method is safer and avoids problems with the graphical session. Before you begin, make sure your system is updated with:
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade -y
Next, install the packages needed to compile kernel modules:
sudo apt install build-essential dkms
Adds NVIDIA graphics driver repository:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt update
Then install the correct driver for your graphics card. Replace XX by the driver version corresponding to your model (for example, nvidia-driver-565):
sudo apt install nvidia-graphics-drivers-565
Finally, reboot the system to apply the changes:
sudo reboot
Method 2: Download the driver from the NVIDIA website
If you prefer to install the driver manually, visit the Official NVIDIA download siteThere you can search for the appropriate driver for your graphics card, download it, and follow the installation instructions provided by NVIDIA.
Note: before carrying out any process it is important that you check the compatibility of this new driver with the configuration of your equipment (system, kernel, linux-headers, Xorg version).
Since if not, you can end up with a black screen and at no time we are responsible for it since it is your decision to do it or not.
Once you have downloaded the driver from the NVIDIA website, you should avoid conflicts with free drivers new creating a blacklist. Open the corresponding file with:
sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf
Inside the file, add the following lines to disable new:
blacklist nouveau blacklist lbm-nouveau options nouveau modeset=0 alias nouveau off alias lbm-nouveau off
Stop the graphical server
After reboot, it is necessary to stop the graphical server (graphical interface). This is done by running:
sudo init 3
If you get a black screen when you reboot or if the graphical server is already stopped, you can access a TTY terminal by pressing the keys Ctrl + Alt + F1 (o F2, depending on your settings).
Uninstall previous versions of the NVIDIA driver
If you have an older version installed, remove it to avoid conflicts by running:
sudo apt-get purge nvidia *
Install the downloaded driver
Grant execute permissions to the downloaded driver file:
sudo chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux*.run
And we execute with:
sh NVIDIA-Linux-*.run
At the end of the installation you will only have to restart your computer so that all the changes load at startup.