NVIDIA: Difference between revisions

Kernel modules from NVIDIA offer better performance than other alternatives, but make the system unfree by requiring proprietary userspace libraries that can interface with the kernel modules. Users that want to have a fully free and open-source system should use [[NVIDIA#Nouveau|Nouveau]] instead.

{{Note|Since driver version 560, you also will need to decide whether to use the open-source or proprietary modules by setting the <code>hardware.nvidia.open</code> option to either <code>true</code> or <code>false</code> respectively.<br><br>Open-source kernel modules are preferred over and planned to steadily replace proprietary modules<ref>https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-transitions-fully-towards-open-source-gpu-kernel-modules/</ref>, although they only support GPUs of the Turing architecture or newer (from GeForce RTX 20 series and GeForce GTX 16 series onwards). Data center GPUs starting from Grace Hopper or Blackwell must use open-source modules — proprietary modules are no longer supported.<br><br>Make sure to allow [[Unfree software|unfree software]] even when using the open module as the user space part of the driver is still proprietary. Other unfree NVIDIA packages include <code>nvidia-x11</code>, <code>nvidia-settings</code>, and <code>nvidia-persistenced</code>.

}}{{Warning|If you use a laptop with both dedicated and integrated GPUs, remember to [[#Hybrid_graphics_with_PRIME|configure PRIME]] in order to make your dedicated NVIDIA GPU work properly with your integrated GPU. Your configuration '''might not work''' if you skip this step.}}{{file|configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>

   hardware.nvidia.open = true; # see the note above

</nowiki>}}

GPUs of the Kepler architecture or older (most GeForce 600/700/800M cards and older) are no longer supported by latest proprietary modules. Instead, users of these GPUs must use legacy branches that may still receive updates, as long as the GPUs themselves remain supported by NVIDIA. You can find which legacy branch you need to use by searching for your GPU model on [https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/unix/legacy-gpu/ NVIDIA's official legacy driver support list].

{ config, ... }: # ← Required to get the packages used by the currently configured kernel, including drivers

PRIME, therefore, is a technology developed to facilitate the cooperation between the two GPUs and is critical for the laptop's graphical performance. Depending on your needs, you can configure PRIME in one of three modes, which have different tradeoffs in terms of performance and battery life.

All PRIME configurations require setting the PCI bus IDs of the two GPUs. One easy way to do find their IDs is by running <code>lspci</code> from the <code>pciutils</code> package, and then finding devices that are classified as VGA controllers. After double checking that the listed devices are indeed your integrated and dedicated GPUs, you can then find the PCI IDs at the beginning of each line. Exact results may vary, but an example output might look like:<syntaxhighlight lang="console">

$ nix shell nixpkgs#pciutils -c lspci -D -d ::03xx

</syntaxhighlight>Before putting them into your configuration, however, '''they must first be reformatted''' — assuming the bus address is <code><domain>:<bus>:<device>.<func></code>, convert all numbers from hexadecimal to decimal, then the formatted string is <code>PCI:<bus>@<domain>:<device>:<func></code>. They can be set under <code>intelBusId</code>, <code>nvidiaBusId</code>, or <code>amdgpuBusId</code> in <code>hardware.nvidia.prime</code>, depending on the manufacturer of the GPU:{{file|configuration.nix|nix|<nowiki>

     intelBusId = "PCI:0@0:2:0";

     nvidiaBusId = "PCI:1@0:0:0";

     # amdgpuBusId = "PCI:5@0:0:0"; # If you have an AMD iGPU

{{Note|Offload mode is available '''since NixOS 20.09 and NVIDIA driver version 435.21''', and requires an NVIDIA GPU of the Turing generation, or newer and a compatible CPU — either an Intel CPU from the Coffee Lake generation or newer, or an AMD Ryzen. Offload mode is '''incompatible''' with sync mode.}}

Offload mode puts your dGPU to sleep and lets the iGPU handle all tasks, except if you call the dGPU specifically by "offloading" an application to it. For example, you can run your laptop normally and it will use the energy-efficient iGPU all day, and then you can offload a game from Steam onto the dGPU to make the dGPU run that game only. For many, this is the most desirable option.

     intelBusId = "PCI:0@0:2:0";

     nvidiaBusId = "PCI:1@0:0:0";

     # amdgpuBusId = "PCI:5@0:0:0"; # If you have an AMD iGPU

     intelBusId = "PCI:0@0:2:0";

     nvidiaBusId = "PCI:1@0:0:0";

     # amdgpuBusId = "PCI:5@0:0:0"; # If you have an AMD iGPU

{{Note|Reverse sync mode is available '''since NixOS 23.05 and NVIDIA driver version 460.39''' and is still an experimental, buggy feature<ref>https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/the-all-new-outputsink-feature-aka-reverse-prime/129828/67</ref>. '''Your mileage may vary.''' Reverse sync mode is '''incompatible''' with sync mode and requires using a desktop manager that respects the <code>services.xserver.displayManager.setupCommands</code> option, including LightDM, GDM and SDDM.}}The difference between regular sync mode and reverse sync mode is that the '''dGPU''' is configured as the primary output device, allowing displaying to external displays wired to it and not the iGPU (more common).   

To enable reverse sync mode, set the <code>hardware.nvidia.prime.reverseSync.enable</code> option to <code>true</code>:

     intelBusId = "PCI:0@0:2:0";

     nvidiaBusId = "PCI:1@0:0:0";

     # amdgpuBusId = "PCI:5@0:0:0"; # If you have an AMD iGPU

=== Wayland ===

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The [https://github.com/NixOS/nixos-hardware nixos-hardware] project attempts to provide configurations that address specific hardware quirks for different devices. It is possible that someone already wrote a hardware configuration for your device and that usually takes care of drivers. If so, follow the upstream documentation to enable the required modules.   

   hardware.nvidia.package = config.boot.kernelPackages.nvidiaPackages.mkDriver {

If you encounter the problem of booting to text mode you might try adding the NVIDIA kernel module manually with:

 

 

 

If you have a modern NVIDIA GPU (Turing [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_(microarchitecture)#Products_using_Turing] or later), you may also want to investigate the <code>hardware.nvidia.powerManagement.finegrained</code> option: [https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/460.73.01/README/dynamicpowermanagement.html]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kernel module<code>i915</code>for Intel or<code>amdgpu</code>for AMD may interfere with the NVIDIA driver. This may result in a black screen when switching to the virtual terminal, or when exiting the X session. A possible workaround is to disable the integrated GPU by blacklisting the module, using the following configuration option (see also [https://discourse.nixos.org/t/nvidia-gpu-and-i915-kernel-module/21307/3]):

Nouveau can be disabled by blacklisting the <code>nouveau</code> kernel module:

 

Note: This is done by default when using proprietary drivers<syntaxhighlight lang="nix">