NVIDIA GPU Linux driver switching guide

nvidia-gpu-linux-driver-switching-guide.md

NVIDIA GPU Linux Driver Switching Guide

Overview

This guide covers switching between NVIDIA's proprietary driver and the open-source Nouveau driver on Ubuntu/Debian-based systems.

Driver Types

Proprietary NVIDIA Driver

• Pros: Best performance, CUDA support, full feature set, power management
• Cons: Closed-source, potential compatibility issues with kernel updates
• Use cases: Gaming, ML/AI workloads, professional graphics work

Nouveau Driver

• Pros: Open-source, built into kernel, better Wayland support, no licensing concerns
• Cons: Lower performance, limited power management, no CUDA support
• Use cases: Basic desktop use, troubleshooting, avoiding proprietary software

Checking Current Status

Check GPU Hardware

lspci | grep -i vga
lspci | grep -i nvidia

Check Currently Loaded Driver

lsmod | grep -E "(nvidia|nouveau)"

Check NVIDIA Driver Status

nvidia-smi
# Or check version
cat /proc/driver/nvidia/version

Check Display Driver in Use

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"
# Or
inxi -G

Installing and Switching to Nouveau

Method 1: Ubuntu Driver Manager (GUI)

1. Open "Software & Updates"
2. Go to "Additional Drivers" tab
3. Select "Using X.Org X server -- Nouveau" driver
4. Click "Apply Changes"
5. Reboot system

Method 2: Command Line

# Remove NVIDIA proprietary driver
sudo apt purge nvidia-* libnvidia-*

# Update package database
sudo apt update

# Install Nouveau (usually already included)
sudo apt install xserver-xorg-video-nouveau

# Regenerate initramfs
sudo update-initramfs -u

# Reboot
sudo reboot

Method 3: Blacklist NVIDIA Driver

# Create blacklist file
sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nvidia.conf

# Add these lines:
blacklist nvidia
blacklist nvidia-drm
blacklist nvidia-modeset
blacklist nvidia-uvm
alias nvidia off
alias nvidia-drm off
alias nvidia-modeset off
alias nvidia-uvm off

# Update initramfs and reboot
sudo update-initramfs -u
sudo reboot

Installing NVIDIA Proprietary Driver

Method 1: Ubuntu Driver Manager (GUI)

1. Open "Software & Updates"
2. Go to "Additional Drivers" tab
3. Select recommended NVIDIA driver (usually highest version)
4. Click "Apply Changes"
5. Reboot system

Method 2: Auto-install Recommended Driver

# Install recommended driver automatically
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

# Or list available drivers first
ubuntu-drivers devices

# Install specific version
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535  # Replace with desired version

Method 3: Official NVIDIA Repository

# Add NVIDIA package repository
wget https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/ubuntu2204/x86_64/cuda-keyring_1.0-1_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i cuda-keyring_1.0-1_all.deb
sudo apt update

# Install driver
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-535  # Latest stable version

Method 4: Manual Installation (Advanced)

# Download driver from NVIDIA website
# Make runfile executable and run
chmod +x NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-*.run
sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-*.run

Switching Between Drivers

Quick Switch Script

Create a script to easily switch:

#!/bin/bash
# save as switch-gpu-driver.sh

case "$1" in
    nvidia)
        echo "Switching to NVIDIA proprietary driver..."
        sudo rm -f /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nvidia.conf
        sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
        ;;
    nouveau)
        echo "Switching to Nouveau driver..."
        sudo apt purge nvidia-* libnvidia-*
        sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nvidia.conf << EOF
blacklist nvidia
blacklist nvidia-drm
blacklist nvidia-modeset
blacklist nvidia-uvm
EOF
        ;;
    *)
        echo "Usage: $0 {nvidia|nouveau}"
        exit 1
        ;;
esac

sudo update-initramfs -u
echo "Reboot required to complete driver switch"

Using nvidia-prime (For Laptops with Hybrid Graphics)

# Install nvidia-prime
sudo apt install nvidia-prime

# Switch to NVIDIA
sudo prime-select nvidia

# Switch to Intel/AMD integrated graphics
sudo prime-select intel

# Check current selection
prime-select query

Compatibility Check

Nouveau Compatibility

Nouveau supports most NVIDIA cards but with limitations:

• Full support: GeForce 8 and newer (Tesla, Fermi, Kepler, Maxwell, Pascal)
• Limited support: Turing, Ampere (RTX 20/30 series) - basic display only
• No support: Ada Lovelace (RTX 40 series) - very limited

Check Nouveau Support for Your GPU

# Check GPU codename
lspci -v | grep -A 12 VGA

# Visit nouveau.freedesktop.org/FeatureMatrix.html for compatibility

Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Solutions

Black Screen After Driver Switch

# Boot into recovery mode or TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F2)
# Reinstall display manager
sudo apt install --reinstall gdm3  # or lightdm/sddm

# Regenerate X11 config
sudo nvidia-xconfig  # for NVIDIA
# or remove xorg.conf for Nouveau
sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Performance Issues with Nouveau

# Enable GPU reclocking (experimental)
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
# Add to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT:
nouveau.pstate=1

sudo update-grub
sudo reboot

NVIDIA Driver Won't Load

# Check secure boot status
mokutil --sb-state

# If secure boot is enabled, sign the driver or disable secure boot
# Disable secure boot in BIOS/UEFI settings

Wayland Issues with NVIDIA

# Enable Wayland support for NVIDIA (driver 495+)
sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
# Uncomment: WaylandEnable=true

# Add kernel parameters
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
# Add: nvidia-drm.modeset=1

Performance Comparison

Benchmarking Commands

# OpenGL performance
glxgears -info

# Detailed GPU info
glxinfo | grep -E "(OpenGL vendor|OpenGL renderer|OpenGL version)"

# Gaming benchmarks
sudo apt install mesa-utils
# Run specific game benchmarks or synthetic tests

System Configuration Files

Important Locations

• /etc/modprobe.d/ - Driver blacklist files
• /etc/X11/xorg.conf - X11 configuration
• /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/ - X11 config snippets
• /var/log/Xorg.0.log - X11 log file

Backup Important Configs

# Before making changes
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup
sudo cp -r /etc/modprobe.d/ /etc/modprobe.d.backup/

Final Notes

• Always reboot after driver changes
• Keep a live USB handy for recovery
• Test thoroughly after switching
• Consider your use case when choosing drivers
• Nouveau is improving but still lags behind proprietary drivers for performance

For the latest information, check:

• Ubuntu documentation
• NVIDIA developer documentation
• Nouveau project website
• Your specific GPU's compatibility matrix