Best Linux Distro for Nvidia GeForce 405 with Legacy Driver Support

Just a heads-up: even if you manage to get the Nvidia v340 drivers working, keep in mind that your GPU doesn't support Vulkan, so you won’t be able to use DXVK for gaming.

Finding a distro that works out of the box for your setup might be a bit tricky, especially since many are moving to Wayland. If you’re open to some configuration, Arch Linux could be a great choice. The installation process allows you to choose between different Nvidia driver options, and I recently got it working on an old Quadro card pretty smoothly.

Big Linux has a dedicated section for downloading drivers which might be quite beneficial for you. After installation, take a look at the Big Linux tools; they offer a pretty amazing experience for handling old hardware.

CachyOS is another distro you might want to consider; they still keep legacy support for older cards. I believe it’s available in their LTS version, so it could be worth checking out.

You might want to check out Debian Unstable! It still has support for legacy Nvidia drivers, specifically the 340 version, which you’ll need since your card isn’t supported by the newer 390 driver. You can install Debian Testing and add the Unstable repositories, making sure to include the nonfree section where the Nvidia drivers are located.