I've been diving into graphics drivers for my NVIDIA 4090 while running Arch Linux, and I'm stuck trying to figure out if I should stick with the proprietary drivers (nvidia-dkms) or switch to the open-source ones. I've heard that open drivers are better for newer cards, but I'm not clear on what the real benefits or differences would be for an everyday user like myself. Can anyone break this down for me?
5 Answers
I vote for the proprietary drivers. They generally offer better performance, especially for gaming. If that’s your focus, you might notice a real difference!
I'd recommend sticking with the proprietary drivers, but make sure you set everything up correctly first. What kind of configuration do you have going on right now? Also, do you have any specific apps or games you want to use it for? That might change things up a bit.
The open and proprietary drivers are both officially supported by NVIDIA. However, for GPUs since the Turing architecture (like the 1650 and 20xx series), the open-source driver is encouraged. Just keep in mind that Blackwell is only supported by the open driver.
There's definitely a performance boost with the proprietary drivers, especially if gaming is your thing. It's worth considering the switch if that's your main use case.
When the 5090s launched, I had to use the proprietary server version to get everything working, but for the 4090, it shouldn’t be as big of a deal. Others might have more info, though.
So does that mean I should plan on moving to open just to keep things future-proof? I’ve been on proprietary and it works fine, but I like the idea of smoother transitions.