Hey everyone! I'm considering switching back to Linux after a not-so-great experience before. The main issue I faced was with my Nvidia Quadro K2000 graphics card. Initially, everything worked fine, with support for both of my monitors. But at one point, it just stopped rendering on my main DisplayPort monitor and only worked on my smaller DVI monitor.
Now, with Windows pushing me to upgrade to Windows 11 (which my PC can't handle and I'm not keen on), I'm eager to give Linux another shot. However, I'm worried about the same GPU issues cropping up again. I'm primarily using open-source software, and Valve has made gaming more accessible on Linux, so I'm not too concerned there. But of course, I need my monitors to work! I've also got some hardware from smaller companies that mostly offers only Windows/Mac drivers and a few tricky ones that I'll need to work with.
Could anyone suggest which distros might be friendly for my setup? I'd prefer something that's not overly terminal-focused, though I don't mind using the terminal when needed. Any tips or resources for dealing with driver issues for less common hardware would also be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
Your Quadro K2000 should work with the nvidia-470 driver, which is available on Ubuntu 24.04, Linux Mint, and Debian 12. I’d recommend avoiding Wayland since it's known to cause issues. Try using desktop environments like KDE 5, Cinnamon, Xfce, or LXQt instead; they usually play nice with older Nvidia cards.
If you’re looking for a hassle-free experience, Linux Mint is a great choice as it usually works well with Nvidia cards right out of the box. But if you are feeling adventurous and want to explore different options, you might consider trying a thumb drive with Ventoy. Load different ISO images on it and see which distro you like best—Ubuntu, Fedora, and Debian are worth considering too!
Definitely steer clear of Wayland; stick with X11 for the smoothest experience with your Nvidia card. Mint or Pop!_OS are solid picks—they’re user-friendly and tend to have fewer issues with drivers. Also, don’t hesitate to explore various desktop environments to find what you like best!
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