I have an Intel i7-8700K and a GTX 1080 Ti that I'm not ready to replace yet. I switched to Ubuntu about a year ago and generally liked it, although I ran into a few manageable driver issues. I'm comfortable following guides, but I'm not an advanced Linux user.
I recently wiped my system and tried Nobara, only to discover that my GTX 1080 Ti is no longer supported through its current NVIDIA driver setup. Should I abandon Nobara, or is there a straightforward way to install the necessary legacy drivers manually? If Nobara is not practical, which beginner-friendly distribution would work well with this graphics card?
3 Answers
The card can still work on Linux, but support is becoming more dependent on legacy NVIDIA drivers. On Fedora, for example, you can use the 580xx packages after enabling the required repositories: `sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia-580xx xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-580xx-cuda -y`. That said, legacy support may eventually become more difficult as newer kernels and desktop environments move on.
Nobara’s current supported-GPU list does not include the GTX 1080, so switching to another distribution is probably the least frustrating option. CachyOS and Bazzite can detect compatible NVIDIA hardware and handle the driver setup automatically. Fedora is another good choice, though you’ll need to enable the appropriate repositories and install the legacy 580-series packages manually.
That’s really helpful, thanks. I had already downloaded Bazzite, so I may just go with that instead of trying to force Nobara to work.
Replacing the NVIDIA card with a supported AMD model would likely give you the smoothest long-term Linux experience because the drivers are generally integrated into the kernel and Mesa stack. Still, if upgrading would cost more than you want to spend right now, using Bazzite, CachyOS, or Fedora with the legacy driver is a reasonable way to keep the 1080 Ti going.
Would you choose CachyOS or Bazzite for someone who wants the drivers handled with as little manual setup as possible?