Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

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jameskga
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Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by jameskga »

Hello, I have a GTX 770 on my desktop PC, and - although I don't play games on this PC - I've been using Mint Xfce 18.3 as the main OS, simply because it has a driver manager that lets me upgrade to the latest graphics driver provided by Nvidia, and LMDE does not.

I know my graphics card works, because I run my monitor into it. But is my graphics card actually doing what it's supposed to be doing without the proprietary driver, or is the graphics card not "pulling its weight" in that it is being used either a) inefficiently, b) not to its capacity, or c) not at all (with the exception of passing a signal from the PC to monitor)?
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by catweazel »

jameskga wrote: Sat May 12, 2018 1:34 am Hello, I have a GTX 770 on my desktop PC, and - although I don't play games on this PC - I've been using Mint Xfce 18.3 as the main OS, simply because it has a driver manager that lets me upgrade to the latest graphics driver provided by Nvidia, and LMDE does not.

I know my graphics card works, because I run my monitor into it. But is my graphics card actually doing what it's supposed to be doing without the proprietary driver, or is the graphics card not "pulling its weight" in that it is being used either a) inefficiently, b) not to its capacity, or c) not at all (with the exception of passing a signal from the PC to monitor)?
Using the proprietary driver allows you to take better advantage of an advanced nVidia card's power. My opinion is that the open source driver is rather weak, and, as you put it, is not capable of making the card 'pull its weight'. Additionally, xorg video compositors usually don't provide sufficient tweaks to reduce tearing in the open source driver, but with a decent nVidia card and the proprietary driver, it's fairly straightforward to put the card into high power mode and avoid all tearing.
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by kevinthefixer »

But you don't need a "driver manager" to install and use the proprietary Nvidia driver. Install the nvidia-detect package and run it; it should find and identify your card, and recommend the proper driver package to install. You probably won't get the absolute latest, as any such package must first undergo Debian's stringent testing standards, then get passed down to LMDE2. But it does get you the Nvidia proprietary driver, and there is a GUI settings tool. But first answer the question, do you need it? Are you experiencing the "screen tearing" issue? What problem are you trying to cure? For most people, the open-source Noveau driver is quite adequate.
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by jameskga »

Hey dudes. Thanks for the answers. Very helpful!

To answer your question, Kevin, I got screen-tearing on this PC even with the appropriate driver, but I think switching a Compton setting fixed that. Without using any proprietary drivers on my laptop, however, I live with permanent screen-tearing (newer AMD integrated chip).

Your response, by the way, is somewhat confusing and perhaps someone might clarify my observation:
kevinthefixer wrote: Sat May 12, 2018 5:31 pm You probably won't get the absolute latest, as any such package must first undergo Debian's stringent testing standards, then get passed down to LMDE2.
That makes sense. However, I was already doing my own research when you responded, and I found that my current driver on Mint 18.3 Xfce is labeled nvidia-384 (recommended). Specifically, I'm using version 384.111. And when I look at Debian's NvidiaGraphicsDrivers page, which I'll link here, I see that the latest driver being offered is 390.48 via stretch-backports whatever that means [https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsD ... Stretch.22] (Note that I am looking at the "Stretch" release because I'm anticipating the release of LMDE3 and not actively working with LMDE2).

Am I reading this wrong? I don't understand what stretch-backports means (nor backports in any other context, despite using backports myself to get a Qualcomm wifi card working under 17.3), but I do feel like I understand version 390.48 must be later than what's offered in the Driver Manager in Mint 18.3. Could this be owed to the fact Mint only pushes updates that have been tested by the team, whereas Debian is offering the latest based on what's out there and what they're able to test (which could, incidentally, be faster than Mint in some instances)?

Thanks for reading and helping. You guys are great.
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by bustersid »

Hi jameskga,

i had the same problems with LMDE2, since this dist is only providing Nvidia driver till 340 Version from jessie/stable, which do not support my TITAN X.

My way to solve it, where these steps.

1.enable 32bit compatibility for NVIDIA run file
sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
ia32-libs is replaced by -> lib32z1 lib32ncurses5
sudo apt install lib32z1 lib32ncurses5

2. download latest geforce drivers run file from here http://http.download.nvidia.com/XFree86 ... 64/396.24/
3. sudo apt-get install build-essential
3. reboot to recovery mode or go to console CTRL+ALT+F1 and service mdm stop
4. cd /home/YourUserName/Downloads
5. sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-3xx.xx.run
6. answer "Yes" to any question the installer will ask now
7. when finished reboot machine with "reboot" or service mdm start && exit

That's all.

i forgot to mention to uninstall all related nvidia packages that where installed by this distri before.
dpkg --list| grep -i nvidia will help you to sort them out and apt purge "package" to kick them off.
Last edited by bustersid on Mon May 14, 2018 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by Flemur »

jameskga wrote: Sat May 12, 2018 1:34 amI know my graphics card works, because I run my monitor into it. But is my graphics card actually doing what it's supposed to be doing without the proprietary driver, or is the graphics card not "pulling its weight" in that it is being used either a) inefficiently, b) not to its capacity, or c) not at all (with the exception of passing a signal from the PC to monitor)?
FWIW, I have an older GS8400 and don't see any real-world difference between the nouveau (generic) driver and the nvidia driver, including watching videos and playing the old "Doom 2" (though with fancier hi-res games there might be more difference). There is a difference, but I have to look for it: nouveau = 10-20% or so more CPU use (not much) and 30Meg less memory use. So I don't bother with the nvidia drivers any longer.

Edit: this in on regular Mint, not LMDE.
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] if/when it is solved!
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bustersid

Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by bustersid »

Hi Flemur,

the Nvidia drivers do support coolbits for card tuning via nvidia-settings. The nouveau drivers do not.
And i can run allways the latest nvidia drivers.
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by kevinthefixer »

jameskga wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 3:59 amAm I reading this wrong? I don't understand what stretch-backports means (nor backports in any other context, despite using backports myself to get a Qualcomm wifi card working under 17.3), but I do feel like I understand version 390.48 must be later than what's offered in the Driver Manager in Mint 18.3. Could this be owed to the fact Mint only pushes updates that have been tested by the team, whereas Debian is offering the latest based on what's out there and what they're able to test (which could, incidentally, be faster than Mint in some instances)?
I think the confusion stems from comparing Jessie versions with Stretch versions. And then adding backbports into the mix, sort of like adding hot butterscotch to your hot fudge sundae--might be great, but what is it? I have Stretch on my laptop but no Nvidia hardware so I haven't looked into it. The Jessie repos are bound to have older versions in them, they won't update the Nvidia drivers unless they find a security risk in them, Jessie is now considered "old-stable". Stretch is now "stable", or the main release, and the Nvidia drivers there won't change either unless there's security involved. Apparently you found a backport of an even newer version, which means someone took a newer version from Buster or Sid and recompiled it for the stable kernel. This can add a tiny bit of performance, Nvidia is always tweaking the drivers to get more out of their hardware, but it comes with no guarantees; backports come from releases called "testing" or "unstable", after all. Hope I didn't make the waters even murkier here. My recommendation is always to stick with the stable stuff whenever possible. If you must have the latest and greatest, you'd best acquire a bunch of developer skills, because I don't have them and the guys that do are pretty busy already!
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by jameskga »

I do not need the latest driver, but the instructions in Debian's Nvidia section seem to give me an even newer driver than what's available to Mint... not that it matters to me, since I only want a driver, with no requirement other than the fact I'll be using Nvidia drivers after the process.

I'm only pointing out that the process according to their website looks relatively painless and seems to give me an up-to-date driver. I suppose my next question is whether I should follow their steps, or if there's an easier way. More searching around, I suppose!

I'll follow this guy's walkthrough, but I am wondering if there's anything different I should do since it's Mint, and not straight Debian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjpP3wHqG20
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by catweazel »

jameskga wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 3:59 am I got screen-tearing on this PC even with the appropriate driver, but I think switching a Compton setting fixed that.
Do you want the xorg.conf settings to put that card into full power mode? If so, use nvidia-settings to save the current xorg.configuration then attach it to a reply. I'll show you what to modify.
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
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Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by jameskga »

I guess so...I don't know how. I don't really care anymore. I don't care about anything
They say your favorite Mint edition was the one you installed when you still went to school with your friends.
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bustersid

Re: Without a Driver Manager, does LMDE "use" my Nvidia graphics card?

Post by bustersid »

@jameskga
there schould't no need for, but it helps... doing it my way!

cheers
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