Install Nvidia Graphics Driver for GeForce 9500 GT on LMDE2 'Betsy' 64bit

[andrewhg]

I have done a fresh install of LMDE 2 Betsy on my desktop.
Cinnimon is hogging the CPU at around 80%
I thought that if I install Nvidia graphics drivers this might fix the problem.
How do I install nvidia graphics drivers on this machine.

I have searched on this forum and looked at this link but it doesn't appear to be relevant.
https://wiki.debian.org/NvidiaGraphicsDrivers


SYSTEM HARDWARE:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200 @2.33 GHZ x 4
Memory: 5.8GiB
Hard Drive: 108.9GiB
Graphics Card: Nvidia Corporation G96 [GeForce 9500 GT]

SYSTEM SOFTWARE:
Operating system: LMDE 2 Cinnamon 64-Bit
https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=186?id=186
Cinnamon Version: 2.4.7
Linux Kernel: 3.16.0-4-amd64

[andrewhg]

Having installed a fresh copy of LMDE2. I had problems with cinnamon using up all of the CPU.
I suspected that the graphics driver was at fault and I think I have confirmed that.
I have learned from this experience not to do bulk upgrades on the terminal. for example

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sudo apt-get upgrade

beause it causes more trouble than it's worth. The best way to proceed is to use the update manager (shieldon the bottom right of the screen) and make sure you only install level 1 and 2 upgrades. Install one upgrade at a time and see what effect it has on your system.
Here is how I installed the graphics driver on my system.

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$sudo apt-get install nvidia-detect
$nvidia-detect -- told me to use nvidia-driver
$sudo apt-get install nvidia-driver nvidia-settings nvidia-xconfig
$sudo nvidia-xconfig

restarted the system.
This is the page that I used as a reference. http://www.howtoeverything.net/linux/ha ... linux-mint
Notice that instead of 'nvidia-glx' i used 'nvidia-driver because that's what nvidia-detect told me to use.
The result of the graphics driver upgrade is that the CPU is not running around 5% instead of 80% and the system is nice and snappy again.