NVIDIA Releases Open-Source GPU Kernel Modules

[f33dm3bits]

I wonder what effect this will have on Linux gaming and the Linux kernel.

NVIDIA Releases Open-Source GPU Kernel Modules | NVIDIA Technical Blog

The first open-source release of GPU kernel modules for the Linux community helps improve NVIDIA GPU driver quality and security.

developer.nvidia.com

GitHub - NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules: NVIDIA Linux open GPU kernel module source

NVIDIA Linux open GPU kernel module source. Contribute to NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Catalin]

I just saw it a couple of minutes ago on DistroTube and boy am I excited about this!
I have Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 on my main PC and it has Turing architecture which means that I will get the benefits out of this.

The question would be if this change can also be seen on Debian and Ubuntu in the upcoming weeks or only on Arch?
My laptop is on Arch but the card is pre-Turing anyway. However, on my PC things are different. What do you think?

P.S. At the moment I am kinda happy that I bought a couple of days ago a monitor Dell S2522HG with G-sync and 240Hz refresh rate!!

 

[wizardfromoz]

Now that is a long-awaited development - thanks for sharing, Maarten.

Ironically, nowadays I am not in a position to benefit from it (AMD Radeon) but I am happy for those who can.

Do you think that means Linus will have to take back the finger?

Wizard

 

[Catalin]

Do you think that means Linus will have to take back the finger?

Well it's not full open source yet, as I understood the source code of Cuda cores is still going to be closed. This would be more like a first step.
Now.. since I am not gaming anymore, basically just doing normal office-like work on my computer (even though it's a gaming PC) I think I should be able to benefit from this change?

 

[kc1di]

Hoping this means the nvidia cards will soon work out of the box on most linux distros. That would be great.
Thanks for the news. @f33dm3bits

 

[f33dm3bits]

It will probably take sometime for them to be part of the kernel, it will probably be integrated into the nouveau drivers. I did read somewhere that the userspace drivers aren't opensourced yet. Not sure what the requirements are for an opensource kernel module to make into the kernel as a driver.

 

[darry1966]

Great news.

 

[szlance]

good news

 

[SlowCoder]

Yep, great news, especially for those who have NVidia cards. My Youtube feed exploded yesterday, and it's amazing how people seem to think this will increase Linux adoption ("year of Linux desktop", yada yada). I doubt it will have a great impact on adoption, but hold hope that maybe other vendors, like Broadcom and Realtek, will follow suit and show some support.

 

[Deleted member 111282]

I wouldn't call this the year of the Linux desktop just yet, nor would I call it the year of open-source hardware either, but this is definitely a step in the right direction for both. What I'd like to see is a number of manufacturer startups giving Framework a healthy dose of competition, because then it makes both RTR and open-source hardware become the norm. Since Mint is often used for beginners, having that preinstalled on a new computers would theoretically give Linux a competitive edge over both Windows and Mac, because one of the reasons Linux fails to get adopted is the confusing and overwhelming number of distros, and with more people starting to value their privacy, Mint (or any other distro) not having any back doors will give them a legitimate alternative to Windows and Mac abusing it. If these computers and other devices are sold in stores, which will give normies an easy way to be exposed to them, that also can be a serious game changer.

 

[f33dm3bits]

I wouldn't call this the year of the Linux desktop just yet,

The year of the Linux desktop is just a meme, nothing more. AMD also has opensource drivers but their firmware is still proprietary, as well as many other proprietary vendor blobs in the linux-firmware package. Maybe and hopefull Nvidia may opensource their userspace driver at some point as well because I read somewhere that is a requirement before a driver allowed into the Linux kernel.

 

[Deleted member 111282]

The year of the Linux desktop is just a meme, nothing more

Thats true lol

 

[Deleted member 137406]

Just as I figured it would be the users with older graphics cards are left out in the cold have a read

Nvidia Releases Open-Source Linux GPU Drivers, With a Catch

Gaming on Linux has always been a bit more complicated than on Windows (or game consoles), and one reason for that is Nvidia’s poor driver support on Linux. That’s now changing, though it’s unclear how much the situation will improve.

www.howtogeek.com

A Long Road Ahead​

The open-source driver release might be disappointing for some, especially for anyone still using older Nvidia graphics cards that aren’t supported (it has been a bit difficult to buy a new graphics card lately). However, this is an important step in the right direction, if only because companies like Canonical and Red Hat have the opportunity to help improve Nvidia’s code for the first time ever.

It's not a step in the right direction, a step in the right direction would be to support all existing graphics cards.

 

[Deleted member 111282]

It's not a step in the right direction, a step in the right direction would be to support all existing graphics cards.

Not to play devil's advocate, but hopefully there's an understandable reason of why only newer cards get the driver (ex: further testing on older ones for right now), and they'll get back to us soon on that

 

[SlowCoder]

The year of the Linux desktop is just a meme, nothing more.

I don't agree. It's a way of thinking for many Linux users and enthusiasts, and gives them some sort of hope. It shouldn't be minimized.
As proud as I am to be a Linux user/enthusiast, I don't count myself amongst that group, as I kind of like being the "little guy", sort of off the radar, pow-wowing with my fellow nerds. If Linux on the desktop became mainstream, I could be forced to find "the next little thing".

 

[f33dm3bits]

I don't agree. It's a way of thinking for many Linux users and enthusiasts, and gives them some sort of hope. It shouldn't be minimized.

Hope for what, I don't need a meme for me to keep loving Linux. For some people it may not be a meme but a reality already(for me it is), for others they may still be waiting for that day when the Linux desktop is perfect. Sorry to pop the bubble of those but nothing is ever perfect, not even Windows and Mac. Hope is for those in bad or difficult situations, Linux is not in a bad situation. If someone needs a meme to keep hope in something they need to talk to a professional because they have more problems.

Back on-topic, has anyone here with an Nvidia card tried the new open Nvidia drivers yet? I'm using an AMD graphics card so I can't.