Nvidia Open kernel module (Call for testing, ROME or Cooker)

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Since the availability of the Open Source Linux kernel driver for nvidia, we have been interested in how it would work in OMLx, but have not had compatible cards to test it with. Based on recent guidance from the company, they will be suggesting this Open driver be the default:

They did not include the compatible cards in this article, but the list is here:

We package two versions of the proprietary and open drivers, one built with the installed kernel, and one with dkms. The latter is recommended for kernel testers/packagers only.

Those who want to try the open driver can install it in the following way:

sudo dnf in nvidia nvidia-kmod-open-desktop

If you have already installed the proprietary driver, you may just be able to perform the same command minus the lone nvidia package name. Regardless of either case, you will need to reboot after install.

In at least one test case from a new user:

the performance seems to be as good, and possibly better in certain contexts. There is also another user in the chat that has switched to the driver and has reported a couple of issues thus far.

It would be best to get a baseline of common tasks (browser hardware accel, compositor behavior) as well as mid level tasks (mild to moderate gaming). It’s really whatever people are willing to put these drivers through. We would really be interested to know if the open driver resolves some of the issues we are seeing with nvidia in general (nouveau and nvidia proprietary).

Now, some caveats:

  • This package is untested
  • It would be best to have a forum account with nvidia, freedesktop, and the desktop environment project that you are using, and if you ask for help from nvidia it was packaged using slight modifications to their recommended recipes for yum/dnf packages on their GitHub.
  • This package is untested
  • Your card has to be on the list provided earlier in the post for the Open driver to work
  • We can try to help with issues in general, but this package is untested
  • Unfortunately, at the end of this there will not be :cake:

There are no immediate plans to replace the proprietary driver with the open one in the near future. Whether that happens or not will depend largely on testing and other factors.

In the meantime, your help is greatly appreciated. I strongly recommend to test the driver on non-production equipment just in case it does not work for you or other issues arise.

Thank you

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I will trial it. I am going to install a fresh install and then go from there. I will keep you posted. With the current set up (even with plasma 5) my desktop hangs a lot. I will try and install the new opensource driver tonight with a fresh install of OMlx rome

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Is there a way to tell if I actually have the new driver installed?

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lshw just shows me driver is nvidia. I am assuming it is the right one.

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Same here. It didn’t change the kernel that I can tell. I can still run MechWarrior in Steam, so I don’t know.

I had the proprietary driver installed. I installed with

sudo dnf in nvidia-kmod-open-desktop
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If by “right driver,” you mean the Open one, it doesn’t install the open by default. If you mean the model #, it’s in the compatibility list above. You can usually find the card model from the installed card using (with sample output):

lspci | grep NVIDIA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GM206 [GeForce GTX 960] (rev a1)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GM206 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)
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I have a 2070 super which lists several.

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I installed that, and it is still working (very well I might add) and I was just wondering if there was a way to verify that it actually installed or am I still on the proprietary driver and am too dumb to know better. :rofl:

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:wink:

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I got that part. I’m just not sure I am actually testing it. If I am, I am impressed.

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You can try:

lsmod | grep nvidia

It may say open.

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└──[ <$> lsmod | grep nvidia
nvidia_uvm           2088960  2
nvidia_drm            114688  30
nvidia_modeset       1634304  85 nvidia_drm
nvidia              76525568  1089 nvidia_uvm,nvidia_modeset
i2c_nvidia_gpu         12288  0
i2c_ccgx_ucsi          12288  1 i2c_nvidia_gpu
drm_ttm_helper         16384  4 amdgpu,nvidia_drm,nouveau
video                  65536  5 asus_wmi,amdgpu,asus_nb_wmi,nouveau,nvidia_modeset
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@pastorczo13 What does your say?

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This is probably the most conclusive way you can find out:

Since I packaged it, according to their guidelines, if you installed it then it should be the open one. You can check for the presence of the old one:

dnf list nvidia-kmod*

The module that is installed will be under the Installed: section.

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Looks like I have it. It’s working so far. Give me a day or so.

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PXL_20250123_000508332
PXL_20250123_0005083321920Ă—2550 343 KB

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@pastorczo13

dnf list nvidia-kmod*

and see if it shows in the Installed Packages section.

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So far, I am IMPRESSED and I am headed back to MechWarrior to test it some morre.

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I installed plasma 6 to see if the new driver would fix my freezing issue, but it did not. I am assuming its because of the dual system using amd and nvidia.

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I’m not sure what you mean. ROME Plasma 5 and 6 have the same drivers. If you mean you went from Rock to ROME, then yes. ROME has newer drivers. In theory, the open driver in Rock should work.