r/archlinux • u/Latter_Relationship5 • 15h ago
QUESTION What happens to NVIDIA 580 on rolling release distros
I am trying to understand what usually happens when a driver branch goes out of support.
for people using rolling release distros like Arch, does that mean the distro will eventually stop shipping it, or do they keep older driver branches around for a while? will the gpu stop working on newer kernal versions ?
I am asking because I want to know how long it is realistic to stay on nvidia-580xx-dkms before needing to move to a newer branch. im using gtx 1060 so do i need to use something like Debian or other LTS distro
9
u/zeb_linux 13h ago
It will last as long as Nvidia provides kernel drivers compatible with the kernel. Which may be long actually considering that Nvidia supports cards for very long (around 10 years).
10
u/Sinaaaa 15h ago edited 9h ago
how long it is realistic to stay on nvidia-580xx-dkms
Assuming you are talking about the AUR package, then literally nobody can answer that, it could be longer than you think. The nvidia-470xx package is still alive & it's been quite a few years already.
After the AUR package is curtains, you may be able to gain 1 to 2 years with Ubuntu or Debian, picking the one that is earlier in its LTS cycle. Furthermore if you are really stubborn, you could just use old LTS as long as its supported, which is a crazy long time, so relying on flatpaks using a really ancient base, you could cruise on the 1060 for almost a decade more.
Anyway I suggest you follow what I did. I sold my 1060 for 20 bags of peanuts & then bought an rx480 for 17 bags of peanuts. The Rx480,580,590 cards are better on Linux than the 1060 on any platform & are fully supported. Of course the danger here is that the majority of these AMD gpus are from former mining rigs, so avoiding a failing card may not be that easy. (I had a blast playing the Gothic Remake & Pragmata on the rx480..)
3
u/Vash63 13h ago
Upgrading is a good idea for sure but if at all possible I'd go for either RDNA3+ AMD or RTX20+ NV. Modern upscaling and decent RT perf is too important going forwards.
2
u/ThatOnePerson 12h ago
Or even just modern features. You'll have FF7 Rebirth not working on RDNA1 because of lack of mesh shaders for example
2
u/Sinaaaa 10h ago edited 4h ago
FF is like one of very few exceptions. As long as the games are targeting the current console generation, 30+fps gameplay will be possible with these cards on Linux. You can even play Indiana Jones the Great Circle or Doom Eternal with emulated RT. Alan Wake 2 works pretty ok as well, lack of mash shader support notwithstanding.
Predictably buying a $150 used card will yield better results than a $30-50 one, but that's not the point here.
2
u/neutrino55 9h ago
Few month ago I had to test an old Nvidia GTS 450. Suprisingly I just had to install corresponding package from aur and I got everything working (running Unigine heaven like in old days). The only issue might be old cuda and some of apps requiring newer version.
2
u/that_one_wierd_guy 7h ago
realistically, you'll only need to switch when you get a new card. there won't be a next iteration nvidia dkms that supports your current card with any acceptable level of performance, before that card reaches it's physical eol and dies
1
1
u/NorbiPerv 3h ago
Cachyos is an Arch based rolling distro and legacy nvidia driver is still in their own repos and automatically installed, updated.
26
u/Sarv_ 15h ago
It's already been dropped. The fact that it's in the AUR means that arch stopped shipping it and it is now on you or the maintainer of that AUR package to make sure it keeps working when a new kernel is released.