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Well Nvidia dropped a bit of a big one today didn't they! Nvidia driver version 364.12 is now out and brings in official Vulkan support, Mir support and Wayland support.

For Mir and Wayland:
QuoteAdded support for the following EGL extensions:

EGL_EXT_platform_wayland

to enable Wayland applications to run on NVIDIA's EGL implementation,

EGL_WL_bind_wayland_display

to enable Wayland compositors to run on NVIDIA's EGL implementation, and

EGL_EXT_device_drm
EGL_EXT_output_drm
EGL_EXT_stream_consumer_egloutput

to enable Mir and Wayland compositors to display their content through EGLDevice, EGLOutput, and EGLstreams.

Added a Wayland platform library, libnvidia-egl-wayland.so, to allow Wayland compositors that support EGLDevice, EGLOutput, and EGLstreams to share EGL buffers with Wayland applications.


In addition to it also turns on the new OpenGL install method of "GLVND".
QuoteChanged the default OpenGL installation type to use the GLVND GLX client libraries rather than the legacy non-GLVND libraries.

Note: Some games have issues with this, so I would hold off on upgrading for the moment until the reports flow in on what games it breaks.

It also adds a cherry on top:
QuoteAdded initial support for Direct Rendering Manager Kernel Modesetting (DRM KMS). See the DRM KMS section of the README for details.

Added a new kernel module, nvidia-drm.ko, which registers as a DRM driver with both PRIME and DRM KMS support.


Find the full changelog and download here. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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25 comments
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legluondunet Mar 21, 2016
That's why I have a Nvidia card!
Linas Mar 21, 2016
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So what is the recommended way to use Optimus hardware now? Should Bumblebee be replaced by PRIME?
Eike Mar 21, 2016
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z3ntu Mar 21, 2016
And there isn't already an update for Arch Linux :><:

;)
Purple Library Guy Mar 21, 2016
So what is the recommended way to use Optimus hardware now? Should Bumblebee be replaced by PRIME?
Optimus PRIME, you say?
mratclife Mar 21, 2016
Although I have not tried this new driver yet, I have experienced similar problems with games not launching when using the 361.28 driver. To fix this problem check the game's launch script and look for the line “export __GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS=1” then comment it out (or remove) so that it looks like this “#export __GL_THREADED_OPTIMIZATIONS=1”.
Beamboom Mar 21, 2016
Ok, just wow. This is big. It seems Nvidia is working hard to remain the go-to manufacturer for Linux gaming GPUs come the next generation (the Wayland/Vive generation :) ) too.
SketchStick Mar 21, 2016
To fix specific games on Steam, go to game properties and set the launch options to:
__GLVND_DISALLOW_PATCHING=1 %command%
zeb Mar 21, 2016
To fix specific games on Steam, go to game properties and set the launch options to:
__GLVND_DISALLOW_PATCHING=1 %command%

Is this still valid for this new driver? The new version should have fixed this issue, plus the XCOM 2 regression. I have not tried it yet.
SketchStick Mar 21, 2016
Is this still valid for this new driver? The new version should have fixed this issue, plus the XCOM 2 regression. I have not tried it yet.
I didn't see a fix mentioned in the changelog, feel free to test it and correct me if it's no longer necessary as I'm posting from my phone. I was using that work-around for Team Fortress 2...
walther von stolzing Mar 21, 2016
As long as Wayland is not crossplatform compatible I won't support it.

You mean support for BSD as well as Linux?
DissCent Mar 21, 2016
PRIME should really be used over Bumblebee these days. With Ubuntu-based distros (especially Mint), setting it up is really easy and the performance is just great! The only thing that is a little disturbing right now is that fullscreen games don't play well with dual monitor setups since PRIME emulates a virtual screen with a resolution going over both screens, so for example two Full HD screens emulate a 3840x1080 screen and fullscreen games will then use both monitors, splitting the view in half.
Unshra Mar 21, 2016
This is the news I've been secretly hoping for every time I saw an article on "Gaming on Linux" or "Phoronix" that had Nvidia or Wayland in the title. Now I can calm down every time I see Wayland or Nvidia in the title and instead look forward to gaming with no tearing!

I think this weekend I'll make a Wayland build of Arch Linux or Antergos for my notebook and see what comes of it.

Oh happy days, I wonder what this will lead to with Linux gaming and Linux lets plays in the future.

Add to that the news about Wines first push for support of Windows apps with Vulkan support and today has me wondering if I'm dreaming.
Luke_Nukem Mar 21, 2016
PRIME should really be used over Bumblebee these days. With Ubuntu-based distros (especially Mint), setting it up is really easy and the performance is just great! The only thing that is a little disturbing right now is that fullscreen games don't play well with dual monitor setups since PRIME emulates a virtual screen with a resolution going over both screens, so for example two Full HD screens emulate a 3840x1080 screen and fullscreen games will then use both monitors, splitting the view in half.

Are you able to link to more info about using PRIME?
HadBabits Mar 21, 2016
Once it's on Ubuntu's drivers PPA I'll be sure to try it out :) Pretty disappointed if that bug that seems to effect Valve Games in particular persists.
Shmerl Mar 22, 2016
Great. Wayland time is getting closer. Now I'll wait for KWin / KDE Plasma developers to release stable Wayland support.
Uncleivan Mar 22, 2016
Do i need to have the vulkan sdk installed along with these drivers?
Natedawg Mar 22, 2016
Do i need to have the vulkan sdk installed along with these drivers?

I think you'll only need the SDK if you're trying to create an app/game that uses Vulkan.
GirlGamer Mar 22, 2016
I can set coolbits options on nvidia cards using wayland? I cant lose my overclock... xD


Last edited by GirlGamer on 22 March 2016 at 4:19 am UTC
STiAT Mar 22, 2016
Thought they might drop that bomb soon. Wayland isn't a viable option for me yet, but the kms patch is very much welcome. GLVND as well.

For the option __GLVND_DISALLOW_PATCHING=1 %command% - there was a note of a nvidia dev that they're looking into fixing this. Due to the changelog not specifying anything about it, my good-to-go guess is that it was not fixed (yet).

Mir support will probably enable Ubuntu to move to Unity 8 with their desktop distribution. I'm still not very happy about Ubuntu moving the Mir direction, but hell, as long as both (Mir&Wayland) get support. Interesting will rather be how game developers and libraries as sdl will cope with that.
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