Solved Confused about Nvidia driver versions

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CaffeineAddict

CaffeineAddict

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I need to upgrade my Nvidia driver because newer kernel in offered on my Debian system.

Here is a list of drivers to download:

Linux AMD64 Display Driver Archive | NVIDIA

Linux AMD64 Display Driver Archive
www.nvidia.com

Specifically I'm baffled by 2 latest drivers as follows:

Version: 535.179
Operating System: Linux 64-bit
Release Date: May 9, 2024
Click to expand...

AND

Version: 550.78
Operating System: Linux 64-bit
Release Date: April 25, 2024
Click to expand...

If looking at version numbers then 550.78 is newer (latest) driver, however if you look at release date 535.179 is newer or latest.
So which one should I install to have the latest driver?

And why is older driver released at later date? that's the confusing part because I hold version numbers authoritative when it comes to "latest" rather than "release date"
 


It probably has to do with that there are two branches for Nvidia drivers, Production branch and New feature branch. So I'm guessing it has something to do with that, which Nvidia gpu do you have?
 
550-78 was revised for problems on some netbooks/chromebooks using the 4xxx chipset

535-179 is the normal version with latest bug fixes

555.42.02BETA is in the 2nd round of testing before becoming the go to build
 
f33dm3bits said:
It probably has to do with that there are two branches for Nvidia drivers, Production branch and New feature branch. So I'm guessing it has something to do with that
Click to expand...
Yeah, that makes sense.

f33dm3bits said:
which Nvidia gpu do you have?
Click to expand...
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

Brickwizard said:
550-78 was revised for problems on some netbooks/chromebooks using the 4xxx chipset

535-179 is the normal version with latest bug fixes
Click to expand...
I see, so which one is the latest and which one should I use?
Btw. I just now installed the 550.78, should I revert to 535.179?
 
Brickwizard said:
if it works ok , I would leave it
Click to expand...
It works, but the thing is I'm obsessed with having the latest one :)

I've read the link @f33dm3bits posted and it seems that 550.78 is from "New Feature Branch" and 535.179 is from "Production Branch"

But it's difficult to be sure that's indeed so.
 
CaffeineAddict said:
I see, so which one is the latest and which one should I use?
Btw. I just now installed the 550.78, should I revert to 535.179?
Click to expand...
Use the most recent one which supports your gpu and which is in the default Debian repos.
 
f33dm3bits said:
Use the most recent one which supports your gpu and which is in the default Debian repos.
Click to expand...
Debian repos have outdated Nvidia drivers, not fan of that, and installing official ones isn't that hard with only problem that we need to (re)install it every time new kernel comes out, in my case that's often because I'm using the one from backports because Nvidia drivers require it. so it's a magic circle.
 
As my old dad would say, .." Look here son, if it ain't' broke don't fix it"
 
CaffeineAddict said:
and installing official ones isn't that hard with only problem that we need to (re)install it every time new kernel comes out, in my case that's often because I'm using the one from backports because Nvidia drivers require it. so it's a magic circle.
Click to expand...
So you are installing the Nvidia drivers from their official download page that you linked? In that case you can use "dkms" to add a module to automatically build a new module for when your kernel gets updated.

KernelDKMS - Debian Wiki

wiki.debian.org wiki.debian.org
 
f33dm3bits said:
Chapter 4. Installing the NVIDIA Driver

The installer will check for the presence of DKMS on yoursystem. If DKMS is found, you will be given the option ofregistering the kernel module with DKMS. On most systems with DKMS,DKMS will take care of automatically rebuilding registered kernelmodules when installing a different Linux kernel. This is typicallydone by hooks that Linux distributions set up to be triggered aspart of the kernel installation process. If your system is notconfigured to automatically run DKMS to rebuild kernel modulesafter installing a different kernel, you may run dkms autoinstall to trigger theprocess manually.
Click to expand...
I haven't done this since I've always used distributions with newer software, but I think what that means that if you have the package "dkms" installed and then run the installer it will ask you if you want to register it with dkms. And if you already installed the Nvidia driver manually and you still have to install dkms, you can then first install "dkms" and then run "dkms autoinstall".
 
f33dm3bits said:
I haven't done this since I've always used distributions with newer software, but I think what that means that if you have the package "dkms" installed and then run the installer it will ask you if you want to register it with dkms. And if you already have the it installed and still have to install dkms, you can then first install "dkms" and then run "dkms autoinstall".
Click to expand...
From what I see, this only rebuilds existing driver to be able to boot, it does not auto update it to newer version from Nvidia site right?
 
CaffeineAddict said:
From what I see, this only rebuilds existing driver to be able to boot, it does not auto update it to newer version from Nvidia site right?
Click to expand...
That is correct, dkms only rebuilds a kernel module for the newly installed/updated kernel. If you want a new version of the Nvidia driver you will still have to manually download and install it. The other option would be to look for a third-party repo, that provides those drivers. I think I may have an idea what you could try. Hold on.
 
f33dm3bits said:
I think I have found it, you can try using the official Nvidia repos for Debian 12. I'm assuming you are using 12 right?
Click to expand...
yes, Debian 12, I've scrolled trough the list on the link and noticed there is no 550.78 driver which is the latest one published on link in my OP.

But it's not big issue, I think it's safer to manually install Nvidia drivers because if something goes wrong there could be problem booting into system.

I usually back up everything before Nvidia install because it already happened once to me to screw up boot to graphical login and had to reinstall system.
 
CaffeineAddict said:
But it's not big issue, I think it's safer to manually install Nvidia drivers because if something goes wrong there could be problem booting into system.
Click to expand...
Just in case you decide you want to try it, I looked up how you could add the Nvidia cuda repo for Debian.

CUDA Installation Guide for Linux

The installation instructions for the CUDA Toolkit on Linux.
docs.nvidia.com docs.nvidia.com
 
f33dm3bits said:
Just in case you decide you want to try it, I looked up how you could add the Nvidia cuda repo for Debian.

CUDA Installation Guide for Linux

The installation instructions for the CUDA Toolkit on Linux.
docs.nvidia.com docs.nvidia.com
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing and all help, I'm adding all the links to my bookmarks but for now I'll stay with manual procedure.
 
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