I’ve been having a rough time with my new RTX 4090 on Ubuntu, and honestly, I could really use some help. I thought upgrading my GPU was going to be the best decision ever, but it turns out I’m getting lost in a maze of driver issues that I didn’t see coming. It’s kind of frustrating because it feels like everything should be smooth sailing, right?
So here’s the deal: I installed the card hoping to get great performance for some gaming and graphic design work. The hardware itself is incredible, but I can’t seem to get the drivers sorted out. I attempted to use the NVIDIA drivers provided in the Ubuntu repository, but they didn’t seem to do the trick. The system sometimes freezes, I get weird graphical glitches, and on occasion, the display fails to boot up at all. I even tried the proprietary drivers from the NVIDIA website, but I hit a snag there when it came to compatibility issues with the kernel.
I’m not entirely clueless about Linux, but I wouldn’t say I’m an expert either. I’ve done my fair share of troubleshooting—checking the forums, reinstalling drivers, and tweaking settings like the Prime profiles. But no luck so far. Then there’s the CUDA stuff—do I need to worry about that? And what’s the deal with Wayland? Is it better to stick with X11 for stability?
If anyone out there has gone through this whole mess and found a way to make it work, I’d be forever grateful for any tips or tricks you could share. Maybe you faced the same issues and discovered something that clicked. Screenshots of your settings, exact commands you ran, or any resources you found helpful would be a huge bonus!
I really hope I’m not the only one in this boat. It’d be nice to know there’s a solution out there, or at least some solidarity in the struggles of attempting to maximize the capabilities of this beast of a graphics card on Ubuntu. Thanks in advance!
Struggling with RTX 4090 on Ubuntu
Sounds like you’re really having a tough time with your new RTX 4090! I totally get the frustration, especially when you’re expecting everything to just work smoothly. Trust me, I’ve been in the same boat when upgrading my GPU.
Driver Issues
First off, for the NVIDIA drivers, it’s usually best to go with the NVIDIA PPA as they tend to have more up-to-date drivers compared to the default Ubuntu repository. You can add the PPA like this:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa sudo apt update sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstallAfter installing the drivers, make sure to reboot your system.
Kernel Compatibility
If you’ve run into kernel compatibility issues with the proprietary drivers, it might be worth checking which kernel version you’re on. Sometimes upgrading or downgrading to a different kernel can help:
uname -r sudo apt-get install linux-generic-hwe-$(lsb_release -sr)Graphics Server
Regarding Wayland and X11, many users have found that sticking with X11 tends to be more stable for NVIDIA cards, especially when gaming or doing graphic design. If you’re using Wayland, you could try logging out and choosing an X11 session from the login screen.
CUDA
As for CUDA, if you’re planning to do any development work that requires it, then yeah, you’ll need to install the CUDA toolkit. Just make sure it matches the version of your NVIDIA driver. You can find the version information on the NVIDIA website.
Tweaks and Settings
Don’t forget to check some additional settings in the NVIDIA X Server Settings. Sometimes tweaking things like the Prime profiles can help with rendering issues.
Resources
Here are a few resources that might help:
Final Notes
Don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone in this! If something feels off or you keep running into the same issues, feel free to share more details. Maybe some screenshots could help pinpoint what’s going wrong. Good luck!
The NVIDIA RTX 4090 on Ubuntu can indeed be a challenging experience due to the complexities of driver installation and compatibility with the Linux kernel. First and foremost, ensure you are using the latest kernel that is stable for your distribution, as GPU drivers often have specific compatibility requirements. While the NVIDIA drivers available in the Ubuntu repository may provide initial support, they can be outdated or incompatible with the latest GPU features. Instead, try installing the latest NVIDIA drivers directly from the official NVIDIA website, and be sure to check release notes for compatibility with your current kernel version. To make this installation smoother, boot into a terminal using a recovery mode and blacklisting Nouveau drivers before installing the proprietary drivers can be crucial. You can also consider using the `ubuntu-drivers devices` command to identify recommended drivers for your graphics card.
Regarding your concerns about CUDA and your choice between Wayland and X11, CUDA installation is indeed essential if you plan on utilizing GPU computing features; however, it doesn’t affect graphical performance directly. If you grapple with stability issues, especially with freezing or graphical glitches, it’s advisable to stick to X11 as it provides better support for NVIDIA drivers compared to Wayland, which is still maturing in terms of full compatibility. Explore configuration files like `/etc/X11/xorg.conf` for any specific tuning that might yield better performance. Community forums like NVIDIA’s own forum or specific threads on Reddit can provide first-hand experiences from users who faced similar challenges. Screenshots of configurations and step-by-step guides from these sources might just point you to a workable solution. Your persistence in troubleshooting will pay off; you’re not alone in this journey.