The highly anticipated NVIDIA 555.42.02 Linux beta driver has finally been released, bringing a host of exciting updates to the world of Linux graphics. This update includes Wayland explicit sync support, a feature that many users have been eagerly awaiting. The driver now utilizes the linux-drm-syncobj-v1 protocol for DRM synchronization objects, aligning perfectly with the growing explicit sync support in Wayland compositors and desktop environments.
One of the significant improvements in this beta release is the default utilization of the GPU System Processor (GSP) firmware on all GPUs that support it, specifically the RTX 20 / Turing GPUs and newer models. This move is expected to enhance performance and stability for users across various systems.
Additionally, the NVIDIA 555.42.02 Linux driver beta has dropped Base Mosaic support on GeForce GPUs, raised the base kernel version requirement to v4.15, introduced immediate presentation mode support for the Vulkan Wayland WSI, enabled HDMI 10 bits per component support by default, and added support for using EGL instead of GLX as the OpenGL ICD for NvFBC. The update also includes numerous bug fixes to address various issues reported by users.
For those interested in exploring the new features and improvements, the NVIDIA 555 Linux driver beta can be downloaded from the official NVIDIA website. Stay tuned for upcoming NVIDIA Linux benchmarks on Phoronix to get a detailed look at the performance enhancements and changes brought about by this latest driver release.
