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config/graphical-session/graphics-drivers/nvidia: rewrite nouveau
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src/config/graphical-session/graphics-drivers/nvidia.md

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@@ -7,23 +7,43 @@ some documentation provided by Nvidia. It tends to perform well on older
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hardware, and is required to use a large portion of the available Wayland
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compositors.
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At the time of writing, graphics cards starting with second generation Maxwell
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(GTX 9xx) are unable to perform at their full potential with `nouveau`. This is
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because the `linux-firmware` collection is missing signed firmware blobs needed
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to reclock these cards past their boot frequencies.
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To use `nouveau` with Wayland, you only need the `mesa-dri` package, which
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provides the accelerated OpenGL driver. On X11, you also need an appropriate
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Xorg driver. You can either install `xf86-video-nouveau` or use the universal
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`modesetting` driver bundled with Xorg (this is the only option on Tegra based
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ARM boards). The former can make use of GPU-specific 2D acceleration paths,
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which is primarily useful on older cards with specialized fixed function
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hardware (the `modesetting` driver will accelerate 2D using OpenGL via GLAMOR).
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When in doubt, it's a good idea to try `xf86-video-nouveau` first.
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Note: `xf86-video-nouveau` is usually installed by default if you use the `xorg`
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metapackage. If you use `xorg-minimal`, you will need to install it manually,
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either directly or through `xorg-video-drivers`.
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### OpenGL
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The accelerated OpenGL driver is provided by `mesa-dri`. This is a dependency of
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the `xorg` metapackage, but must be manually installed when using `xorg-minimal`
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or Wayland.
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### Vulkan
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**Warning**: The NVK driver is relatively new and may be unstable and/or
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underperformant. Expect instability on cards below Turing (GTX 16xx).
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Cards starting with Kepler (GTX 6xx) are supported by the Vulkan nouveau driver.
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Install `vulkan-loader` and `mesa-vulkan-nouveau`.
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### Xorg
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The `xorg` metapackage pulls in the `xf86-video-nouveau` video driver. This will
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need to be manually installed if using `xorg-minimal`. You can also use the
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universal `modesetting` driver bundled with Xorg (this is the only option on
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Tegra based ARM boards).
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The former can make use of card-specific 2D acceleration paths, which is
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primarily useful on older cards with specialized fixed function hardware (the
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`modesetting` driver will accelerate 2D using OpenGL via GLAMOR). When in doubt,
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it's a good idea to try `xf86-video-nouveau` first.
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### Reclocking
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At the time of writing, only first generation Maxwell, Kepler, and some Tesla
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cards support manual reclocking. Cards past Turing (GTX 16xx) support automatic
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reclocking.
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Graphics cards starting with second generation Maxwell (GTX 9xx) do not support
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reclocking because the `linux-firmware` collection is missing signed firmware
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blobs needed to reclock these cards past their boot frequencies.
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Manual reclocking is available in `/sys/kernel/debug/dri/0/pstate`.
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## nvidia (Proprietary Driver)
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