1

I was trying to install the driver for my NVIDIA 3080 GPU using the Software & Updates app. But I couldn't find the tested option in this app like (tested, proprietary). And it also shows This device is using an alternative driver.

I was wondering how I could install the tested driver through this app.

Ubuntu version: 20.04.2 LTS

Outputs of apt-cache policy nvidia-driver-465

nvidia-driver-465:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 465.19.01-0ubuntu1
  Version table:
     465.19.01-0ubuntu1 600
        600 https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/ubuntu2004/x86_64  Packages
        600 https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/ubuntu2004/x86_64  Packages

enter image description here

Xin
  • 161
  • 5
  • What version of Ubuntu are you running? – Terrance Apr 24 '21 at 03:24
  • Are you using a PPA to get the Nvidia drivers? 465 is not available in the standard repos for 20.04. – ubfan1 Apr 24 '21 at 04:00
  • I am using Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS and I didn't use the PPA to get the drivers. – Xin Apr 24 '21 at 04:29
  • Please add the output of apt-cache policy nvidia-driver-465 to your original posting. – ubfan1 Apr 24 '21 at 04:43
  • Thanks. Just added the outputs. – Xin Apr 24 '21 at 05:11
  • You're using an Nvidia PPA for the drivers, so the "tested" will not appear, since they are not the ones Canonical actually has tested. your 3080 may actually need the 365. – ubfan1 Apr 24 '21 at 05:32
  • 1
    According to https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/drivers/ the 3080 only needs the 455.23+ driver. So, installing from the Ubuntu default repos will give 460.73 in 20.04 so the 3080 should be supported. In due time the 465 driver will be added to the repos once it is tested. Also, using the driver from the CUDA install does not install the DKMS driver version so on the next kernel update you will be looking at reinstalling your NVIDIA driver again. – Terrance Apr 24 '21 at 14:21

2 Answers2

0

did you try from Nvidia ?

https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
or
https://www.nvidia.com/fr-fr/geforce/drivers/

a new driver has just been added for your GPU (laptop+desktop):
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driverResults.aspx/172836/en-us

Linux x64 (AMD64/EM64T)
Display Driver Version: 465.24.02 Release
Date: 2021.4.14
Operating System: Linux 64-bit

...

GeForce RTX 30 Series (Notebooks):
GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
GeForce RTX 30 Series:
GeForce RTX 3090, GeForce RTX 3080, GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3060

Regards

PS : thanks to ChanganAuto for his comment about the reliability of the different kinds of repositories. PPAs are not the most advisable (PPA stands for Personal Package Archives).
Here is the doc :
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Ubuntu
I quote :

Packages in PPAs do not undergo the same process of validation as packages in the main repositories. PPAs are a low-security alternative to the main repositories, so the user will be installing software at their own risk.

Gilles Gaido
  • 173
  • 1
    It's better to avoid installing Nvidia binaries whenever possible. The same drivers already packages and tested are available either at the official repository or if brand new then at the graphics drivers PPA. – ChanganAuto Apr 24 '21 at 14:34
0

To answer why none of the drivers in the Software and Updates section are marked as tested, it is possible that because your RTX 3080 is a newer card (and because of the stock shortages) the driver has not yet been tested by the ubuntu devs.

It also might be caused by ubuntu not recognizing your GPU for one reason or another (based on it being marked as NVIDIA corporation: unknown at the top of your screenshot)

Some more info on the "tested" tag on a driver: What does "tested driver" mean?

fr1tzbot
  • 1