Nvidia Is Still not Ready for Wayland

Framework Laptop 16 Linux
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Which Linux distro are you using? Arch linux

Which release version?
(if rolling release without a release version, skip this question)

(If rolling release, last date updated?)

Which kernel are you using? 6.18

Which BIOS version are you using? 4.03

Which Framework Laptop 16 model are you using? AMD Ryzen™ 7040 Series + Nvidia

I expressed some hesitancy to grab an Nvidia module because the last time I had one it was nothing but issue with Wayland.

However, the general consensus was “it’s not that bad” or “its gotten a lot better”. I’m almost a week into this graphic module and all I can say is: WOW it has not gotten any better at all… if anything its worse"

I have been having nothing but issues.

Out the gate I couldn’t log into plasma. I would just get a black screen after logging in. Had to fix that by adding a bunch of modules the wiki doesnt mention.

Now, Only Office doesn’t load video anymore when running a Power Point file (it just crashes)

Power draw is double what I was getting when using the AMD module. So battery life is about 2 hours.

External monitors go in and out randomly.

Today I upgraded to Plasma 6.6, now I’m getting graphical glitches everywhere.

Honestly its bad. I’ve spent numerous attempts to fix the problem (tried different hooks, modules, drivers) and this is just across the board a mess.

Unfortunately I think I’m going to have to return this module, these problems are just too much. Unless of course I’m missing anything major.

Moral of the story: NVIDIA is NOT wayland ready. Do not buy if you are going to be using wayland.

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Not been my experience at all on Bazzite.

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Not on the Framework, but this hasn’t been my experience with my desktop.

Have you tried any other distros, such as an officially supported one like Fedora? That could help you narrow down the software issue.

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Laptops in particular are a struggle for Nvidia.

But I agree it’s not on Framework, hence I never blamed them.

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You seem so sure about this but said nothing about how well x11/xlibre works with it? I would test it with xlibre to be sure, but I suspect your problems are not entirely Wayland.

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Thanks for the assumptions! Here is a quick rundown:

Out the gate I couldn’t log into plasma. I would just get a black screen after logging in. Had to fix that by adding a bunch of modules the wiki doesnt mention.

Now, Only Office doesn’t load video anymore when running a Power Point file (it just crashes) - Only positive here, cant explain why. Before gstreamer was crashing when handing off the videos to the nvidia drivers

Power draw is double what I was getting when using the AMD module. So battery life is about 2 hours. -X11 (~10-15 w idle) Wayland (~25-30w idle)

External monitors go in and out randomly. - Google Search found this is a known issue with Wayland + Nvidia

Today I upgraded to Plasma 6.6, now I’m getting graphical glitches everywhere. - Going back to open source Nouveau fixed this. Although this could be as much a Plasma problem with Nvidia, All releases have issues.

Honestly its bad. I’ve spent numerous attempts to fix the problem (tried different hooks, modules, drivers) and this is just across the board a mess. -Some games only load correctly in X11

Unfortunately I think I’m going to have to return this module, these problems are just too much. Unless of course I’m missing anything major.

Moral of the story: NVIDIA is NOT wayland ready. Do not buy if you are going to be using wayland.

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The problem is simply that Nvidia doesn’t allow the development of open-source drivers. I was with Nvidia for over 20 years and always thought they were excellent. That is, until I switched to Linux a few years ago, when the problems started. That’s why I sold my previous laptop (Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, Ryzen 7 5800HS, RTX 3070) and ordered the Framework 16 with a Radeon 7700S. It’s never been easier to install a Linux system, and there were no issues with the hardware not being recognized correctly or anything like that. When I think back to the days when there was a 50/50 chance that, as soon as you installed the Nvidia driver, the screen would go black and you’d have to blindly adjust settings in the console, no thanks, those days are over. If you use Linux, go with AMD; if you use Windows, go with Nvidia and be happy.

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While I will gladly ride the NVIDIA hate train. There is open source development of drivers and I’m not just talking about nouveau. Anything pre 20 series is still a mess and always will be at this point but post 20 series is much better. That and the NOVA driver being developed by RedHat should make things even better. I’d still buy AMD because fuck NVIDIA for their anti consumer practices.

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I think Bazzite has specific customisations to make Nvidia work, being immutable I guess they’ve got it all setup and locked down