No one knows what's going on with your NVIDIA video card driver in Linux.
No one knows what's going on with your NVIDIA video card driver in Linux.
You're starting out with Linux again and trying different distributions. You have an Nvidia 980m GPU and an Onyx BOOX Max Lumi display. You're facing issues with your monitor being recognized by certain distros—Pop OS seems to work fine with proprietary drivers, but Manjaro and Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix don't detect it properly. It's puzzling since the 980m is over five years old. Are Nouveau drivers still performing as well as proprietary ones now? Also, you mentioned the Onyx BOOX Max Lumi is technically an e-reader with an HDMI output, but it isn't officially supported by Onyx for Linux use.
When it functions in popular distributions but not niche ones, the problem likely lies with the niche version. Welcome to exploring unusual scenarios in *nix.
I'm experiencing some driver problems lately. Pop OS doesn't include a driver menu, and I'm also trying to use the Cinnamon desktop setup. Have you heard anything about potential conflicts between Cinnamon packages and the Cosmic desktop environment? It seems that switching from your default distribution's desktop can sometimes lead to package issues.
It could work, especially with icon collections. You might want to give it a shot—it won’t wipe everything out completely. And if you’re still in the early setup phase, reinstalling shouldn’t be too expensive if issues arise.
Don't. Use. Anything. With. Nvidia. Period. I can't stress this enough as a full time Linux user myself; who had used a Nvidia GPU for over 5 years on Linux dealing with drivers, screen tearing, font issues, etc.. After going to an AMD RX 570, I will never buy another Nvidia GPU again. So I can vouch for this. Especially with a system that has an older Nvidia GPU. I recently had to chuck out a 15 year old laptop that had a Nvidia GPU that my mom used because the legacy driver didn't support newer kernel releases. Went to a used AMD laptop and everything has been smooth. No messing with drivers either. Just plug and play. Takeaway from this is, the older the Nvidia GPU, the harder it will be to use with any Linux distro. But yeah. For the sake of sanity, avoid Nvidia GPUs at all costs. I wish I switched to AMD as soon as I started shifting over to Linux.
I’d prefer to, though I’m not really able to afford a full new setup. This machine has been with me since 2015. I have an external graphics card slot, but the GPUs are really expensive these days. I’ve noticed that the best option is usually buying a ready-made system instead of making it yourself. Jayz2cents posted a video on the topic.
Alternatively, consider purchasing a refurbished laptop. It should be a model with the 980m processor, correct? Everything I need is already used and it functions well. Could you tell me its specifications? However, if it's a desktop, your choices will be simpler. You might want to obtain a used AMD graphics card instead.
I doubt I can find a laptop that’s worth much. With about $100 I can spend, I’m limited to basic options. Thanks for the note—I’ll remember this when planning next time.
I’m looking at some options here. A $100 price point could mean a decent AMD laptop at the local recycling center. At around $200, I might get a quad-core AMD A10 7th gen with 8 GB RAM. So it makes sense to opt for a refurbished or used system. Saving money usually means better reliability too. I’ve never owned a brand-new machine before; most of my gear has been refurbished or second-hand. My desktop has seen a few upgrades over the years—hard drives, power supplies, two GPUs in total. Last year I upgraded to my brother’s old rig, which cost about $500. That included a better board, extra RAM, a new PSU, and an AMD RX 570. I kept the original CPU (FX 6300) and RAM, which still function well. My old Nvidia GPU, which I got from my brother, is used for GPU pass-through so I can run Windows VMs. The main reason for moving to that setup was the GPU pass-through feature, but the performance boost is noticeable. With current specs (11th gen hardware), I notice more affordable, reasonably old computers being sold at good prices. That gives me more choices.