NVIDIA / AMD Drivers

Note

This article has been initially checked against the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS April 2026 release notes. GPU driver versions and hardware compatibility still need ongoing validation as final images and drivers update.

GPU drivers directly affect gaming performance and system stability. This article explains how to install and configure NVIDIA and AMD GPU drivers on Ubuntu 26.04.

Checking GPU Information


# View GPU model
lspci | grep -i vga
lspci | grep -i 3d
 
# View currently loaded driver
lspci -k | grep -A 3 -i vga

NVIDIA Drivers

Method 1: Using ubuntu-drivers (Recommended)


# View recommended drivers
ubuntu-drivers devices
 
# Automatically install recommended driver
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
 
# Reboot
sudo reboot

Method 2: Manual Installation of a Specific Version


sudo apt update
 
# List available NVIDIA driver versions
apt list nvidia-driver-*
 
# Install the version reported by ubuntu-drivers devices
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-XXX -y
 
# Reboot
sudo reboot

Method 3: Via the Official NVIDIA Repository

Note

For gaming you only need the NVIDIA driver; the CUDA Toolkit can be installed directly from Ubuntu 26.04’s official repositories with sudo apt install cuda-toolkit.


# Add the official NVIDIA repository (note the matching ubuntu2604 path)
wget https://developer.download.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/repos/ubuntu2604/x86_64/cuda-keyring_1.1-1_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i cuda-keyring_1.1-1_all.deb
sudo apt update
 
# Install the recommended driver
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
sudo reboot

Verifying NVIDIA Drivers


# View driver version and GPU status
nvidia-smi
 
# View detailed information
nvidia-settings

Common NVIDIA Configuration

Enabling Performance Mode


# Set GPU performance mode
sudo nvidia-smi -pm 1
sudo nvidia-smi -pl 300  # Set power limit (watts)

Configuring Vulkan


# Verify Vulkan support
sudo apt install vulkan-tools -y
vulkaninfo | head -20

NVIDIA Wayland Support

Ubuntu 26.04 uses Wayland by default. Ensure NVIDIA drivers properly support it:


# Check if DRM modeset is enabled
cat /sys/module/nvidia_drm/parameters/modeset

If the output is not Y, edit the GRUB configuration:


sudo vim /etc/default/grub
# Add to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX:
# GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="nvidia-drm.modeset=1"
 
sudo update-grub
sudo reboot

Switching Between NVIDIA and Integrated GPU

For laptops, you can use PRIME switching:


# View current mode
prime-select query
 
# Switch to NVIDIA discrete GPU
sudo prime-select nvidia
 
# Switch to integrated GPU (power saving)
sudo prime-select intel
 
# On-demand switching mode
sudo prime-select on-demand

AMD Drivers

AMDGPU Open-Source Driver

The Ubuntu 26.04 kernel has the AMDGPU driver built in. Most AMD GPUs work out of the box with no additional installation needed.

Verify the driver is loaded:


lsmod | grep amdgpu

Installing Mesa (User-Space Driver)

Mesa provides OpenGL and Vulkan user-space implementations:


sudo apt install mesa-vulkan-drivers mesa-utils -y
 
# 32-bit support (needed for gaming)
sudo apt install mesa-vulkan-drivers:i386 -y

Installing the Latest Mesa (PPA)

If you need the latest Mesa version for better gaming performance:


sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Verifying AMD Drivers


# View OpenGL information
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"
 
# View Vulkan information
vulkaninfo --summary
 
# View GPU usage
sudo apt install radeontop -y
radeontop

AMD GPU Monitoring


# View GPU temperature and frequency
cat /sys/class/drm/card0/device/hwmon/hwmon*/temp1_input
cat /sys/class/drm/card0/device/pp_dpm_sclk
 
# Use amdgpu_top (recommended)
cargo install amdgpu_top
amdgpu_top

AMDGPU PRO Driver (Optional)

Some professional applications (e.g., DaVinci Resolve) may require the AMDGPU PRO driver:


# Download AMDGPU PRO from the AMD website
# https://www.amd.com/en/support/linux-drivers
 
# Extract and install
tar -xf amdgpu-pro-*.tar.xz
cd amdgpu-pro-*/
./amdgpu-install --vulkan=pro --opencl=rocr

Vulkan Runtime

Vulkan is the foundational graphics API for modern gaming:


# Install Vulkan runtime and tools
sudo apt install vulkan-tools libvulkan1 libvulkan1:i386 -y
 
# NVIDIA users
sudo apt install libvulkan1 libvulkan1:i386 -y
 
# AMD users
sudo apt install mesa-vulkan-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers:i386 -y
 
# Test Vulkan
vkcube
vulkaninfo --summary

General GPU Tools


# Install GPU monitoring tool
sudo apt install nvtop -y  # Supports both NVIDIA and AMD
nvtop
 
# Install glmark2 benchmark
sudo apt install glmark2 -y
glmark2
 
# Install Vulkan benchmark
sudo apt install vkmark -y
vkmark

Common Issues

Black Screen After Driver Installation

If the desktop won’t load after installing NVIDIA drivers:


# In a TTY (Ctrl + Alt + F3), remove the driver
sudo apt purge nvidia-* -y
sudo apt autoremove -y
sudo reboot

Checking Xorg Logs


cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep -i error
journalctl -b | grep -i nvidia
journalctl -b | grep -i amdgpu

Disabling Nouveau (NVIDIA Open-Source Driver)

This is usually done automatically after installing NVIDIA proprietary drivers. Manual method:


echo "blacklist nouveau" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf
echo "options nouveau modeset=0" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf
sudo update-initramfs -u
sudo reboot

Properly installing GPU drivers is the foundation of a good Linux gaming experience. Ensure the driver version matches your kernel and game requirements for optimal performance.

NVIDIA GPU — Hardware-level NVIDIA driver installation, CUDA setup, and dual-GPU switching
Steam Installation — Install the Steam client and enable Proton to play Windows games
Gaming on 26.04 — Overall gaming experience and performance on Ubuntu 26.04
Black Screen / Boot Issues — Troubleshooting and fixing black screen after GPU driver installation