Ubuntu Support Template
Ubuntu Version:
Example: 24.04.4
Desktop Environment (if applicable):
Example: GNOME
Problem Description:
Hello everyone,
I am considering installing an RTX 2000 Ada Generation with 16GB of VRAM on a workstation running Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS. Running uname -r reports kernel version 6.17.0-14-generic.
From my checks, the 550 driver branch does not compile correctly on kernel 6.16+. I would like to validate with you the following command sequence to enable the compute stack (CUDA) while maintaining system stability.
1. Cleanup and Repository Setup
I want to ensure there are no conflicts with pre-existing modules:
sudo apt purge nvidia* libnvidia* -y
sudo apt autoremove -y
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa -y
sudo apt update
2. Driver Installation (Target Kernel 6.17)
Given the kernel version, I intend to install the 590 branch (or the latest available in the PPA) with DKMS support:
# Install driver and headers for kernel 6.17
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-590 dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r) -y
3. CUDA Stack and Memory Tuning
For compute/inference workloads, I will proceed with toolkit installation and swappiness tuning (essential to prevent desktop freezes if models saturate the 16GB of VRAM):
sudo apt install nvidia-cuda-toolkit -y
# Swappiness tuning to better manage RAM offloading
echo 'vm.swappiness=10' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo sysctl -p
4. Verification
nvidia-smi
nvcc --version
Questions for the community:
- Do these steps look correct to you?
- Driver 590 Stability on Kernel 6.17: Has anyone experienced “GPU falling off the bus” issues with Ada Lovelace cards on this specific HWE kernel? Were you able to resolve them?
- Wayland vs X11: For purely CUDA/compute workflows, are there any known drawbacks to using Noble’s default Wayland session with kernel 6.17?
- DKMS: Can anyone confirm that the DKMS module properly handles 6.17 kernel micro-updates without requiring manual driver reinstallation?
Thanks for any technical feedback.
