# NVIDIA proprietary Linux drivers 40 Hacker News commenters recommended NVIDIA proprietary Linux drivers and 49 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 20 years (9 owners). **Verdict:** Most people say they install easily and work reliably once set up, even for everyday use. Common caveat: they can break on kernel updates and have Wayland quirks. ## Why people recommend it - Installs easily and just works (6 comments): "For most distributions you can simply install the (proprietary) nvidia drivers and you're good to go." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46193689)) "the equivalent proprietary Nvidia driver just worked after being installed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46459083)) "I just have to install the proprietary NVIDIA driver, zero issues." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46464581)) - Zero issues for long-time users (6 comments): "I've used the official Nvidia drivers on Linux for 5 years now and had excellent performance and few or no graphical glitches" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45991805)) "I've never run into any issues with my GTX 1070 and proprietary drivers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46096127)) "Haven't really ever had much issues with nvidia drivers on Linux tbh" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46796275)) - Works well for everyday use (4 comments): "I've used the official Nvidia drivers on Linux for 5 years now and had excellent performance and few or no graphical glitches" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45991805)) "It works well enough when you use nVidia's proprietary drivers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49102616)) "If you use their binary blobs it works pretty well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46480142)) - Faster than open-source alternatives (2 comments): "linux without the proprietary nvidia drivers is slower than the proprietary ones. try switching to them if you can" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49402206)) "the proprietary driver has always blown away nouveau at 3D rendering performance and featureset" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47131214)) ## What people warn about - Breaks on kernel updates (4 comments): "The proprietary drivers work well once set up, but kernel updates, Wayland quirks, and driver installs can be more hands-on than with AMD or Intel." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46475544)) "The Nvidia drivers are a pain to install and tend to break randomly on kernel updates, but once built properly they always just work for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46462018)) "nVidia used to be a massive headache to deal with because the driver would frequently break with kernel updates" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49430334)) - Slower in DirectX 12 games (3 comments): "If you're a normie they're good. If you're demanding the top fps at the top resolution in dx12 games then there is still a noticeable difference" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46796344)) "One thing that is very real is DirectX 12 performance. This one really does suffer due to poor nvidia drivers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46211919)) "In practically every benchmark the Linux Nvidia drivers notably underperform compared to the windows driver." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47509777)) - Weak Wayland and HDR support (3 comments): "Nvidia got a terrible reputation for refusing to implement GBM for Wayland desktops, insisting on the nonstandard EGLStream protocol for close to a decade." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49553764)) "The proprietary drivers work well once set up, but kernel updates, Wayland quirks, and driver installs can be more hands-on than with AMD or Intel." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46475544)) "HDR enabling requiring basically a hack because Nvidia doesn't want to implement color managent wayland uses" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45994342)) - Closed source privacy and lock-in concerns (3 comments): "Somehow propietary Radeon, Nvidia, some Intel audio drivers for SOCs and the tons of ARM related firmware blobs are not a security issue. At all." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47872851)) "They want you to write code against their proprietary drivers and APIs, not directly against the hardware" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49458842)) "the philosophical/potential-privacy annoyance of running closed source code on my open source system" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46796576)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Mesa](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mesa.md): 30 recommend - [Nvidia drivers](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nvidia-drivers.md): 25 recommend - [amdgpu driver](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amdgpu.md): 15 recommend - [AMD graphics drivers](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amd-graphics-drivers.md): 9 recommend - [Nouveau driver](https://hackerapproved.com/p/nouveau.md): 8 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "NVIDIA proprietary Linux drivers", https://hackerapproved.com/p/nvidia-proprietary-linux-drivers/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).