• Understanding the Significance of Graphics Drivers: Graphic drivers are essential components that bridge the gap between your system’s hardware and software, enabling your Manjaro Linux to produce high-quality visuals. The critical roles of NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel drivers are highlighted, providing a broad understanding of their functioning.
• Navigating the Installation of Graphics Drivers: A clear roadmap is provided for locating and installing the correct graphics drivers specific to your hardware using the Manjaro Hardware Detection tool. Each step of the installation process for AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel drivers is detailed, with handy tips for resolving common issues.
• Harnessing Optimal Performance: The importance of regular optimization and updates to your graphics drivers is emphasized, with a goal of ensuring a seamless and efficient user experience. Pro tips for smoother operation and maintenance of your graphics system are shared, further enhancing your journey with Manjaro Linux.
• Graphics Driver Troubleshooting: The article delves into common challenges faced by users and provides practical solutions for common pitfalls. This includes handling GRUB rescue mode and other typical driver problems, ensuring you’re never left in a bind.

Having to choose between NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel while configuring graphics drivers on Manjaro may seem like a hard chore. This concern has tripped up many.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll peel back the layers of graphics drivers, starting with an understanding of their significance and the roles of NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel drivers. We’ll then step into the heart of the matter: installing these graphics drivers. From identifying the right versions for your hardware to a step-by-step walkthrough of installation for each driver type, we’ll clear the fog around this often daunting process.

We’ll offer tips for optimizing your graphics drivers and troubleshooting common issues. By the time you’ve journeyed through this guide, not only will your Manjaro machine be humming with a well-optimized graphical performance.

The Unsung Heroes of Your Visual Adventure

Dive into the world of your Manjaro Linux system and marvel at the vibrant, pulsating heart of your visual experience – the graphics drivers. These hardworking champions bridge the gap between your system’s software and the graphics hardware. They’re the unsung heroes, translating your system’s needs into a language your graphics card can understand.

Your Graphics Card’s Rosetta Stone

Without these translators, your system is like a tourist lost in a foreign country, unable to read the street signs or understand the local dialect. With graphics drivers, your software’s instructions are interpreted and executed perfectly by your hardware, delivering that crisp, smooth visual performance you love.

The Triumvirate: NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel

In this graphical odyssey, you’ll encounter the triumvirate of NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel – each with their unique prowess.

NVIDIA: The Titan of Performance

Take NVIDIA, the powerhouse, adored by gamers and professionals alike. NVIDIA drivers are akin to a finely tuned sports car – delivering the high-octane performance needed for demanding graphical tasks.

AMD: The Jack of All Trades

On the other side, we have AMD, the versatile contender. AMD drivers are the reliable family car – not as flashy as NVIDIA, but they’ll get you where you need to go with a steady, solid performance.

Intel: The Dependable Companion

Then there’s Intel, the steady companion you’ll often find in laptops and budget desktops. Intel may not offer the raw power of NVIDIA or the flexibility of AMD, but it’s a dependable choice for everyday computing tasks.

As you navigate your way through your Manjaro Linux journey, remember the crucial role your graphics drivers play. They aim to provide you with a smooth, immersive experience by ensuring that your system is speaking the same language as your hardware, rather than merely providing eye candy.

Locating the Correct Graphics Driver

To determine the exact terminology of your card, run:

inxi -G

This will show you the Graphics cards installed, and the name they’re known by. For instance, my card is an AMD Radeon RX 6600.

Luckily, Manjaro simplifies determine the correct driver for you with its built-in Manjaro Hardware Detection Tool.

This tool, simply known as ‘mhwd’, is a gem. It effortlessly identifies your hardware and presents you with the suitable drivers. To access it, open a terminal and type:

sudo mhwd -l

AMD

Make sure to locate your Correct Graphics Driver as above.

Once you’ve identified the correct driver from the list, it’s time for installation. Let’s say the driver’s name is ‘video-amdgpu’. Use the below command to install it:

sudo mhwd -i pci video-amdgpu

After the installation completes, reboot your system to let the changes take effect.

sudo reboot

Tackling AMD-Specific Quirks

Despite the seamless process, you might occasionally stumble upon some AMD-specific hiccups. Below you’ll find a couples of common scenarios, with options to rectify them:

Screen Tearing: Create or edit a configuration file at ‘/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-amdgpu.conf’ and include the following content:

Section “Device”
Identifier “AMD”
Driver “amdgpu”
Option “TearFree” “true”
EndSection

Save the changes and reboot. Your screen tearing issue should now be history!

Poor Performance in Games: Sometimes, games might not perform as expected due to the ‘radeonsi’ driver’s power-saving mode. If you’re less concerned about power savings and more concerned about performance. open and edit the bashrc profile as below:

nano ~/.bashrc

Scroll to the end of the file and add your new environment variable:

export mesa_glthread=true

As it says on the bottom there, Ctrl+X to exit Nano – make sure to save your changes on exit.

Log out and back in, or run the following command to apply this setting to your current session:
source ~/.bashrc

Now, the mesa_glthread environment variable is set to true for your user, and the setting will persist across reboots.

After saving the changes, reboot the system. Enjoy smoother gameplay!

NVIDIA

For those of you sporting NVIDIA graphics cards, don’t worry – Manjaro’s got your back. The process of installing NVIDIA drivers is a breeze, thanks to the mhwd tool we’ve previously discussed. Here’s your action plan:

Make sure to locate your Correct Graphics Driver as above.

Identify the right driver. You’re looking for video-nvidia, followed by the version number. This should match the model of your card. For example, video-nvidia-390xx is a driver for older NVIDIA cards.

Once you’ve identified the correct driver, it’s time to install. The command for this will look likie this:
sudo mhwd -i pci

For example: sudo mhwd -i pci video-nvidia-390xx.

After installation, reboot your system to make sure the changes take effect.

Navigating the NVIDIA Snags

As seamless as Manjaro tries to make this process, sometimes you may hit some snags. Here are a few common pitfalls and how to dance around them:

Black screen after reboot. A common culprit is the absence of a configuration file – to creatue one, use:
nvidia-xconfig

And reboot again to test.

Wrong version of the driver installed. If your system is acting up after the installation, you might have installed the wrong driver version. Double-check your GPU model and the corresponding driver version. Uninstall the wrong driver using sudo mhwd -r pci , and then install the correct one. In order to access this you may need to use a live environment or Ctrl + Alt + F2-6 to switch consoles after boot.

Driver clashes due to Optimus technology. If you’re using a laptop with both integrated Intel graphics and an NVIDIA GPU, you may experience problems due to NVIDIA’s Optimus technology. You can address this by installing an Optimus manager like optimus-manager that lets you switch between the Intel and NVIDIA graphics as needed.

Intel Graphics

Make sure to locate your Correct Graphics Driver as above.

For Intel graphics, you’re looking for ‘i915’ or ‘iris’ as your guide. If you find a different guide, you need to update your drivers.

The Manjaro Hardware Detection (mhwd) tool is exceptually useful for determining and installing the proper drivers.

Open your terminal and list all the drivers available to you:
sudo mhwd -l

If ‘video-linux’ not there, use this command which will install the open source driver for your Intel graphics:
sudo mhwd -i pci video-linux

Overcoming Intel Installation Obstacles

Unpredictable system behavior or performance issues: If your system slows down after updating the driver, it might be time to backtrack. Uninstall the current driver (sudo mhwd -r pci video-linux) and reinstall the old one.

Screen tearing: To fix this, you can enable TearFree mode in the Intel driver:

echo -e ‘Section “Device”\n Identifier “Intel Graphics”\n Driver “Intel”\n Option “TearFree” “true”\nEndSection’ | sudo tee /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf

Restart your system after this. This should clear your path of the pesky roots causing screen tearing.

Channeling Power for Peak Performance

Imagine you’re a high-performance race car driver. Your car’s horsepower, the graphics card, is paramount to winning races. But just as critical is the tuning of your car, the optimization of your graphics drivers. Just as a finely-tuned engine can make the difference between first place and last, a well-optimized graphics driver can mean the difference between a stuttering mess and buttery smooth visuals.

Trimming the Fat – Disable Unnecessary Services: First things first, let’s remove any unnecessary weight. Much like a race car doesn’t need air conditioning, your graphics card doesn’t need services that aren’t contributing to its performance. Check your system for running services with the command systemctl –type=service. Disable any service not in use with sudo systemctl disable serviceName.

Running on Premium – Use High-Performance Mode: If you’re using a laptop, ensure you’re running on high-performance mode. Just like a race car runs better on high-octane fuel, your graphics card performs better when it’s not trying to conserve energy. You can adjust this setting in your power management options.

The Pit Stop – Keeping Your Drivers Up-to-Date

Much like a race car needs regular pit stops, your graphics drivers need regular updates. In Manjaro, the process is simple. Your terminal is your pit crew, ready to swiftly get you back on track:

In a terminal enter to do a full system update:
sudo pacman -Syu.

The Smooth Operator – Tips for a Hassle-Free Ride

Let’s talk about keeping things running smoothly. Here’s where our race car metaphor meets reality – because unlike a race car, you want your graphics card to be quiet and cool.

Cool as a Cucumber – Monitor Your Temperature: Just as a race car engine can overheat, so too can your graphics card. Use the command sensors to keep an eye on your GPU temperature. If it’s consistently running hot, consider improving your computer’s cooling system.

Silent Running – Reduce Fan Noise: Some graphics cards sound like a race car, too. If yours is one of them, look into adjusting your fan curve to reduce noise. Check your GPU manufacturer’s documentation for instructions.

The Road to a Seamless Graphics Experience

We’ve travelled quite a distance together on this journey through Manjaro’s landscape, one that began with the humble understanding of graphics drivers and the crucial roles they play in our systems. Much like understanding the significance of the engine in a car, the importance of NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel drivers in providing a seamless user experience cannot be overstated.

Identifying your hardware specifics and sourcing the right drivers was a task that required precision and patience, but every journey starts with a single step, and that was ours.

The installation process for each type of driver – be it AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel, came with its own unique set of challenges. But just like solving a complex puzzle, each step we took brought us closer to the desired outcome – a perfectly functioning graphics system.

Published @ 2023-05-11 23:53