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Mattscreative edited this page Dec 5, 2025 · 2 revisions

Arch Linux Graphics Drivers Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to installing and configuring graphics drivers on Arch Linux for NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel GPUs.

Table of Contents

  1. Detecting Your GPU
  2. NVIDIA Drivers
  3. AMD Drivers
  4. Intel Graphics
  5. Hybrid Graphics
  6. Verifying Installation
  7. Troubleshooting

Detecting Your GPU

Identify Graphics Card

Check your GPU:

# List PCI devices
lspci | grep VGA

# Detailed GPU info
lspci -k | grep -A 2 VGA

Expected output:

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation ...
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation ...

Check Current Drivers

See what's loaded:

# Check loaded modules
lsmod | grep -E "nvidia|amdgpu|intel"

# Check Xorg drivers
ls /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/

🟢 NVIDIA Drivers

Install NVIDIA Drivers

For modern GPUs (600 series and newer):

# Install NVIDIA drivers
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings

# For 32-bit support
sudo pacman -S lib32-nvidia-utils

For older GPUs (400-600 series):

# Install legacy drivers
sudo pacman -S nvidia-470xx-dkms nvidia-settings

# For 32-bit
sudo pacman -S lib32-nvidia-470xx-utils

For very old GPUs (before 400 series):

# Install very old drivers
sudo pacman -S nvidia-390xx-dkms nvidia-settings

# For 32-bit
sudo pacman -S lib32-nvidia-390xx-utils

NVIDIA DKMS

Dynamic Kernel Module Support:

# Install DKMS version
sudo pacman -S nvidia-dkms

# Rebuild modules after kernel update
sudo dkms install nvidia/XXX

Why DKMS:

  • Works with custom kernels
  • Auto-rebuilds on kernel update
  • More flexible

NVIDIA Configuration

Generate Xorg config:

# Generate config
sudo nvidia-xconfig

# Or manually edit
sudo vim /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Common settings:

# Enable modesetting
sudo vim /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf

Add:

options nvidia-drm modeset=1

NVIDIA Optimus (Laptop)

For laptops with NVIDIA + Intel:

# Install Optimus support
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings

# Install PRIME support
sudo pacman -S nvidia-prime

Switch GPU:

# Use NVIDIA
prime-run application

# Or set default
sudo prime-select nvidia

AMD Drivers

Install AMD Drivers

Open-source drivers (recommended):

# Install AMD drivers
sudo pacman -S mesa xf86-video-amdgpu

# For 32-bit support
sudo pacman -S lib32-mesa

For older AMD GPUs (before GCN 1.0):

# Install legacy drivers
sudo pacman -S xf86-video-ati

AMDGPU Configuration

Enable features:

# Edit kernel parameters
sudo vim /etc/default/grub

Add to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT:

radeon.si_support=0 amdgpu.si_support=1

Regenerate GRUB:

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

AMDGPU Pro (Optional)

Proprietary drivers (if needed):

# Install from AUR
yay -S amdgpu-pro-libgl

** Usually not needed** - open-source drivers work well.

Intel Graphics

Install Intel Drivers

Intel graphics drivers:

# Install Intel drivers
sudo pacman -S mesa xf86-video-intel

# For 32-bit
sudo pacman -S lib32-mesa

Usually works out of the box on modern systems.

Intel Configuration

Enable features:

# Install Intel tools
sudo pacman -S intel-gpu-tools

# Check GPU info
intel_gpu_top

Hybrid Graphics

NVIDIA + Intel

Laptop with both GPUs:

# Install both drivers
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils intel-gpu-tools

# Install PRIME
sudo pacman -S nvidia-prime

Switch GPU:

# Use NVIDIA
prime-run application

# Use Intel
DRI_PRIME=1 application

AMD + Intel

Laptop with both GPUs:

# Install both drivers
sudo pacman -S mesa xf86-video-amdgpu xf86-video-intel

Switch GPU:

# Use AMD
DRI_PRIME=0 application

# Use Intel
DRI_PRIME=1 application

Verifying Installation

Check NVIDIA

Verify NVIDIA drivers:

# Check NVIDIA driver
nvidia-smi

# Check OpenGL
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

# Or
glxinfo | grep "direct rendering"

Expected output:

OpenGL renderer string: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060/PCIe/SSE2
direct rendering: Yes

Check AMD

Verify AMD drivers:

# Check OpenGL
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

# Check Mesa version
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"

Expected output:

OpenGL renderer string: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
OpenGL version string: 4.6 (Core Profile) Mesa 23.3.0

Check Intel

Verify Intel drivers:

# Check OpenGL
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL renderer"

# Check GPU info
intel_gpu_top

Install glxinfo

If glxinfo not found:

# Install Mesa utils
sudo pacman -S mesa-utils

Troubleshooting

Black Screen After Install

NVIDIA black screen:

# Boot with nomodeset
# Edit GRUB, add: nomodeset

# Or disable modesetting
sudo vim /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf

Add:

options nvidia-drm modeset=0

Driver Not Loading

Check module loading:

# Check if module loaded
lsmod | grep nvidia

# Load module manually
sudo modprobe nvidia

# Check dmesg for errors
dmesg | grep -i nvidia

Xorg Errors

Check Xorg logs:

# View Xorg log
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep -i error

# Or
journalctl -b | grep -i xorg

Reinstall Drivers

Clean reinstall:

# Remove NVIDIA
sudo pacman -Rns nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings

# Clean module cache
sudo rm -rf /usr/lib/modules/*/extramodules/nvidia

# Reinstall
sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils nvidia-settings

# Rebuild initramfs
sudo mkinitcpio -P

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. GPU detection - Identify your graphics card
  2. NVIDIA drivers - Install and configure
  3. AMD drivers - Open-source drivers
  4. Intel graphics - Intel GPU setup
  5. Hybrid graphics - Multiple GPUs
  6. Verification - Check installation
  7. Troubleshooting - Common issues

Key Takeaways:

  • NVIDIA: Use nvidia package
  • AMD: Use mesa and xf86-video-amdgpu
  • Intel: Usually works automatically
  • Verify with glxinfo or nvidia-smi
  • Rebuild initramfs after driver install

Next Steps

This guide is based on the ArchWiki. For the most up-to-date information, always refer to the official ArchWiki.

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