Driver Update: Nvidia Linux Display Driver 331.38

Nvidia has released new stable *nix display drivers, with version number 331.38. The drivers are available for Linux (32 bit poor), Linux (x86/IA32), Linux (AMD64/EM64T), Solaris (x64/x86), FreeBSD (x86) and FreeBSD (x64). Specific installation instructions can be found on the individual pages. The release notes for this release show the following changes and improvements:

Release Highlights

• Fixed a bug that caused the X server to crash if video memory is exhausted and the GPU does not support rendering to system memory.
• Updated nvidia-installer to make the –multiple-kernel-modules option imply the –no-unified-memory option: Unified memory is incompatible with multiple kernel modules.
• Updated the behavior of the nvidia-settings PowerMizer Preferred Mode drop-down menu, to make the setting apply consistently across all GPUs in an SLI group.
• Improved the robustness of the NVIDIA X driver in scenarios where GPU-accessible memory for allocating pixmaps was exhausted.
• Added NV-CONTROL attributes to control the brightness of the illuminated logos on certain graphics boards.
  nvidia-settings –assign GPULogoBrightness=0
• Fixed a bug that prevented screen transformations from being applied properly when starting X.
• GLX protocol for the following OpenGL extensions from OpenGL 2.1 and OpenGL 3.0 have been promoted from unofficial to ARB approved official status:
  • GL_ARB_pixel_buffer_object
  • GL_NV_conditional_render
  • GL_ARB_map_buffer_range
  • GL_EXT_texture_integer
  • GL_ARB_vertex_array_object

  GL_ARB_pixel_buffer_object was the last piece of protocol needed to have official support for indirect rendering with all OpenGL 2.1 commands.

• GLX Protocol for the miscellaneous OpenGL 3.0 commands not associated with specific extensions has also been promoted from unofficial to ARB approved status.
• Deprecated display mask related configuration of display devices via NV-CONTROL and nvidia-settings.Display target specifications should be used instead – A display target is one of the display’s valid names, with an optional GPU or X screen qualifier.
• Deprecated the following NV-CONTROL attributes:
  • NV_CTRL_CONNECTED_DISPLAYS
  • NV_CTRL_ENABLED_DISPLAYS
  • NV_CTRL_ASSOCIATED_DISPLAYS
  • NV_CTRL_NOTEBOOK_INTERNAL_LCD
  • NV_CTRL_FRAMELOCK_MASTER
  • NV_CTRL_FRAMELOCK_SLAVES
  • NV_CTRL_FRAMELOCK_MASTERABLE
  • NV_CTRL_FRAMELOCK_SLAVEABLE

  Also, although NV_CTRL_PROBE_DISPLAYS is still operational, the return value has been deprecated and should not be used.

• Added deprecation warning messages in nvidia-settings when deprecated attributes are used.This also includes display mask usage.

The following downloads are available:
Linux 32-bit ARM display driver
Linux x86/IA32 display driver
Linux x64 (x86_64/AMD64/EM64T) display driver
Solaris (x64/x86) display driver
FreeBSD (x86) display driver
FreeBSD (x64) display driver