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I have an NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT.

I'm currently using nvidia-331 since the Nouveau open drivers were giving me some trouble.

But I have several other drivers to select, see:

enter image description here

What are the differences between them and which one should I select?

Gabriel
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2 Answers2

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The versions are as follows:

  • nvidia-331: the current release
  • nvidia-173: an old legacy binary driver, supporting (much) older cards
  • nvidia-304: a more recent legacy binary driver, supporting older cards
  • nvidia-331-updates: the update channel for the current release (but it's the same as the version in nvidia-331 now)
  • nvidia-304-updates: the update channel for nvidia-304
  • nouveau: the nouveau free driver

Update channels contain new versions available for testing; once a version has been tested it is made available in the normal channel.

If nouveau isn't working for you, then nvidia-331 is the appropriate version, since it supports your card. You'd only use one of the legacy versions with an older card, or if the current driver is causing problems (as pointed out by Mark). You could use the update channel if you want to try the very latest (untested) versions, but there isn't anything new there currently.

Community
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Stephen Kitt
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  • Very thorough answer, thank you very much Stephen! – Gabriel Jul 11 '15 at 18:19
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    The other reason you'd use one of the legacy versions is if the current driver is causing problems, though this is a far more common situation with ATI than with NVidia. – Mark Jul 11 '15 at 22:32
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Since the other drivers are legacy drivers or a nouveau driver you should choose the first one. Can you translate me what stands in the 1. and 4. brackets?

nifker
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