We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

NVIDIA Vulkan Beta Driver 440.66.14 released

By - | Views: 13,721

NVIDIA have released a brand new Vulkan Beta Driver for Linux which pulls in another Ray Tracing extension and some bug fixes.

Here's what's new in 440.66.14 (you can find the changelog here any time):

  • New:
  • Fixes:
    • Fixed the returned pCheckpointDataCount value for vkGetQueueCheckpointDataNV when there are less than the requested values
    • Process the VkTimelineSemaphoreSubmitInfo structure correctly for vkQueueBindSparse
    • Fixed vec3 immediate indexing in ray tracing shaders

*rayTracingPrimitiveCulling indicates whether the implementation supports primitive culling during ray traversal.

It's really great to see NVIDIA continue to expand their support of Vulkan Ray Tracing, and they were really early in getting even a test driver out with support for the provision cross-vendor Ray Tracing extensions for Vulkan that were announced recently.

Reminder: you know it's a special Beta driver thanks to the additional two numbers on the end of the version string, with the newest stable version of the NVIDIA driver for Linux at 440.82 which released on April 7. This special Vulkan developer beta driver is where all the shiny new stuff goes in before making its way into the stable release for everyone. Really, it's mostly aimed at developers. Unless you need what's in them, it's best to wait for the stable drivers.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
11 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
4 comments

Comandante Ñoñardo May 12, 2020
hmmm... Metro Exodus has Ray tracing on Windows 10... Maybe the Linux/Vulkan port will support it too.
Ehvis May 12, 2020
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: Comandante Ñoñardohmmm... Metro Exodus has Ray tracing on Windows 10... Maybe the Linux/Vulkan port will support it too.

One would assume that the port would be based on the Stadia version. And Stadia is based on AMD hardware which (as far as I know) doesn't even have initial support for the ray tracking extension. So not likely.
TheRiddick May 13, 2020
I wonder if RTX features can be mapped to Vulkan via proton someday, that would be VERY cool!
Ehvis May 13, 2020
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: TheRiddickI wonder if RTX features can be mapped to Vulkan via proton someday, that would be VERY cool!

There is already a branch in one of the vkd3d repos that has some initial work for it.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.