NVIDIA driver 595.58.03 released as the big new recommended stable driver for Linux

A big day for NVIDIA GPU owners on Linux, as the brand new 595.58.03 driver is out as the latest recommended stable release with new features.

GamingOnLinux covered the previous Beta 595.45.04, which included the exciting Vulkan extension addition of VK_EXT_descriptor_heap. This is what should, eventually, help performance when playing Windows games via Proton with DirectX -> Vulkan. But, as I stated before - don't go jumping in expecting a big performance bump right now as work is still to be done to ensure it's actually implemented across Wine / Proton (with VKD3D-Proton / DXVK).

Since the Beta release, NVIDIA have added in a bunch more bug fixes. From the changelog here's everything that's new:

Highlights since R595 Beta Release, 595.45.04

• Fixed a regression introduced in the 580.119.02 driver release which caused some X11 compositors (e.g. picom, Xfwm) to blink:
  https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/issues/986
  https://github.com/yshui/picom/issues/1488
• Fixed a bug that would prevent kwin_wayland from being able to wake up display under certain scenarios.
  https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/bug-external-monitor-fails-to-wake-up-from-powersave-mode-if-refresh-rate-is-higher-than-30hz/316612
• Fixed a bug that causes a kernel crash when display docks or other DisplayPort MST configurations are disconnected from the GPU.
  https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/kernel-null-pointer-dereference-in-nvidia-modeset-during-thunderbolt-dock-disconnect/359280
• Fixed a bug that caused kernel panics on Linux kernels configured with CONFIG_RANDSTRUCT_FULL or CONFIG_RANDSTRUCT_PERFORMANCE:
  https://github.com/NVIDIA/open-gpu-kernel-modules/issues/1033
• Improved support for falling back to system memory when available video memory is low, to help prevent Wayland desktop freezes.
• Fixed a bug that caused nvidia-drm to report errors in the system log and fail to enumerate connectors on some DisplayPort MST configurations.
• Fixed a bug that could cause a kernel crash on driver initialization on some DisplayPort MST configurations.
• Fixed a regression introduced in the 575.xx driver series which prevented EGL-X11 applications from starting on SLI Mosaic.
• Fixed a bug that could cause flickering in VRR on some HDMI displays.
• Fixed a regression, introduced after the 470.xx release series, that could cause four 4k monitors, driven as separate X11 X screens on one GPU, to fail modeset.
• Fixed kernel module build issue with Linux kernel v6.19.
• Fixed a bug that could cause an Xid error to be reported in the system log, along with a VK_DEVICE_LOST API error, when repeatedly resizing Vulkan application windows.

Highlights from R595 Beta Release, 595.45.04

• Added support for the VK_EXT_descriptor_heap extension.
• Fixed a bug that caused GPU hangs and Xid errors in Black Myth: Wukong.
• Added support for DRI3 version 1.2.
• Added support for the VK_EXT_present_timing extension.
• Fixed hang when NVIDIA Smooth Motion is enabled in applications that use VK_KHR_present_id2.
• Modified nvidia.ko to handle video memory preservation on its own when the open kernel modules are in use if NVreg_UseKernelSuspendNotifiers=1 is enabled. When the proprietary driver is in use, or if kernel suspend notifiers are disabled, video memory preservation requires using the /proc/driver/nvidia/suspend interface for suspend and resume notifications.
  See the chapter titled "Configuring Power Management Support" in the README for more information.
• Enabled the nvidia-drm.ko modeset=1 parameter by default.
• Updated the driver to allow nvidia-smi to reset GPUs while nvidia-drm is loaded with the modeset=1 parameter enabled, as long as no other processes are using the GPU.
• Added a new application profile - CudaNoStablePerfLimit - that allows CUDA-using apps to reach P0 PState. See the 'Application Profiles' appendix of the driver README for details.
• * Raised the minimum supported Wayland version to 1.20.
• * Fixed a bug that prevented the PowerMizer preferred mode dropdown menu in the nvidia-settings control panel from functioning correctly on Wayland.
• * Raised the minimum supported glibc version to 2.27.
• * Improved the performance of recreating Vulkan swapchains. This helps prevent stuttering when resizing Vulkan application windows.
• * Raised the minimum supported X.Org xserver version to 1.17 (video driver ABI version 19).
• Fixed a bug that caused adaptive sync displays to go blank when connected with an active USB-C-to-HDMI adapter.
• Fixed a bug that could cause Vulkan swapchains to stop presenting new frames on X11.

Again, NVIDIA are listing items in the changelog that were in a previous driver version. I did contact NVIDIA, and they told me they would fix it - but it appears they still have not. So in the above list a few items are highlighted with an Asterisk* that were in a previous driver release and not actually new here directly.

Source: NVIDIA