Date: Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:26:34 -0400 From: Michael Powell <nightrecon@verizon.net> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Which nVidea driver to install Message-ID: <h0iara$s46$1@ger.gmane.org> References: <BLU0-SMTP8613F19A51990C194F61A193460@phx.gbl> <h0hkvr$mtl$1@ger.gmane.org> <20090608042712.43c87019@gumby.homeunix.com>
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RW wrote: > On Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:13:30 -0400 > Michael Powell <nightrecon@verizon.net> wrote: > >> The nv can easily be installed along with Xorg. The nvidia driver is >> more complex as it relies on the linuxolator to function, so there is >> a larger number of dependencies. This is incorrect: > I think that's misleading, AFAIK it's more a case that it can optionally > support OpenGL for Linux binaries, in which case it acquires some Linux > dependencies. > [snip] To install the nvidia-driver port a kernel module named nvidia.ko is compiled. This module requires linux.ko to be loaded first. The reason is the nvidia-driver itself is a linux binary blob, and consequently must utilize the linuxolator to run. Very simple concept. The OpenGL support is part of the install. It is not related to any so called 'optional support for Linux binaries'. Ask yourself this: when you run glxgears is glxgears a linux binary or was it compiled as a FreeBSD binary? For example, you will see much improved performance in KDE with the nvidia- driver installed. When you compiled and installed KDE it built FreeBSD binaries, not Linux ones. Enabling the use of the 3D hardware acceleration engineered into modern graphics cards works for things other than just linux binaries and/or OpenGL. But since the nvidia-driver is itself a Linux binary blob pre-compiled by Nvidia, you must have linuxolator support to use it. That does not mean that only Linux (e.g. - non FreeBSD) binaries will be able to take advantage. -Mike
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