Which nVidea driver to install

[Michael Powell]

RW wrote:

> On Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:13:30 -0400
> Michael Powell <nightrecon at 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