NVIDIA has released Linux driver version 590.44.01, which excludes support for the older GTX 900 and GTX 10 series graphics cards. This marks the end of regular updates for these Maxwell and Pascal-based GPUs on Linux systems. Users with these cards may need to revert to legacy drivers for continued compatibility.
NVIDIA's latest Linux driver, version 590.44.01, was released on December 2, 2025, for 64-bit systems. The driver drops support for desktop GPUs from the GTX 900 series (Maxwell architecture) and GTX 10 series (Pascal architecture), starting support instead from the GTX 16 series (Turing) and extending to the newest RTX 50 series. Mobile variants of newer GPUs remain supported.
This change aligns with NVIDIA's ongoing phase-out of older hardware. On Windows, the GTX 700 to GTX 10 series lost Game Ready Driver support after October 2025, transitioning to quarterly security updates until October 2028. For Linux, the 580 branch was initially expected to be the final one supporting these series, but NVIDIA extended it to the 590 branch, which jumped directly from 580.
The new driver includes several enhancements: it raises the minimum supported Wayland version to 1.20, fixes a bug in the PowerMizer preferred mode dropdown on Wayland, increases the minimum glibc version to 2.27, improves Vulkan swapchain recreation performance to reduce stuttering, sets the minimum X.Org xserver version to 1.17, corrects DPI reporting for monitors like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, resolves Vulkan issues on Venus VirtIO virtual GPUs, and fixes system freezes on PREEMPT_RT kernels.
One user, Tekstryder, reported that their GTX 1050 Ti is no longer recognized by the 590.44.01 driver and must revert to a 580 legacy version. The change affects popular cards like the GTX 1080 Ti. While these GPUs can still function, they will only receive security updates, lacking day-one optimizations for new games. NVIDIA recommends upgrading to newer RTX series, especially as prices may rise due to increasing VRAM costs.
Most users have already moved to newer hardware, as evidenced by recent Steam Hardware Surveys showing declining presence of Maxwell and Pascal GPUs.