From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

An old PC with a GTX660, which is nominally 2 GB VRAM.
glxinfo |grep emory
shows 'Video memory' approx 7 GB
but
Dedicated video memory 0
Total available memory approx 8 GB
so it is getting garbage.
glxinfo has worked on other PCs when I tried it.
I cannot install legacy Nvidia drivers in order to use nvtop or nvidia-smi
as Mint can't get it from archive.ubuntu.com
Any apps that will show GPU specs?
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

On 2026-09-14 04:39, Woozy Song wrote:

An old PC with a GTX660, which is nominally 2 GB VRAM.
glxinfo |grep emory
shows 'Video memory' approx 7 GB
but
Dedicated video memory 0
Total available memory approx 8 GB
so it is getting garbage.
glxinfo has worked on other PCs when I tried it.
I cannot install legacy Nvidia drivers in order to use nvtop or nvidia-smi
as Mint can't get it from archive.ubuntu.com
Any apps that will show GPU specs?

inxi?
--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.
ESEfc-Efc+, EUEfc-Efc|.
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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

On Sun, 9/13/2026 10:39 PM, Woozy Song wrote:

An old PC with a GTX660, which is nominally 2 GB VRAM.
glxinfo |grep emory
shows 'Video memory' approx 7 GB
but
Dedicated video memory 0
Total available memory approx 8 GB
so it is getting garbage.
glxinfo has worked on other PCs when I tried it.
I cannot install legacy Nvidia drivers in order to use nvtop or nvidia-smi
as Mint can't get it from archive.ubuntu.com
Any apps that will show GPU specs?

You should show us your inxi -F and your Driver Manager screen.

Your OS kinda sounds like LM213.

I tried LM223 in a fresh install, and it is offering
me the 580 driver only, for a GT1030 video card.

Some other release, I was seeing the Driver Manager telling
me that "you already have the best driver and no drivers are
available for your setup". And one way to fix that, is to
remove the 580 packages from the tree, then after a reboot,
the Driver Manager works again and legacy drivers are listed.

It would be good if you'd indicate your OS revision, like
if you aren't "current" right now.

Paul


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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

On Mon, 9/14/2026 4:39 AM, Paul wrote:

On Sun, 9/13/2026 10:39 PM, Woozy Song wrote:

An old PC with a GTX660, which is nominally 2 GB VRAM.
glxinfo |grep emory
shows 'Video memory' approx 7 GB
but
Dedicated video memory 0
Total available memory approx 8 GB
so it is getting garbage.
glxinfo has worked on other PCs when I tried it.
I cannot install legacy Nvidia drivers in order to use nvtop or nvidia-smi >> as Mint can't get it from archive.ubuntu.com
Any apps that will show GPU specs?

The GTX660 is older than my GT1030.

You will notice that as time passes, the video card support is reduced.

OS Kernel DriverManager

LM213 5.15.0-91 nvidia-driver-535 (recommended)
nvidia-driver-525
nvidia-driver-470
nvidia-driver-390
xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (selected)

LM213 5.15.0-191 nvidia-driver-580
nvidia-driver-545
nvidia-driver-390 (recommended)
xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (selected)

*******

LM223 6.14.0-37 nvidia-driver-580
nvidia-driver-570
nvidia-driver-535 (recommended)
nvidia-driver-470
xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (selected)

LM223 7.0.0-31 nvidia-driver-580 (recommended)
xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (selected)

There are two kinds of video drivers from NVidia. There is no
explicit notation in the driver description, to tell them apart.
Otherwise, we would know the 580 is some sort of "direct interface"
driver, unlike the 390 which, not only is it a legacy driver,
it uses binary blobs for the interface details.

In any case, for the stanza at the bottom of the table,
yours is unlikely to show 580 as being a candidate for
your GTX660.

Whereas if you were to install LM213, you will notice that
at least for the moment, LM213 *loves* old hardware. Everything
is going to work for you in LM213.

I tell Windows 10 users, who I know are sporting older hardware,
that LM213 is the thing for them. But, LM213 support will not
last forever, so offering them that is disingenuous. The LM213
choice would soon age out, leaving them high and dry. And you will
notice, the later Linux Mint release, the Driver Manager is
becoming barren. And nobody wants to spend $400 to fix a computer
that is worth $200 on Ebay (as a used computer).

Summary: Try installing LM213 in a separate partition. You will be
pleased with your glxinfo, as the availability of 390 means
some relatively old cards are going to work. Use the Driver
Manager to install the driver.

Paul


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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

On Sun, 9/13/2026 10:39 PM, Woozy Song wrote:

An old PC with a GTX660, which is nominally 2 GB VRAM.
glxinfo |grep emory
shows 'Video memory' approx 7 GB
but
Dedicated video memory 0
Total available memory approx 8 GB
so it is getting garbage.
glxinfo has worked on other PCs when I tried it.
I cannot install legacy Nvidia drivers in order to use nvtop or nvidia-smi
as Mint can't get it from archive.ubuntu.com
Any apps that will show GPU specs?

This item, suggests glxinfo is the way to go.

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1h7gndg/i_created_nouveausmi_a_nvidiasmi_equivalent_for/

On the LM213 setup, GT1030 2GB card, on a Zen3 with iGPU (not used) ...

Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GP108 [GeForce GT 1030] driver: nouveau v: kernel
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.4 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
unloaded: fbdev,vesa gpu: nouveau resolution: 1920x1080~75Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NV138 v: 4.3 Mesa 23.2.1-1ubuntu3.1~22.04.4 <=== OpenGL field blank ???

I get this from glxinfo.

Memory info (GL_ATI_meminfo): <=== iGPU, probably 2GB of 64GB allocated for it via BIOS function (4GB max)
VBO free memory - total: 1623 MB, largest block: 1623 MB
VBO free aux. memory - total: 1677720 MB, largest block: 1677720 MB
Texture free memory - total: 1623 MB, largest block: 1623 MB
Texture free aux. memory - total: 1677720 MB, largest block: 1677720 MB
Renderbuffer free memory - total: 1623 MB, largest block: 1623 MB
Renderbuffer free aux. memory - total: 1677720 MB, largest block: 1677720 MB
Memory info (GL_NVX_gpu_memory_info): <=== GT1030
Dedicated video memory: 2029 MB
Total available memory: 2028 MB
Currently available dedicated video memory: 1623 MB

This successful call seems to be related to OpenGL in some way. That doesn't give "utilization" like nvidia-smi would give. It's just enough for memory.

Graphics.GL.NVX
Graphics.GL.NVX.ConditionalRender
Graphics.GL.NVX.GPUMemoryInfo <=== maybe this call
Graphics.GL.NVX.GPUMulticast2
Graphics.GL.NVX.LinkedGPUMulticast
Graphics.GL.NVX.ProgressFence

The numbers are suspiciously similar, the 1623 value on *both*
the used GPU and the unused GPU.

Paul





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From Newsgroup: alt.os.linux

Paul wrote:

On Sun, 9/13/2026 10:39 PM, Woozy Song wrote:

An old PC with a GTX660, which is nominally 2 GB VRAM.
glxinfo |grep emory
shows 'Video memory' approx 7 GB
but
Dedicated video memory 0
Total available memory approx 8 GB
so it is getting garbage.
glxinfo has worked on other PCs when I tried it.
I cannot install legacy Nvidia drivers in order to use nvtop or nvidia-smi >> as Mint can't get it from archive.ubuntu.com
Any apps that will show GPU specs?

This item, suggests glxinfo is the way to go.

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1h7gndg/i_created_nouveausmi_a_nvidiasmi_equivalent_for/

On the LM213 setup, GT1030 2GB card, on a Zen3 with iGPU (not used) ...

Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GP108 [GeForce GT 1030] driver: nouveau v: kernel
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.4 driver: X: loaded: modesetting
unloaded: fbdev,vesa gpu: nouveau resolution: 1920x1080~75Hz
OpenGL: renderer: NV138 v: 4.3 Mesa 23.2.1-1ubuntu3.1~22.04.4 <=== OpenGL field blank ???

I get this from glxinfo.

Memory info (GL_ATI_meminfo): <=== iGPU, probably 2GB of 64GB allocated for it via BIOS function (4GB max)
VBO free memory - total: 1623 MB, largest block: 1623 MB
VBO free aux. memory - total: 1677720 MB, largest block: 1677720 MB
Texture free memory - total: 1623 MB, largest block: 1623 MB
Texture free aux. memory - total: 1677720 MB, largest block: 1677720 MB
Renderbuffer free memory - total: 1623 MB, largest block: 1623 MB
Renderbuffer free aux. memory - total: 1677720 MB, largest block: 1677720 MB
Memory info (GL_NVX_gpu_memory_info): <=== GT1030
Dedicated video memory: 2029 MB
Total available memory: 2028 MB
Currently available dedicated video memory: 1623 MB

This successful call seems to be related to OpenGL in some way. That doesn't give "utilization" like nvidia-smi would give. It's just enough for memory.

Graphics.GL.NVX
Graphics.GL.NVX.ConditionalRender
Graphics.GL.NVX.GPUMemoryInfo <=== maybe this call
Graphics.GL.NVX.GPUMulticast2
Graphics.GL.NVX.LinkedGPUMulticast
Graphics.GL.NVX.ProgressFence

The numbers are suspiciously similar, the 1623 value on *both*
the used GPU and the unused GPU.

Paul

I've tried on the other PCs I have and glxinfo gave sensible info,
except one that has HP OEM card. For that nvtop/nvidia-smi report N/A
for most of the data, presumably due to HP hiding the sensor data or
screwing the device ID in firmware.
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