NVIDIA released on 9 September 2026 the Linux driver 615.71.09, from the New Feature Branch. For those who game on Linux with a GeForce GPU, the biggest change is the support for VK_NV_low_latency revision 2: in Proton, games with native Vulkan rendering that use NvLowLatencyVk.dll now have immediate support for NVIDIA Reflex. The version also adds cgroup-based memory partitioning and fixes issues that affected Wayland, Vulkan and NVIDIA Smooth Motion.
Reflex via Proton in Vulkan games
NVIDIA Reflex is the company's technology to reduce latency between input and the displayed image. In 615.71.09, the driver now provides VK_NV_low_latency revision 2. According to the official notes, this enables Reflex in Proton without additional driver configuration for games with native Vulkan rendering that use NvLowLatencyVk.dll.
The detail matters: it's not a promise of performance gain for every game, nor does it make any title compatible with Reflex. The game and its graphics pipeline need to use this interface. Still, it's a concrete step to bring the Vulkan gaming experience on Linux closer to what already exists on Windows.
More memory control for isolated workloads
Another novelty is support for memory partitioning based on cgroups. Cgroups are the Linux kernel mechanism used to organize and limit resources for groups of processes — a key foundation for containers and managed services. Phoronix associates this support with NVIDIA's open-source kernel driver. The release notes record the capability but don't document an administration interface for end users; for now, it's best treated as a driver foundation for future integrations, not a setting to copy into production today.
This version also adds the Vulkan extension VK_EXT_cluster_acceleration_structure, fixes a file descriptor leak when unloading libGLX_nvidia.so.0 after vkDestroyInstance and resolves startup crashes and window switching crashes when NVIDIA Smooth Motion is active.
Wayland and multiple monitors
Among the fixes is an Xid error 109 when loading PRAGMATA on Wayland. The driver also includes the token RmDisableDisplayGlitchPerfLimit, added to the parameter NVreg_RegistryDwords of the module nvidia.ko. When applied, it can reduce idle power consumption in some multi-monitor configurations. NVIDIA itself warns that the parameter may alter memory clocks while the display is in use, potentially causing momentary visual glitches. This isn't a generic recommendation: only test if the power consumption issue is real and you have a straightforward way to revert the change.
Example from the official release notes to apply the token:
modprobe nvidia "NVreg_RegistryDwords=RmDisableDisplayGlitchPerfLimit=1"Before updating
The 615.71.09 is the New Feature Branch current, while NVIDIA maintains a Production Branch separate (as of 9 September 2026, the latest production version is 595.99.02). On a workstation machine, prefer your distribution's package and read its changelog before switching branches. Avoid installing the file .run over the package manager: this often complicates kernel updates and driver rollback.
To check the version currently loaded:
nvidia-smi --query-gpu=driver_version --format=csv,noheaderIf you use Proton and have a Vulkan game compatible with NVIDIA Reflex, the update is worth testing. For other cases, the best reason to migrate are the specific fixes that affect your setup — especially Wayland, Smooth Motion or multiple monitors.
Linux continues to receive relevant changes in the graphics stack, both in the proprietary driver and in the open-source drivers. To follow what arrives in the kernel, also see the news from Linux 7.3; for the company's context and its ecosystem, recall the NVIDIA history. If you want to review the role of GPU, driver and API in this chain, see How graphics cards work and the comparison of GPU and TPU. For an overview of the competition and the CUDA gap, worth reading AMD vs NVIDIA: the CUDA gap.
Sources: Phoronix; NVIDIA Unix driver archive; driver release notes 615.71.09.