Hey there, I am currently trying to get the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 not to crash after a couple of minutes of gameplay.
I tinkered with proton settings, startup parameters etc. - no fix yet.
After reading about problems with the open nvidia drivers and unoptimized, high-load UE5 games crashing with the open driver like so:
sudo dmesg | grep -i "NVRM" | tail -n 20
[ 1.311408] NVRM: loading NVIDIA UNIX Open Kernel Module for x86_64 590.48.01 Release Build
[ 7253.195984] NVRM: GPU at PCI:0000:01:00: GPU-0baa3284-8860-ab3a-41ca-2339d910f5f8
[ 7253.195989] NVRM: Xid (PCI:0000:01:00): 109, pid=917504, name=GameThread, channel 0x00000074, errorString CTX SWITCH TIMEOUT, I
I thought about switching to nvidia-dkms to maybe mitigate the issue with the game. However, neither octopi nor pacman seem to find a package named that way. I also noticed those garuda-hardware-profile-nvidia (installed on mine) etc.
I don’t get why or how I would do a switch from open to closed nvidia drivers or if it is even possible without bricking my current setup (to an extend that snapshot s won’t do anymore).
Does anyone have experience in this regard and can maybe enlighten me about all of that stuff? 
Thanks in advance!
inxi:
System:
Kernel: 6.18.5-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=72dcac23-a1dc-4c22-93b3-71465a4321ff rw rootflags=subvol=@
quiet rd.luks.uuid=21aa2f8f-9221-4ba6-ad93-a2ac11bd55df loglevel=3
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.5.4 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.22.0
wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: ASRock model: X670E Steel Legend
serial: <superuser required> uuid: <superuser required> Firmware: UEFI
vendor: American Megatrends LLC. v: 3.50 date: 05/04/2025
CPU:
Info: model: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen 4 gen: 4
level: v4 note: check built: 2022+ process: TSMC n5 (5nm) family: 0x19 (25)
model-id: 0x61 (97) stepping: 2 microcode: 0xA60120C
Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 2 clusters: 2x1 cores: 12 threads: 24 tpc: 2
smt: enabled cache: L1: 768 KiB desc: d-12x32 KiB; i-12x32 KiB L2: 12 MiB
desc: 12x1024 KiB L3: 64 MiB desc: 2x32 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 3007 min/max: 415/5738 boost: enabled scaling:
driver: amd-pstate-epp governor: performance cores: 1: 3007 2: 3007 3: 3007
4: 3007 5: 3007 6: 3007 7: 3007 8: 3007 9: 3007 10: 3007 11: 3007 12: 3007
13: 3007 14: 3007 15: 3007 16: 3007 17: 3007 18: 3007 19: 3007 20: 3007
21: 3007 22: 3007 23: 3007 24: 3007 bogomips: 225179
Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a
ssse3 svm
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA AD102 [GeForce RTX 4090] driver: nvidia v: 590.48.01
alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm non-free: 550-580.xx+
status: current (as of 2025-11) arch: Lovelace code: AD1xx
process: TSMC n4 (5nm) built: 2022+ pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
ports: active: DP-2,DP-3 empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0
chip-ID: 10de:2684 class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Raphael vendor: ASRock
driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: RDNA-2 code: Navi-2x process: TSMC n7 (7nm)
built: 2020-22 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 ports: active: none
empty: DP-4, DP-5, DP-6, HDMI-A-2, Writeback-1 bus-ID: 16:00.0
chip-ID: 1002:164e class-ID: 0300 temp: 47.0 C
Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.21 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.9
compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: amdgpu,nvidia
unloaded: modesetting,nouveau alternate: fbdev,nv,vesa dri: radeonsi
gpu: nv_platform,nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch d-rect: 6000x2880 display-ID: 0
Monitor-1: DP-2 pos: top-right model: Generic PnP Monitor serial: <filter>
built: 2022 res: mode: 2560x1440 hz: 165 scale: 178% (1.78) to: 1440x2560
dpi: 109 gamma: 1.2 size: 597x336mm (23.5x13.23") diag: 685mm (27")
ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 2560x1440 min: 640x480
Monitor-2: DP-3 pos: bottom-l model: Generic PnP Monitor serial: <filter>
built: 2022 res: mode: 3440x1440 hz: 165 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 109 gamma: 1.2
size: 800x337mm (31.5x13.27") diag: 868mm (34.2") modes: max: 3440x1440
min: 640x480
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: nvidia drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0
drv: nvidia device: 1 drv: radeonsi device: 3 drv: swrast gbm: drv: radeonsi
surfaceless: drv: nvidia wayland: drv: nvidia x11: drv: nvidia
inactive: device-2
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 25.3.3-arch1.2
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090/PCIe/SSE2
memory: 23.43 GiB display-ID: :1.0
API: Vulkan v: 1.4.335 layers: 16 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu
name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 driver: nvidia v: 590.48.01
device-ID: 10de:2684 surfaces: N/A device: 1 type: integrated-gpu name: AMD
Ryzen 9 7900X 12-Core Processor (RADV RAPHAEL_MENDOCINO) driver: mesa radv
v: 25.3.3-arch1.2 device-ID: 1002:164e surfaces: N/A device: 2 type: cpu
name: llvmpipe (LLVM 21.1.6 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe
v: 25.3.3-arch1.2 (LLVM 21.1.6) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: N/A
Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: corectrl, lact, nvidia-settings,
nvidia-smi wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
Device-1: NVIDIA AD102 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:22ba
class-ID: 0403
Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Radeon High Definition Audio
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
bus-ID: 16:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:1640 class-ID: 0403
Device-3: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Ryzen HD Audio vendor: ASRock
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
bus-ID: 16:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3 class-ID: 0403
Device-4: Generic Wireless Microphone
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-3:3 chip-ID: 2f96:0100 class-ID: 0300
Device-5: Generic Speaker
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-4:5 chip-ID: 2cc2:0027 class-ID: 0300
serial: <filter>
Device-6: JMTek LLC. USB PnP Audio Device
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-7.1.4:12 chip-ID: 0c76:153f class-ID: 0300
Device-7: C-Media DAC driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-9:7
chip-ID: 0d8c:0066 class-ID: 0300
API: ALSA v: k6.18.5-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.9 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Intel 10-Gigabit SFP+ Network driver: ixgbe v: kernel
pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 4 link-max: lanes: 8 port: e000
bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:10fb class-ID: 0200
IF: enp2s0 state: up speed: 10000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Device-2: Realtek PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
vendor: ASRock driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
port: c000 bus-ID: 06:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp6s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-3: MEDIATEK PCI Express Wireless Network Adapter
driver: mt7921e v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1
bus-ID: 08:00.0 chip-ID: 14c3:0616 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp8s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-4: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE vendor: ASRock driver: r8169 v: kernel
pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: b000 bus-ID: 09:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8125 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp9s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-5: Realtek RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter driver: r8152 type: USB
rev: 2.1 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-7.3:10
chip-ID: 0bda:8153 class-ID: 0000 serial: <filter>
IF: enp20s0u7u3 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-6: Realtek RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter driver: r8152 type: USB
rev: 3.0 speed: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 bus-ID: 4-1.2:4
chip-ID: 0bda:8153 class-ID: 0000 serial: <filter>
IF: enp20s0u1u2 state: down mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: virbr0 state: down mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd
Bluetooth:
Device-1: MediaTek Wireless_Device driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.1
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-12:8 chip-ID: 0e8d:0616
class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.4
lmp-v: 13 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 6c0104
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 2.78 TiB used: 1.16 TiB (41.7%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Kingston model: SKC3000D2048G
size: 1.86 TiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 63.2 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: EIFK31.6 temp: 36.9 C
scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/nvme1n1 maj-min: 259:1 vendor: Kingston model: SFYRS1000G
size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 63.2 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: EIFK31.6 temp: 29.9 C
scheme: GPT
ID-3: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Dell model: Recovery USB
size: 7.21 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB rev: 2.0
spd: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 8.07
scheme: GPT
SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 1.86 TiB size: 1.86 TiB (100.00%) used: 1.16 TiB (62.2%)
fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 253:0
mapped: luks-21aa2f8f-9221-4ba6-ad93-a2ac11bd55df
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 3.5 MiB (1.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 maj-min: 259:2
ID-3: /home raw-size: 1.86 TiB size: 1.86 TiB (100.00%)
used: 1.16 TiB (62.2%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 253:0
mapped: luks-21aa2f8f-9221-4ba6-ad93-a2ac11bd55df
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 1.86 TiB size: 1.86 TiB (100.00%)
used: 1.16 TiB (62.2%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 253:0
mapped: luks-21aa2f8f-9221-4ba6-ad93-a2ac11bd55df
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 1.86 TiB size: 1.86 TiB (100.00%)
used: 1.16 TiB (62.2%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 253:0
mapped: luks-21aa2f8f-9221-4ba6-ad93-a2ac11bd55df
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 61.88 GiB used: 14.5 MiB (0.0%)
priority: 100 comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842
dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 71.8 C mobo: 44.5 C gpu: amdgpu temp: 47.0 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 64 GiB note: est. available: 61.88 GiB used: 7.15 GiB (11.6%)
Processes: 602 Power: uptime: 1h 1m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 24.7 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 259 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 2495 libs: 564 tools: octopi,paru Compilers:
clang: 21.1.6 gcc: 15.2.1 Shell: Bash v: 5.3.9 default: fish v: 4.3.3
running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.40
Garuda (2.11.1-1):
System install date: 2025-06-21
Garuda release: 250308
Last full system update: 2026-01-13 ↻
Is partially upgraded: No
Relevant software: snapper NetworkManager dracut nvidia-utils nvidia-open-dkms garuda-hardware-profile-nvidia garuda-hardware-profile-standard garuda-hardware-profile-standard-x11
Windows dual boot: No/Undetected
Failed units:
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✅ System health check passed. No issues found.