Mesa 26.0.0 Release Candidate 2 has been officially released, addressing several key issues in the graphics stack. Notably, it resolves a significant crash in the NVIDIA Vulkan driver (nvk) that occurred when using unbound descriptor sets with dynamic buffers. Additionally, improvements have been made to the RADV video driver for more consistent tile size calculations, which should enhance video playback on AMD GPUs. The PanVK driver has also been updated to properly handle sparse image binding, eliminating the "image not found" errors experienced in some Vulkan applications. While some regressions are still present, such as the temporary disabling of the buffer device address extension in the PVR driver and performance dips when enabling certain profiling flags on older NVIDIA GPUs, most of the changes are positive.
For those interested in testing this release candidate, it is recommended to back up current Mesa packages and follow specific instructions to compile and install the new version without compromising system stability. Users should validate the installation by checking the driver version and running Vulkan applications to identify any glitches or crashes.
In summary, the Mesa 26.0.0 Release Candidate 2 brings essential fixes and optimizations that cater to gamers and developers pushing the limits of Linux graphics. For users reliant on stable performance, it may be wise to remain with the current stable version unless the fixes directly address existing issues.
As the development cycle continues, further refinements are expected before the final release, and users are encouraged to participate in testing and reporting any issues they encounter. With a focus on improving the user experience in Vulkan and graphics-heavy environments, Mesa continues to evolve as a critical component of Linux graphics handling
For those interested in testing this release candidate, it is recommended to back up current Mesa packages and follow specific instructions to compile and install the new version without compromising system stability. Users should validate the installation by checking the driver version and running Vulkan applications to identify any glitches or crashes.
In summary, the Mesa 26.0.0 Release Candidate 2 brings essential fixes and optimizations that cater to gamers and developers pushing the limits of Linux graphics. For users reliant on stable performance, it may be wise to remain with the current stable version unless the fixes directly address existing issues.
As the development cycle continues, further refinements are expected before the final release, and users are encouraged to participate in testing and reporting any issues they encounter. With a focus on improving the user experience in Vulkan and graphics-heavy environments, Mesa continues to evolve as a critical component of Linux graphics handling
Mesa 26.0.0 Release Candidate 2 released
Mesa 26.0.0‑rc2 is the second release candidate for the upcoming 26.0.0 series, and it finally patches the nasty nvk crash that occurs when an unbound descriptor set contains a dynamic buffer. The radv video driver now computes tile sizes more reliably, while panvk’s sparse image handling respects non‑opaque bind flags, fixing the “image not found” errors some of us saw on Vulkan experiments. A few regressions remain – the PVR driver temporarily disables the buffer device address extension and enabling ZPASS_PIXEL_COUNT can shave a few frames off older NVIDIA GPUs.
