5070 Ti GPU not initializing despite modules loading

Graphics / Linux Linux
1

Why isn’t the GPU initializing despite modules loading, and how do I fix the freeze to use RTX 5070 Ti for ML

My RTX 5070 Ti on Ubuntu (kernel 6.11.0-19-generic) boots normally via HDMI after BIOS updated and driver 570.124.04 installed with signing, but the driver isn’t fully active—nvidia-smi fails with “No devices found,” and the AMD iGPU renders instead.

Symptoms:
lsmod | grep nvidia shows modules (nvidia, nvidia_drm) load after manual modprobe, but nvidia-smi detects no GPU.

sudo modprobe nvidia_drm modeset=1 freezes the system—requires restart.

xrandr --listproviders shows 0 providers; glxinfo reports “AMD Radeon Graphics.”

Steps Taken:
Installed driver with --dkms --no-drm --run-nvidia-xconfig, signed modules, enrolled key via mokutil—modules in /lib/modules/6.11.0-19-generic/updates/dkms/.

Added nvidia-drm.modeset=1 to GRUB, prioritized PCIe in BIOS—boots but NVIDIA not active.

Spec:

  • GPU: RTX 5070 Ti
  • CPU: Ryzen™ 7 9800X3D,
  • Board: ASUS TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI Motherboard
  • RAM: 128GB, 2TB M.2 SSD,
  • OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (kernel 6.11.0-19-generic)
  • Nvidia Driver Version: 570.124.04
2

Today I had similar issues with this driver version after upgrading from the RTX 3050 to the RTX 5070.

Initially the wattage was stuck at 40w but still was still painfully ‘usable’.

After purging the open driver and reinstalling from distribution package manager It failed to find the gpu all together.

There was a few other threads blaming this specific release and to try the new production driver 570.133.07 (or prior)

570.133.07 seems to have resolved my issues.