If a ZimaBoard 2 detects an RTX 50-series card electrically but nvidia-smi says “No devices were found,” the historical issue was often the NVIDIA kernel-driver branch, not the PCIe slot alone. In this thread IceWhale explicitly said the 50-series needed the newer open-source kernel driver while older ZimaOS builds were using a closed driver for broader legacy compatibility.
The commands posted in late 2025 were version-specific extension packages. Do not copy an old 575/580 package blindly onto a current ZimaOS release without checking the current driver state first.
What IceWhale Confirmed About RTX 50-Series Support
IceWhale staff said they were trying to support both RTX 50-series and older NVIDIA cards, then provided a separate open-kernel package for testing. A tester later confirmed that a 5060 Ti worked in ComfyUI after installing the package.
The Driver Package Was Updated During the Thread
The first package used 575.51.02; IceWhale later replaced it with 580.105.08 and even fixed a script bug during the same thread. That history is a strong reason not to freeze those exact commands into a current evergreen tutorial.
The later RTX 50-series tutorial consolidated the standalone driver approach.
Check Hardware Power and PCIe Before Blaming the Driver
ZimaBoard 2 exposes PCIe 3.0 expansion and can host a GPU, but high-end cards such as RTX 5080/5090 require external power and suitable mechanical mounting. The current ZimaBoard 2 hardware guide explicitly says externally powered GPUs need the proper cables and PSU capacity.
If the card is absent from PCI enumeration entirely, troubleshoot hardware/power first. If PCI sees the NVIDIA device but nvidia-smi cannot bind it, driver compatibility becomes more likely.
Current Compatibility Lists Still Need Model-Level Verification
The current ZimaOS GPU pages list many NVIDIA and Intel GPUs, but not every brand-new desktop model is explicitly verified. Use the GPU workload readiness guide to separate software support from PSU and thermal limits.
Bottom Line
The thread documents a real RTX 50-series driver transition, and IceWhale-provided open-kernel packages did work for some testers. On a current system, first check whether your installed ZimaOS already includes a compatible NVIDIA driver. Only use a standalone extension package when its instructions explicitly match your ZimaOS/kernel version.
