I thought other users who install the nvidia driver ‘the hard way’ would want to know.
I usually rely on this gentleman:
for information on nvidia compatability with new kernels, but he ran into some hiccups this time around (http://rglinuxtech.com/?p=3363) and I approached the 6.17 kernel with pessimism and a full back-up. But, 580.95.05 installed without a hitch.