gpumodeswitch
DU-07764-001
| 1
Chapter 1.
INTRODUCTION
gpumodeswitch
is a command-line tool that is used to switch supported NVIDIA GPUs
between
compute
and
graphics
mode. This chapter describes these modes and when to
use them. Chapter 2 describes how to use gpumodeswitch.
1.1
COMPUTE AND GRAPHICS MODE
NVIDIA Tesla GPUs are shipped in a configuration optimized for high-performance
compute (HPC) applications:
Setting
Value
Notes
Classcode
3D Controller
This classcode indicates to operating systems (OS) that the GPU is not
intended for use as a primary display device.
Memory BAR
8 gigabytes
Tesla GPUs expose a large memory
base address register
(BAR) for direct
access to the framebuffer from the CPU, and other PCI Express devices.
I/O base BAR
Disabled
The GPU need not consume any legacy I/O resources when used as a non-
display device.
ECC protection
Enabled
Error Correcting Code (ECC) is enabled on the GPU framebuffer to protect
against single- and multi-bit memory errors.
Table 1 Compute mode settings
Collectively this GPU configuration is referred to as
compute mode
. While compute mode
is optimal for HPC usage, it can cause compatibility problems with OS and hypervisors
when the GPU is used primarily as a graphics device:
Some OS require that the GPU advertise a VGA display controller classcode in order
for the GPU to be used as a primary graphics device.
