overclocking multiple nvidia GPUs on Linux - how to

It seems that a lot of GPU problems revolve around specific versions of drivers. Though NVidia has their own support structure, you can often learn from information reported by others who fold.

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SteveWillis
Posts: 409
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:42 am
Hardware configuration: PC 1:
Linux Mint 17.3
three gtx 1080 GPUs One on a powered header
Motherboard = [MB-AM3-AS-SB-990FXR2] qty 1 Asus Sabertooth 990FX(+59.99)
CPU = [CPU-AM3-FX-8320BR] qty 1 AMD FX 8320 Eight Core 3.5GHz(+41.99)

PC2:
Linux Mint 18
Open air case
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
AMD FD6300WMHKBOX FX-6300 6-Core Processor Black Edition with Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan
three gtx 1080,
one gtx 1080 TI on a powered header

overclocking multiple nvidia GPUs on Linux - how to

Post by SteveWillis »

I know this forum doesn't support overclocking but figure that the worst that can happen is that I get fussed at and the topic gets deleted. Be aware if you get Bad Work Units you've gone too far.


This works on Linux Mint.
I never was able to get it to work by hand editing xorg.conf. What did work was to execute on the command line which sets it all up for you:

sudo nvidia-xconfig -a --cool-bits=28 --allow-empty-initial-configuration

Then edit xorg.conf. For me that was sudo vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf and prepend "#" to each line containing allow-empty-initial-configuration to comment it out.

Reboot.

Then to overclock run:

/usr/bin/nvidia-settings

To restore your settings after a reboot create an executable file that you call from startup applications containing the text below which will set the gpu clock offset and set the gpu to prefer maximum performance. My example sets the offset to 50. Don't set the offset too high in the file for your actual display gpu until you know for sure what you want or you may end up with a system where the display won't work:

nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/GpuPowerMizerMode=1
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:0]/GPUGraphicsClockOffset[3]=50
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/GPUMemoryTransferRateOffset[3]=900

nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/GpuPowerMizerMode=1
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/GPUGraphicsClockOffset[3]=50

nvidia-settings -a [gpu:2]/GpuPowerMizerMode=1
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:2]/GPUGraphicsClockOffset[3]=50

nvidia-settings -a [gpu:3]/GpuPowerMizerMode=1
nvidia-settings -a [gpu:3]/GPUGraphicsClockOffset[3]=50
Last edited by SteveWillis on Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image

1080 and 1080TI GPUs on Linux Mint
ChristianVirtual
Posts: 1596
Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 12:14 pm
Location: Tokyo

Re: overclocking multiple nvidia GPUs on Linux - how to

Post by ChristianVirtual »

Which driver version you had success with ?

Tried that/similar in the past but the driver I used didn't seems to pass it through.
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SteveWillis
Posts: 409
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:42 am
Hardware configuration: PC 1:
Linux Mint 17.3
three gtx 1080 GPUs One on a powered header
Motherboard = [MB-AM3-AS-SB-990FXR2] qty 1 Asus Sabertooth 990FX(+59.99)
CPU = [CPU-AM3-FX-8320BR] qty 1 AMD FX 8320 Eight Core 3.5GHz(+41.99)

PC2:
Linux Mint 18
Open air case
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
AMD FD6300WMHKBOX FX-6300 6-Core Processor Black Edition with Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan
three gtx 1080,
one gtx 1080 TI on a powered header

Re: overclocking multiple nvidia GPUs on Linux - how to

Post by SteveWillis »

370.28 on two different PCs. Both Linux Mint 17.3 and 18.
I don't know if it made a difference but I got my driver from
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install nvidia-370
but then I always have to go to driver manager and change to the nouveau driver then back to the 370 driver then reboot. Not sure why it works but it is necessary to get the driver to work.
Image

1080 and 1080TI GPUs on Linux Mint
ComputerGenie
Posts: 236
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:06 am

Re: overclocking multiple nvidia GPUs on Linux - how to

Post by ComputerGenie »

ChristianVirtual wrote:Which driver version you had success with ?

Tried that/similar in the past but the driver I used didn't seems to pass it through.
I haven't tried it headless, but it works on debian 8 with 375.26 (haven't tried newer than that).
SteveWillis
Posts: 409
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:42 am
Hardware configuration: PC 1:
Linux Mint 17.3
three gtx 1080 GPUs One on a powered header
Motherboard = [MB-AM3-AS-SB-990FXR2] qty 1 Asus Sabertooth 990FX(+59.99)
CPU = [CPU-AM3-FX-8320BR] qty 1 AMD FX 8320 Eight Core 3.5GHz(+41.99)

PC2:
Linux Mint 18
Open air case
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
AMD FD6300WMHKBOX FX-6300 6-Core Processor Black Edition with Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan
three gtx 1080,
one gtx 1080 TI on a powered header

Re: overclocking multiple nvidia GPUs on Linux - how to

Post by SteveWillis »

add this to the OP

nvidia-settings -a [gpu:1]/GPUMemoryTransferRateOffset[3]=900
Image

1080 and 1080TI GPUs on Linux Mint
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