Table of Contents

Ubuntu - GPU - AMD GPU - Performance Tuning

The dpm performance level can be changed to push the memory and GPU frequency to the highest levels (maximum performance).

NOTE: The default is auto, but this may result in some lag at some points while the GPU ramps up performance.

Check the Existing Performance Level

cat /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

returns: 

auto

Set High Performance

To set max performance: 

echo "high" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

Set Low Performance

To set low performance: 

echo "low" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

Set Auto Performance

To set Auto performance: 

echo "auto" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

Set Manual Performance

To set manual performance: 

echo "manual" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

NOTE: When manual is selected, the user can manually adjust which power states are enabled for each clock domain via the sysfs pp_dpm_mclk, pp_dpm_sclk, and pp_dpm_pcie files and adjust the power state transition heuristics via the pp_power_profile_mode sysfs file.

Profiling Mode Performance Settings

echo "profile_standard" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level
echo "profile_min_sclk" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level
echo "profile_min_mclk" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level
echo "profile_peak" > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

NOTE: When the profiling modes are selected, clock and power gating are disabled and the clocks are set for different profiling cases.

This mode is recommended for profiling specific work loads where you do not want clock or power gating for clock fluctuation to interfere with your results.

  • profile_standard sets the clocks to a fixed clock level which varies from asic to asic.
  • profile_min_sclk forces the sclk to the lowest level.
  • profile_min_mclk forces the mclk to the lowest level.
  • profile_peak sets all clocks (mclk, sclk, pcie) to the highest levels.

Set the DPM Performance Level Permanently

Created a /etc/rc.local file and populate with: 

#!/bin/bash 
echo low > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

Make it executable

chmod a+x /etc/rc.local

Enable systemd service to run this script

See How to enable rc.local with systemd.

References

https://dri.freedesktop.org/docs/drm/gpu/amdgpu.html#power-dpm-state