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Configure the GPU mode on Ubuntu ​

Use this guide to configure the GPU mode on Olares One running Ubuntu.

Prerequisites ​

  • Your Olares One is powered on and running Ubuntu.
  • You can access the Ubuntu terminal on your Olares One, either directly or through SSH, and run commands with sudo.

Step 1: Install the NVIDIA driver ​

The NVIDIA driver allows Ubuntu to communicate with the discrete GPU. Install it before enabling NVIDIA power management or switching the GPU mode.

Use the NVIDIA .run installer

The .run installer installs the NVIDIA driver and includes the nvidia-powerd service needed for power management. Drivers installed through apt do not include this service.

  1. In the Ubuntu terminal on your Olares One, download the NVIDIA driver installer:

    bash
    wget https://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86_64/595.84/NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-595.84.run

    Driver version

    This guide uses driver version 595.84, which is tested on Olares One. Other versions are untested, and the nvidia-powerd service may fail to start on some of them.

  2. Make the installer executable:

    bash
    chmod +x ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-595.84.run

  3. Run the installer:

    bash
    sudo ./NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-595.84.run

  4. Follow the prompts shown by the installer until the installation completes.

Step 2: Enable NVIDIA power management ​

The nvidia-powerd service manages power allocation between the CPU and GPU during demanding workloads. Enabling it allows the NVIDIA driver to apply the system's supported power-management behavior.

  1. Enable and start the nvidia-powerd service:

    bash
    sudo systemctl enable --now nvidia-powerd

  2. Check the service status:

    bash
    sudo systemctl status nvidia-powerd

    The service status should show active (running).

    INFO

    On Olares One, you may see ERROR! JPAC is not created/already destroyed, ignoring request. because the device has no battery. This message can be ignored if the service is active (running).

Step 3: Set the GPU mode ​

With NVIDIA power management enabled, you can now set the GPU mode using ioport, a command-line tool for accessing hardware I/O ports. Choose performance mode (3) or quiet mode (0).

  1. Install ioport:

    bash
    sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y ioport

  2. Run one of the following commands for the mode you want to use.

    Olares One only

    These commands access the Olares One Embedded Controller (EC). Use them only on Olares One, and copy the command for your chosen mode exactly as shown.

    To enable performance mode (3):

    bash
    sudo outb 0x302 0x60 && sudo outb 0x303 3

    To enable quiet mode (0):

    bash
    sudo outb 0x302 0x60 && sudo outb 0x303 0

  3. Check that the GPU power limit matches the selected mode:

    bash
    nvidia-smi

    In the Pwr:Usage/Cap column, check the value for Cap. It should be 150W for performance mode (3) or 50W for quiet mode (0).

    Performance mode boosts up to 175W

    In performance mode, nvidia-smi shows a power limit of 150W when the GPU is idle. Under full load, the limit dynamically rises to 175W.

    Example output:

    text
    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 595.84                 Driver Version: 595.84         CUDA Version: 13.2     |
+-----------------------------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| GPU  Name                 Persistence-M | Bus-Id          Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan  Temp   Perf          Pwr:Usage/Cap |           Memory-Usage | GPU-Util  Compute M. |
|                                         |                        |               MIG M. |
|=========================================+========================+======================|
|   0  NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ...  Off |   00000000:02:00.0 Off |                  N/A |
| N/A   41C    P8              7W /  150W |    9706MiB /  24463MiB |      0%      Default |
|                                         |                        |                  N/A |
+-----------------------------------------+------------------------+----------------------+

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