Linux: Do you need a graphic desktop to use the GPU?

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bluzz44

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Joined: 7 Sep 21
Posts: 2
Message 105335 - Posted: 7 Sep 2021, 22:29:07 UTC

Hi everyone,

I feel a bit silly asking that, but it's a genuine question. I have only used graphics cards for gaming purposes so far, hence the newbie question.

I have an old Nvidia GTX 1060 that I would like to repurpose for BOINC, but I am running Fedora 34 server and I do not have a GUI, no X server etc..

I am basically running BOINC on docker containers on that server, and I obviously didn't install a desktop environment because there was no need.

Now that I have been poking around BOINC and docker for a few months, I would like to use the GPU in docker containers to increase performance. I know I need to enable PCIPassThrough, and I will get to that later, but before I start, I am trying to find out if I absolutely need a graphical desktop to use the GPU?

Thanks
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Profile Dave
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Joined: 28 Jun 10
Posts: 2518
United Kingdom
Message 105338 - Posted: 8 Sep 2021, 6:00:18 UTC - in response to Message 105335.  

No you don't need a graphics desktop but you may need to install proprietary drivers for the card.
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bluzz44

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Message 105356 - Posted: 8 Sep 2021, 23:10:05 UTC - in response to Message 105338.  

@Dave thanks !
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Ian&Steve C.

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Joined: 24 Dec 19
Posts: 228
United States
Message 106189 - Posted: 26 Nov 2021, 20:56:05 UTC
Last modified: 26 Nov 2021, 20:56:16 UTC

while you dont need the X server to run computation, you will need Xserver if you want fan control or overclocking control.
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Message boards : GPUs : Linux: Do you need a graphic desktop to use the GPU?

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