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Set lower power limits (TDPs) for NVIDIA GPUs#

You can set lower power limits (TDPs) for your NVIDIA GPUs using nvidia-smi and a simple script. You can configure the script to run automatically at boot using a systemd service.

Lowering power limits can reduce power usage and heat output, which is helpful for thermally constrained systems or energy-aware environments.

  1. Check your GPU's minimum power limit. Run:

    nvidia-smi -q -d POWER

    Look for the Min Power Limit line. For example:

    ==============NVSMI LOG==============

Timestamp                                 : Thu Jun 26 21:48:46 2025
Driver Version                            : 570.153.02
CUDA Version                              : 12.8

Attached GPUs                             : 1
GPU 00000000:01:00.0
    GPU Power Readings
        Average Power Draw                : 43.91 W
        Instantaneous Power Draw          : 43.19 W
        Current Power Limit               : 480.00 W
        Requested Power Limit             : 480.00 W
        Default Power Limit               : 480.00 W
        Min Power Limit                   : 150.00 W
        Max Power Limit                   : 530.00 W

    The lowest value you can safely configure in this case is 150 W.

  2. Create the script. Replace 150 below with your desired power limit:

    sudo tee /usr/local/bin/set-nvidia-tdp.sh > /dev/null <<'EOF'
#!/bin/bash

# Set GPU power limit in watts
POWER_LIMIT=150

# Wait for nvidia-smi daemon to initialize
sleep 10

# Apply the power limit to all GPUs
for i in $(/usr/bin/nvidia-smi --query-gpu=index --format=csv,noheader); do
    echo "Setting NVIDIA GPU $i to ${POWER_LIMIT}W TDP."
    /usr/bin/nvidia-smi -i "$i" -pl "$POWER_LIMIT"
done
EOF

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/set-nvidia-tdp.sh

  3. Create and enable the systemd service.

    sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/nvidia-tdp.service > /dev/null <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Set NVIDIA GPU Power Limit at Boot
Requires=nvidia-persistenced.service
After=nvidia-persistenced.service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/set-nvidia-tdp.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable nvidia-tdp.service

    To run the script immediately:

    sudo systemctl start nvidia-tdp.service

  4. Verify the result. Check that the service ran successfully:

    sudo systemctl status nvidia-tdp.service

    You should see output similar to:

    Jun 27 16:12:12 lambda-v1 set-nvidia-tdp.sh[549231]: Setting NVIDIA GPU 0 to 150W TDP.
Jun 27 16:12:12 lambda-v1 set-nvidia-tdp.sh[549255]: Power limit for GPU 00000000:01:00.0 was set to 150.00 W from 480.00 W.
Jun 27 16:12:12 lambda-v1 set-nvidia-tdp.sh[549255]: All done.
Jun 27 16:12:12 lambda-v1 systemd[1]: nvidia-tdp.service: Deactivated successfully.
Jun 27 16:12:12 lambda-v1 systemd[1]: Finished Set NVIDIA GPU Power Limit at Boot.

    To view logs:

    sudo journalctl -u nvidia-tdp.service

    To confirm the new power limit:

    nvidia-smi --query-gpu=power.limit --format=csv

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