Ubuntu nvidia-smi power limit stuck at 95w

Graphics / Linux Linux
1

I am running Ubuntu 24.04 on HP Omen laptop with RTX 5090 GPU.

By default, nvidia-driver-580-open was installed. Everything works but nvidia-smi shows power limit is stuck at 95W.

This is not a BIOS or Hardware issue because when I swap to Windows OS and run Ubuntu under WSL, nvidia-smi shows power limit at 175W. that is when I select “performance” mode in Omen Gaming Hub.

So on Windows, same hardware , same BIOS it can go up to 175W , but on native linux (Ubuntu) I am not able to go beyond 95W.

I tried setting the limit with “nvidia-smi -pl 175” however, I get this error:

root@PC:~# nvidia-smi -pl 175
Changing power management limit is not supported for GPU: 00000000:02:00.0.
Treating as warning and moving on.
All done.
root@PC:~#

I also tried installing the nvidia-driver-590-open , but the results did not differ.

When I install a non-open driver (nvidia-driver-580) , nvidia-smi can not see the device.

this is a separate issue.

Selected profile shows as “performance” (see below)

root@PC:~# cat /sys/firmware/acpi/platform_profile_choices
low-power balanced performance
root@PC:~# cat /sys/firmware/acpi/platform_profile
performance

This is really weird. How can I set power limit to 175W on linux ?

2

I’m not familiar with this issue, but it may be helpful to look at what the driver lists as supported power limits. What does this command output? sudo nvidia-smi -q -d POWER

3

here it is: PC:~nvidia-smi -q -d POWERER

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

Timestamp : Fri Mar 20 18:20:10 2026
Driver Version : 590.48.01
CUDA Version : 13.1

Attached GPUs : 1
GPU 00000000:02:00.0
GPU Power Readings
Average Power Draw : 39.04 W
Instantaneous Power Draw : 42.00 W
Current Power Limit : 175.00 W
Requested Power Limit : 175.00 W
Default Power Limit : 95.00 W
Min Power Limit : 5.00 W
Max Power Limit : 175.00 W
Power Samples
Duration : Not Found
Number of Samples : Not Found
Max : Not Found
Min : Not Found
Avg : Not Found
GPU Memory Power Readings
Average Power Draw : N/A
Instantaneous Power Draw : N/A
Module Power Readings
Average Power Draw : N/A
Instantaneous Power Draw : N/A
Current Power Limit : N/A
Requested Power Limit : N/A
Default Power Limit : N/A
Min Power Limit : N/A
Max Power Limit : N/A
EDPp Multiplier : N/A

btw , I read on reddit that enabling nvidia-powerd service is a workaround which sets limit dynamically. So I did it. And now it can go up to 175w but without the service it can not.

4

so ? no ideas ?

it is weird. Am I the only one with this problem ?

5

I’m confused; I thought you solved the problem. The command output looks as expected:

Current Power Limit : 175.00 W
Requested Power Limit : 175.00 W
Default Power Limit : 95.00 W
Min Power Limit : 5.00 W
Max Power Limit : 175.00 W

You can see that the default is 95 W, but you requested 175 W, and the GPU was set accordingly.

What issue are you seeing now? Hopefully someone more experienced can comment if you clarify.

6

no, it is not solved.

I said, I used a workaround which sets limit dynamically. But without the nvidia-powerd service I am not able to set limit above 175w. And this service makes a dynamic use, not constant 175w.

7

Enabling nvidia-powerd (Dynamic Boost) is not a “workaround”; it is actually the correct way to configure the laptop on Linux if it supports the feature. You can read about it here: Chapter 23. Dynamic Boost on Linux

You’re also not running at a constant 175 W; the GPU will always use as little power as possible. In your example, it was around 39 W on avg.

If you have doubts about your setup, I suggest you benchmark it. Maybe run the Blender benchmark and compare the scores on Linux vs Windows: https://opendata.blender.org/
If everything is set up correctly, the scores should be similar, with Linux slightly faster.

If the scores are off, then something is set up wrong or there is a bug, and you should attach a bug report file as mentioned here: »»»»»»»»»» If you have a problem, PLEASE read this first ««««««««««

8

well, if this is not a workaround and is the correct way then why is the service not enabled by default when I install the nvidia drivers ? I had to find the service file and install it manually.

9

Probably because as outlined in Catt’s first link in his last post above, there are quite a number of hardware and software conditions that need meeting.

10

I don’t know, depends on how you installed the driver in the first place. I installed mine from RPM Fusion, which is the recommended way to install it for Fedora, and they include nvidia-powerd by default. In fact, it gets auto-disabled during bootup for me, as it sees that I have a desktop GPU, which is not supported.