pp_power_profile_mode(9)

💅 pp_power_profile_mode 💅

okay so bestie, this is the pp_power_profile_mode(9) page from the Kernel API Manual, and it's giving big GPU-brain energy. the amdgpu driver ships a sysfs API for adjusting the heuristics that control switching between power levels in a power state — and the file responsible for all of that is pp_power_profile_mode. she's the one, fr fr. 🔥

🦋 what reading it gives you 🦋

when you read this file, it outputs a list of all of the predefined power profiles plus the relevant heuristics settings for each one. like a little menu of vibes, but for your GPU. ✨

💅 selecting or customizing a profile 💅

to select a profile or create a custom one, first you select manual using power_dpm_force_performance_level — no cap, that's step one, don't skip it.

• writing the number of a predefined profile to pp_power_profile_mode enables those heuristics. easy slay.
• to create a custom set of heuristics, write a string of numbers to the file, starting with the number of the custom profile, along with a setting for each heuristic parameter.

⚠️ real talk: due to differences across asic families, the heuristic parameters vary from family to family. so what's iconic on one family is not it on another. iykyk 🫶

and here's the extra cute part — you can apply the custom heuristics to different clock domains. each clock domain is considered a distinct operation, so if you modify the gfxclk heuristics and then the memclk heuristics, all of the custom heuristics will be retained until you switch to another profile. she remembers everything until you move on. 💖

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/amd/pm/amdgpu_pm.c
• amdgpu_pm_dev_state_check(9), amdgpu_pm_get_access(9), amdgpu_pm_get_access_if_active(9), amdgpu_pm_put_access(9), power_dpm_state(9), power_dpm_force_performance_level(9), pp_table(9), pp_od_clk_voltage(9), pp_features(9), pp_dpm_sclk pp_dpm_mclk pp_dpm_socclk pp_dpm_fclk pp_dpm_dcefclk pp_dpm_pcie(9), gpu_busy_percent(9), mem_busy_percent(9), vcn_busy_percent(9), pcie_bw(9), unique_id(9), thermal_throttling_logging(9), apu_thermal_cap(9), gpu_metrics(9), smartshift_apu_power(9), smartshift_dgpu_power(9), smartshift_bias(9), board(9), baseboard_temp(9), gpuboard_temp(9), cur_node_power_limit(9), node_power(9), npm_status(9), global_ppt_resid(9), max_node_power_limit(9), baseboard_power(9), baseboard_power_limit(9), pm_policy(9), hwmon(9), fan_curve(9), acoustic_limit_rpm_threshold(9), acoustic_target_rpm_threshold(9), fan_target_temperature(9), fan_minimum_pwm(9), fan_zero_rpm_enable(9), fan_zero_rpm_stop_temperature(9)

and that's the whole page, bestie — you ate that 🍓 this one lives at ./drivers/gpu/drm/amd/pm, dated October 2026, and honestly? iconic of her. 💜