NVML Power readings with nvmlDeviceGetPowerUsage

Question

I'm running an application using the NVML function nvmlDeviceGetPowerUsage().
The problem is that I always get the same number for different applications I'm running using on a TESLA M2050.
Any suggestions?

Answer 1

If you read the documentation, you'll discover that there are some qualifiers on whether this function is available:

For "GF11x" Tesla ™and Quadro ®products from the Fermi family.

• Requires NVML_INFOROM_POWER version 3.0 or higher.

For Tesla ™and Quadro ®products from the Kepler family.

• Does not require NVML_INFOROM_POWER object.

And:

It is only available if power management mode is supported. See nvmlDeviceGetPowerManagementMode.

I think you'll find that power management mode is not supported on the M2050, and if you run that nvmlDeviceGetPowerManagementMode API call on your M2050 device, you'll get confirmation of that.

The M2050 is niether a Kepler GPU nor is it a GF11x Fermi GPU. It is using the GF100 Fermi GPU, so it is not covered by this API capability (and the GetPowerManagementMode API call would confirm that.)