---
title: GPU profiles
slug: gpu-profiles
createdAt: 2026-11-11T11:57:05.327Z
---

A GPU profile sets the power limit, clock ceilings and fan speed your cards run with while a node is rented. You set the values once per card model and assign the profile to as many nodes as you like: OctaSpace applies it to every card and keeps it in place.

## Why use profiles

- **Efficiency.** Most cards lose only a little performance with a lower power limit, while drawing noticeably less power and running cooler.
- **Cooling and noise.** A fixed fan speed or capped clocks keep a dense rig or a hot room within limits.
- **One place for the whole fleet.** Change a value in the profile, and every node using it gets the new setting, no SSH or `nvidia-smi` on each machine.
- **Honest listing.** The node is rented with the settings you chose, and the platform makes sure they stay that way for the whole rental.

## What a profile can set

| Setting      | What it does                                                                                | If left empty            |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| Power limit  | Maximum power the card may draw, in watts                                                   | The card's factory limit |
| Core clock   | Ceiling for the GPU core clock, in MHz                                                      | No ceiling               |
| Memory clock | Ceiling for the memory clock, in MHz                                                        | No ceiling               |
| Fan          | **Auto**: the card controls its fans. **Fixed**: a set speed in percent, at any temperature | Auto                     |

Clock values are ceilings, not fixed frequencies: the card can still run slower when idle or when it hits its power limit.

## Supported cards

GPU profiles currently work with NVIDIA cards only. AMD and Intel cards keep their own defaults.

Not every NVIDIA card supports every setting:

- Core clock ceilings need Volta (Titan V) or newer, so RTX 20 series and later.
- Memory clock ceilings need Ampere or newer, so RTX 30 series and later.
- Some cards do not allow changing the power limit or fan speed. The profile editor and the node's **Hardware** tab show what each card accepts.

## Creating a profile

1. In CUBE, open **Hosting → GPU profiles** and click **New profile**.
2. Give the profile a name, for example "4090 efficiency".
3. Click **Add card model** and pick a model from your nodes. For each model, fill in only the values you want to change.
4. Optionally fill in the **All other cards** row: it applies to any card without its own row in the profile.
5. Click **Save changes**.

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/bdsKzi0GSJqADE8y4GkJt/uJYSy7ZleIbwtwf4xGCJ3_image.png)

Next to each field the editor shows the range your cards accept (`min` and `max`), taken from the cards in your nodes. You do not have to match the range exactly: a value out of range is set to the nearest value the card accepts.

One profile can hold rows for several models, so a single profile can cover a mixed fleet: for example, one row for RTX 4090, one for RTX 3090 and a fallback in **All other cards**.

## Assigning a profile to a node

1. Open the node in CUBE and go to the **Hardware** tab.
2. In **GPU profile while rented**, pick the profile. **Card defaults** removes the profile from the node.

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/bdsKzi0GSJqADE8y4GkJt/CvUmLeALkS7fncfY8Uq6S_image.png)

The **GPU profiles** page also lists nodes that have GPUs but no profile assigned, with a link to each so you can assign one.

A profile is shared: when you edit it, the change reaches every node using it. The picker shows how many other nodes share the profile, and the editor shows which nodes use it.

## When a profile is applied

The settings are applied only while the node is idle, never during a rental, verification or benchmark. The platform applies the profile:

- when the node connects, including after a reboot (the cards do not keep the settings across a reboot or driver reload);
- every time the node becomes idle, including after a VM rental;
- when you assign a profile or change its values in CUBE.

If the node is busy when you change something, the change waits until it is idle again, and the status shows **Waiting for idle**.

## Checking the status

The **GPU profiles** list shows each profile with the number of nodes it is assigned to and what is actually set on their cards. The node's **Hardware** tab shows the status of each card.

![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/bdsKzi0GSJqADE8y4GkJt/xfC4SZnBooJzlkfe4Y2SM_image.png)

| Status           | Meaning                                                                                                   |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Applied          | The card runs with the profile exactly as set                                                             |
| Adjusted         | The profile is applied, but some value was out of the card's range and was set to the nearest allowed one |
| Waiting for idle | The node has not applied the latest version of the profile yet: it is busy or offline                     |
| Error            | The node could not apply the profile. Check the card supports the setting and the driver is working       |
| Card defaults    | No profile is assigned: the card runs with its own settings                                               |

The node dashboard (`http://<node-ip>:18888`) also shows which profile is applied and the values on each card. See [Node monitoring](#).

## Profiles and idle jobs

An idle job can have a GPU profile of its own, for example a mining profile with tuned memory clocks. Choose it in the job's **GPU profile** field.

- While the job runs, the cards use the job's profile.
- When the job stops, or the node is rented, the rental profile comes back right away. A renter never gets the job's tuning.
- **Node's rent profile** in that field means the job runs with the same profile as rentals.
- If several jobs with a profile run on one node, the cards use the profile of the job created first.

## Deleting a profile

Open the profile and hold **Delete profile**. Nodes that used it go back to the cards' defaults, and idle jobs that used it restart with their node's rent profile.

## Do not change GPU settings by hand during a rental

The renter pays for the GPU as listed. Lowering the power limit or locking clocks by hand (for example with `nvidia-smi -pl`, `-lgc` or `-lmc`) while a rental is running gives the renter less than they paid for. Change settings through a GPU profile instead: it is applied between rentals.

The platform checks the cards throughout every rental on NVIDIA nodes. If the settings differ from what was applied:

- the cards are set back automatically;
- the renter is notified, and the change is recorded in the session log;
- the node gets a strike. The rental itself continues.

Two strikes within 30 days take the node off the marketplace and lock it once the current rental ends.

## Tips

- Start with the power limit: for most cards 70–80% of the factory limit keeps nearly all performance at much lower power draw and temperature.
- Check the effect with the node's AI Score: run the test again in CUBE after applying a profile.
- Use the Grafana dashboard to compare power draw, temperatures and clocks before and after. See [Node monitoring](#).
- A fixed fan speed holds at any temperature. Leave the fan on **Auto** unless you have a reason to fix it.