Documentation · Usage
GPUs and drivers
What the first setup installs for Intel, AMD and NVIDIA, what has been tested and how it works with more than one GPU.
This documentation covers vGPU OS 0.1.2, in alpha. Screens and commands may change between versions; to see the installed version, use vgpu-os version.
vGPU OS does not include any video driver inside the ISO. During the first setup, it identifies each GPU in the computer and installs, from the official Debian 13 repository, only what it needs — after showing the plan and asking for confirmation.
What gets installed
On every computer: the Vulkan loader, the Mesa Vulkan drivers, Mesa OpenGL, and the verification tools (vulkan-tools).
| GPU | Driver | Vulkan | Firmware |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel | i915 or xe, chosen by the kernel |
Mesa ANV | firmware-intel-graphics and firmware-misc-nonfree |
| AMD | amdgpu |
Mesa RADV | firmware-amd-graphics |
| NVIDIA | Proprietary driver from Debian non-free, chosen by nvidia-detect |
nvidia-vulkan-icd |
firmware-nvidia-graphics |
The NVIDIA driver is only installed if you authorize it. CUDA is never installed.
Important
The NVIDIA driver comes from Debian 13 (550 series). Cards newer than those supported by this driver are not covered.
What has been tested
On real hardware:
- Intel Core i9-14900K with UHD 770 integrated graphics (Raptor Lake) as the only GPU: first setup with one automatic restart, and a VM with macOS Sequoia installed and starting on its own.
- The same computer with an AMD Radeon RX 6600 added, with the monitor sometimes on one GPU and sometimes on the other, and the VM running on either of them.
- AMD Radeon RX 580, in the initial test rounds.
Compatible with Vulkan GPUs on Linux
Because Reims vGPU works on top of Vulkan, NVIDIA, Intel Arc and AMD integrated GPUs are compatible with the project too: all of them have drivers with Vulkan support on Linux. NVIDIA GPUs have been tested by the community with OSX-REIMS on other occasions.
Not every card and computer combination has gone through vGPU OS validation, so results may vary with the GPU model and the driver.
Graphics validation
vGPU OS does not consider a GPU ready just because the driver loaded: it checks whether it actually responds to Vulkan. The result appears at the end of the first setup and in vgpu-os hw validate:
- READY — the GPU responded to Vulkan;
- SOFTWARE — only software rendering is available; macOS is far too slow;
- FAIL — the GPU did not pass; OSX-REIMS is not prepared.
If a GPU has its driver loaded but its firmware was not read, the setup restarts the computer once, on its own, to fix it.
More than one GPU
- Each GPU is validated separately. The GPU the monitor is connected to must respond to Vulkan.
- In OSX-REIMS, each VM has the GPU setting: which card it runs on. On automatic, the Reims vGPU rule applies — discrete before integrated.
- The image is always output through the monitor's GPU, as on a hybrid laptop.
- If the GPU chosen for a VM is no longer in the computer, the VM starts on the automatic one, with a warning.
- vGPU OS updates what it knows about the hardware on every boot: if you move the monitor to another card, the change takes effect from the next boot, not while the computer is on.
Black screen or corrupted image
If the USB drive shows no image, use the Install vGPU OS (safe graphics) option, with basic video. For an already installed system, see Troubleshooting.