with-fake-head is a script to run commands under a fake X display. Some programs need to be operated under an X session (sometimes even with a real display attached) using a particular gpu. For example, nvidia-settings can only work on the gpu of its X session. For gpgpu computing, in headless servers or when the real X is running on another gpu (the preferred setup) this makes changing or querying settings awkward.

Query all nvidia settings for two cards:

with-fake-head -p 0:2:0,1:0:0 -- nvidia-settings -q all

Enable double precision mode on a GTX Titan:

with-fake-head -r NVIDIA -- nvidia-settings \
     -a [gpu:0]/GPUDoublePrecisionBoostImmediate=1

Run xterm and display it in the normal X display:

with-fake-head -r NVIDIA -- env DISPLAY=:0.0 xterm

Gabor Melis ([email protected], http://quotenil.com)

Based on Axel Kohlmeyer’s ([email protected]) gpu cooling hack.