intel_gpu_top

intel_gpu_top [options]

-h, --help
    Show help message and exit.

-d , --delay
    Update interval in seconds. Default is 1 second.

-s, --show-system-memory
    Show system memory usage in addition to GPU memory.

-o , --output
    Write output to file instead of stdout.

-b, --batch
    Run in batch mode (non-interactive). Useful for scripting.

--version
    Print the version and exit.

Intel GPU Top (`intel_gpu_top`) is a command-line utility for monitoring the performance of Intel integrated GPUs on Linux systems. It provides real-time information about GPU utilization, including the usage of different hardware units (e.g., rendering, blitter, video), memory usage, power consumption, and clock frequencies. The tool is invaluable for diagnosing performance bottlenecks in graphics applications, games, and other workloads that heavily utilize the GPU. By observing the utilization percentages and memory statistics, users can determine if the GPU is being fully utilized or if there are limitations imposed by other system components, such as CPU or memory bandwidth. It's especially helpful for developers optimizing their applications to achieve better performance on Intel integrated graphics. Intel GPU Top relies on kernel interfaces to gather the information, so proper kernel drivers are required. The information is displayed in a text-based interface, providing a quick and insightful overview of GPU activity.

Requires appropriate Intel GPU drivers and kernel support. The reported utilization percentages may not always perfectly reflect the actual workload due to complexities in GPU scheduling and resource allocation.

The tool displays different units within the GPU such as Render/3D, Blitter/2D, and Video. Understanding which unit is heavily utilized is important for performance tuning. Render/3D is the main engine for processing 3D graphics. Blitter/2D handles 2D operations. Video is used for video decoding and encoding.

Intel GPU Top was developed by Intel to provide insight into the performance of their integrated graphics solutions. It evolved alongside the i915 kernel driver. It's designed to be a lightweight and informative tool for developers and users to quickly understand GPU activity. It is actively maintained as part of the Intel graphics driver stack.

i915_perf(8), top(1), ps(1)