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Reported 8 GB and 10 GB

This wiki collects what the cmpunlocker Discord has worked out about the CMP 170HX: how to unlock it, what to run on it, and how to keep it cool and fed. There are two versions of the card and they unlock differently, so start by finding out which one you have: run lspci -nn | grep -i 10de. 10de:20c2 is the 8 GB card, 10de:2082 the 10 GB card. Not sure? Which card do I have.

Every fact on this wiki links to the Discord message or repo it came from. A badge on each entry shows how far to trust it: Proven (reproduced by a second person), Reported (one person's result), Theory (untested idea), Contested (people disagree, both sides shown) or Warning (damaged hardware or lost data). See Status taxonomy. Words you do not know are in the Glossary.

I have the 8 GB card

The 8 GB card unlocks to 64 GB and 74 SMs in software Proven, with nothing written permanently to the card. Source: @newman_08462, 2026-10-09
Source: @lia_oc, 2026-10-22 Do these first:

1. Cool it before you power it. The card has no fan and falls off the bus at 95 C, even at idle. Point a real fan through it. Source: @analyticeth, 2026-10-07 → Cooling and power
2. Power it correctly. One EPS 8-pin input. Use a CPU/EPS cable, or the adapter with two separate PCIe cables, never one cable and its pigtail. Source: @civiloid, 2026-10-15 → Cooling and power
3. Prepare the host. Linux x86-64, Secure Boot off, NVIDIA open kernel modules in a version cmpunlocker supports. Source: repo github.com/amoghmunikote/cmpunlocker by amoghmunikote on GitHub, posted by @rh3dai, 2026-10-08 615.71.09 is the safe pick; 615.78.08 failed for some owners in October. Source: @.henrykrinkle, 2026-10-20 → Platforms
4. Unlock. Install cmpunlocker with --profile=8gb, then cold boot (power fully off, then on). → Driver unlock
5. Check it. nvidia-smi should show 65536 MiB, and the card 74 SMs. Then test the full memory with a CUDA-side memtest, not only memtest_vulkan. Source: repo github.com/PixelML/club-170hx by PixelML on GitHub, posted by @c133, 2026-10-20 → Acceptance checklist, Testing and burn-in
6. Cap the power. Most owners run 140-200 W; the cap resets to 250 W when the driver reloads. Source: repo github.com/PixelML/club-170hx by PixelML on GitHub, posted by @c133, 2026-10-20 → Cooling and power
7. Run a model. One card: Qwen3.8-27B or Qwen 3.8 Flash Next. Four cards: Morrowmake's GLM 5.3 Flash recipe. → All recipes, GLM 5.3 Flash on 4x 8 GB, 8 GB card#Best recipes
8. Later: the cap mod. Fitting the missing PCIe capacitors takes the link from x4 to x16; it mostly helps prefill and tensor parallel. Source: @wakeupmbrc1, 2026-10-07 → PCIe capacitor mod
9. Warning Do not burn fuses or flash VBIOS files from random repos. The 8 GB card has no further unlock today. → 8 GB card#Limits, VBIOS and firmware

Everything else about this card: 8 GB card.

I have the 10 GB card

The 10 GB card unlocks to 40 GB in software Proven. Source: @zorg33, 2026-10-07
Source: @programmerboi, 2026-10-25 48 GB needs a good sixth stack, about 1 card in 5 Reported. Source: @djpandaman, 2026-10-17 80 GB is not achieved Contested. Source: @colo2442, 2026-10-14 With a permanent fuse burn the card goes further on compute (up to 128 SMs, PCIe Gen3). Do these first:

1. Cool it before you power it. A new 10 GB card clocked out in under 5 minutes with no airflow. Source: @programmerboi, 2026-10-25 → Cooling and power
2. Power it correctly and prepare the host: same as the 8 GB card above. → Platforms
3. Unlock. Install cmpunlocker with --profile=10gb and cold boot. Expect 40960 MiB and 74 SMs. Source: repo github.com/amoghmunikote/cmpunlocker by amoghmunikote on GitHub, posted by @rh3dai, 2026-10-08 → Driver unlock
4. Read your card's fuses. Run gpcprobe: note defective GPCs and FBPs and how many RIR records are free. 48 GB is only possible when the sixth stack is disabled, not defective. → Which card do I have#Check the memory layout
5. Use it at 40 GB first. Most cards stop there. Source: @zorg33, 2026-10-07 → All recipes
6. Warning Decide on the RIR burn slowly. It is permanent and cannot be retried. It opens SMs up to 128 (per card) and PCIe Gen3. Source: @djpandaman, 2026-10-12 → RIR fuse burn, 10 GB card#Step 2: the RIR burn
   • Contested Whether to burn at all: mrpandagod needed the fuse override past 80 SMs; Source: @djpandaman, 2026-10-10 Humvee55 says use the software-only recipe and do not spend RIR slots. Source: @scallion_9883, 2026-10-26
7. Expect power limits above 80 SMs. The card hits its power cap and drops memory clocks; plan to undervolt. → 10 GB card#Limits
8. Later: the cap mod for x16, needed for Gen3 and Gen4 at full width. → PCIe capacitor mod
9. Windows works with the A100 40G or A800 40G driver. Source: @wakeupmbrc1, 2026-10-11

Everything else about this card: 10 GB card.

Where to go next

• Which card do I have: tell the versions apart, and spot the 32 GB engineering-sample boards.
• Variant comparison: both cards in one table, with reported prices.
• Unlocks and Driver unlock: what can be unlocked and how.
• Recipes and All recipes: models that run, with numbers.
• Platforms: motherboards, servers, PCIe switches, VMs.
• Cooling and power: airflow, water blocks, power cables, power caps.
• Troubleshooting: Xids, cards falling off the bus, memory errors.
• Buying: what to check before you pay.
• Glossary: RIR, BAR1, P2P, TP and PP, EXL3 and the rest.

Talk happens on the Discord; this wiki is where answers land once they are shown to work.

Imported from the cmpunlocker Discord with credit; see Credits.