Modeling Modern GPU Applications in gem5
Kyle Roarty, Matthew D. Sinclair · 2020
In 2018, AMD added support for an updated gem5 GPU model based on their GCN3 architecture. Having a high-fidelity GPU model allows for more accurate research into optimizing modern GPU applications. However, the complexity of getting the necessary libraries and drivers, needed for this model to run GPU applications in gem5, made it difficult to use. This post describes the work we have done with increasing the usability of the GPU model by simplifying the setup process, extending the types of applications that can be run, and optimizing parts of the software stack used by the GPU model.