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docs(guide): warn that the default NvvmArch fails silently on pre-Turing GPUs - #411

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helenkwok wants to merge 1 commit into
Rust-GPU:mainfrom
helenkwok:docs/note-nvvm-arch-for-older-gpus
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helenkwok wants to merge 1 commit into
Rust-GPU:mainfrom
helenkwok:docs/note-nvvm-arch-for-older-gpus

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Summary

  • CudaBuilder's default target (NvvmArch::Compute75) is Turing+ only. Following the getting-started example as-is on an older GPU (Maxwell/Pascal/Volta — e.g. any GTX 10-series card) produces PTX that fails at runtime with a bare InvalidPtx and no hint that architecture is the cause.
  • Adds a note in the build.rs / arch() section pointing readers at setting .arch(...) explicitly and at nvidia-smi --query-gpu=compute_cap --format=csv for finding their GPU's compute capability.

Filed alongside #410, which proposes improving the runtime error message itself (a separate, code-level change); this PR is just the documentation half so newcomers on older hardware aren't stuck debugging a generic error with no lead.

Hit this firsthand getting the guide's vecadd example running on a GTX 1070 with CUDA 12.9.

Test plan

  • Rendered the changed section locally via mdbook build guide to confirm the callout formats correctly.

…ing GPUs

CudaBuilder defaults to NvvmArch::Compute75, chosen for CUDA 13
compatibility. Following the getting-started example as-is on any
older GPU (Maxwell/Pascal/Volta) produces PTX that fails to load at
runtime with a bare InvalidPtx error, with nothing pointing at the
architecture mismatch. Add a note pointing readers at .arch(...) and
nvidia-smi's compute_cap query.

Hit this firsthand on a GTX 1070 (sm_61); see Rust-GPU#410 for the runtime
diagnostics side of this.
Copilot AI lite review requested due to automatic review settings September 17, 2026 12:24

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