Intel Gen 12/13 vGPU (SR-IOV) on Proxmox VE 8.x / 9.x

This guide helps you virtualize 12th/13th-generation Intel integrated GPUs and share them as virtual GPUs (vGPU) with hardware acceleration and video encoding/decoding across up to 7 VMs using SR-IOV technology.

Introduction

Although not suited for gaming due to the limited performance of Intel's iGPU, especially when shared among multiple VMs, this setup excels at video decoding tasks like streaming YouTube and accelerating RDP sessions without burdening the CPU.

Once you complete this setup, consider enhancing your RDP experience with my project Upinel/BetterRDP, which leverages vGPU capabilities.

⚠️ Proxmox 9.x Note: If you're on Proxmox VE 9.2+ with kernel 7.0+, the new Intel Xe driver has native SR-IOV support for some hardware. See Intel Xe Driver (Native SR-IOV) section below.

Lazy Option

For a fresh Proxmox installation with EFI ON and Secure Boot Off, use the one-click installer: Upinel/PVE-Intel-vGPU-Lazy

Disclaimer

This workaround is not officially supported by Proxmox. Use at your own risk.

Environment

The environment used for this guide:

• Model: Intel NUC12 Pro Wall Street Canyon (NUC12WSKi5)

• CPU: Intel 12th Gen i5 1240P (12 Cores, 16 Threads)

• RAM: 64GB DDR4 by Samsung

• Storage: 2TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe SSD and 4TB Samsung 870 Evo SATA SSD

• Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics (80 Execution Units)

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following:

• VT-d (IOMMU) and SR-IOV are enabled in BIOS.

• Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) version 8.1.4 or newer is installed.

• EFI is enabled, and Secure Boot is disabled. (See Module Signing note below — even with Secure Boot OFF, newer kernels require MOK enrollment.)

• Linux kernel version 6.1 or newer. Validate with:

uname -r

If your kernel is older than 6.1, refer to Appendix 1.

• GRUB or systemd-boot: The guide covers both. For systemd-boot, see the special instructions below.

⚠️ Module Signing (Required for ALL Setups on Proxmox 8.2+)

Starting with Proxmox VE 8.2 (kernel 6.8+), even with Secure Boot disabled, the kernel enforces module signature verification. DKMS modules like i915-sriov-dkms will fail to load with "module verification failed" unless the MOK key is enrolled. This is issue #13 — and it affects everyone, not just Secure Boot users.

Fix — do this AFTER building the DKMS module (after step 4 in DKMS Setup):

apt install mokutil -y
mokutil --import /var/lib/dkms/mok.pub

Then reboot. During boot you'll see the Perform MOK management screen:

1. Select Enroll MOK
2. Select Continue
3. Select Yes
4. Enter the password you set (or just press Enter if none)
5. Select Reboot

The module will now load correctly. See Troubleshooting if issues persist.

Proxmox Setup

DKMS Setup

1. Update your system and install required packages:

apt update && apt install pve-headers-$(uname -r)
apt update && apt install git pve-headers mokutil
rm -rf /var/lib/dkms/i915-sriov-dkms*
rm -rf /usr/src/i915-sriov-dkms*
rm -rf ~/i915-sriov-dkms
KERNEL=$(uname -r); KERNEL=${KERNEL%-pve}

2. Proceed to clone the DKMS repository and adjust its configuration:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/strongtz/i915-sriov-dkms.git
cd ~/i915-sriov-dkms
cp -a ~/i915-sriov-dkms/dkms.conf{,.bak}
sed -i 's/ -j$(nproc)//g' ~/i915-sriov-dkms/dkms.conf
dkms_ver=$(grep 'PACKAGE_VERSION=' dkms.conf | awk -F '=' '{print $2}' | tr -d '"')
cat ~/i915-sriov-dkms/dkms.conf

3. Install the DKMS module:

apt install --reinstall dkms -y
dkms add .
cd /usr/src/i915-sriov-dkms-*
dkms status

4. Build the i915-sriov-dkms

dkms install -m i915-sriov-dkms -v $dkms_ver -k $(uname -r) --force -j 1
dkms status

GRUB Bootloader Setup

Backup and update the GRUB configuration:

cp -a /etc/default/grub{,.bak}
sudo sed -i '/^GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT/c\GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet intel_iommu=on iommu=pt i915.enable_guc=3 i915.max_vfs=7"' /etc/default/grub
update-grub
update-initramfs -u -k all
apt install sysfsutils -y

💡 Note on i915.max_vfs=7: On newer kernels (6.8+), you may see i915: unknown parameter 'max_vfs' ignored in dmesg. This is harmless — the module still uses the sysfs-based method (see next section). The parameter is included for compatibility with older kernels.

systemd-boot Setup (Alternative)

If your Proxmox installation uses systemd-boot instead of GRUB (check with efibootmgr or ls /boot/efi/loader/):

# Edit kernel command line
echo "intel_iommu=on iommu=pt i915.enable_guc=3 i915.max_vfs=7" > /etc/kernel/cmdline
proxmox-boot-tool refresh
update-initramfs -u -k all
apt install sysfsutils -y

Then reboot for changes to take effect.

Create vGPU

Identify the PCIe bus number of the VGA card, usually 00:02.0: 

lspci | grep VGA

Edit the sysfs configuration to enable the vGPUs. In this case I’m using 00:02.0. To verify the file was modified, cat the file and ensure it was modified.

echo "devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/sriov_numvfs = 7" > /etc/sysfs.conf
cat /etc/sysfs.conf

Secure Boot Configuration (Optional)

If you are using Secure Boot, please follow the Appedix 2 before next step

Completing vGPU setup

Now reboot your Host

reboot

And you should able to see the minor PCIe IDs 1-7 and finally Enabled 7 VFs

lspci | grep VGA
dmesg | grep i915

Now your host is prepared, and you can set up Windows 10/11 VMs with SR-IOV vGPU support.

Windows Installation

I will write a simplier version of Windows Installation Guide soon. Stay Tune.

Download Windows Images and Virtos Driver

1. Download the latest VirtIO Windows driver ISO from here. 
2. Download the Windows 11 ISO from here. Use the Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices option.
3. Upload both .iso image to your Proxmox storage, I use local -> ISO Images here
4. Start the VM creation process. On the General tab enter the name of your VM. Click Next.
5. On the OS tab select the Windows 11 ISO.  Change the Guest OS to Microsoft Windows, 11/2022. Tick the box for the VirtIO drivers, then select your Windows VirtIO ISO. Click Next. Note: The VirtIO drivers option is new to Proxmox 8.1. I added a Proxmox 8.0 step at the end to manually add a new CD drive and mount the VirtIO ISO.
6. On the System page modify the Machine Type to Q35, SCSI Controller to VirtIO SCSI single, BIOS to OVMF (UEFI). If you are installing Windows 11, also enable TPM 2.0. If your local VM storage is named differently (e.g. NOT local-lvm, use that instead).
7. On the Disks tab, modify the size as needed. I suggest a minimum of 64GB. Modify the Cache and Discard settings as shown. Only enable Discard if using SSD/NVMe storage (not a spinning disk).
8. On the CPU tab, change the Type to host. Allocate however many cores you want. I chose 2.
9. On the Memory tab allocated as much memory as you want. I suggest 8GB or more. 
10. On the Network tab change the model to VirtIO.
11. Review your VM configuration. Click Finish. Note: If you are on Proxmox 8.0, modify the hardware configuration again and add a CD/DVD drive and select the VirtIO ISO image. Do not start the VM. 

Windows 11 Installation

1. In Proxmox click on the Windows 11 VM, then open a console. Start the VM, then press Enter to boot from the CD.
2. Select your language, time, currency, and keyboard. Click Next. Click Install now.
3. Click I don’t have a product key. 
4. Select Windows 11 Pro. Click Next.
5. Tick the box to accept the license agreement. Click Next.
6. Click on Custom install.
7. Click Load driver.
8. Click OK.
9. Select the w11 driver. Click Next.
10. On Where do you want to install Windows click Next.
11. Sit back and wait for Windows 11 to install.

Windows 11 Initial Configuration

Note: I strongly suggest using a Windows local account during setup, and not your Microsoft cloud account. This will make remote desktop setup easier, as you can’t RDP to Windows 11 using your Microsoft cloud account. The procedure below “tricks” Windows into allowing you to create a local account by attempting to use a locked out cloud account. Also, do NOT use the same username for the local account as your Microsoft cloud account. This might cause complications if you later add your Microsoft cloud account.

1. Once Windows boots you should see a screen confirming your country or region. Make an appropriate selection and click Yes.
2. Confirm the right keyboard layout. Click Yes. Add a second keyboard layout if needed. 
3. Wait for Windows to check for updates. Windows may reboot. 
4. Enter the name of your PC. Click Next. Wait for Windows to reboot.
5. Click Set up for personal use. Click Next. Click Sign in.
6. To bypass using your Microsoft cloud account, enter **user @ outlook .com **(no spaces), enter a random password, click Next on Oops, something went wrong. 
7. On the** Who’s going to use this device?** screen enter a username. Click Next.
8. Enter a password. Click Next.
9. Select your security questions and enter answers.
10. Select the Privacy settings you desire and click Accept.
11. In Windows open the mounted ISO in Explorer. Run virtio-win-gt-x64 and virtio-win-guest-tools. Use all default options.
12. You will probably also want to change the Windows power plan so that the VM doesn’t hibernate (unless you want it to).
13. You may want to disable local account password expiration, as RDP will fail when your password expires with no way to reset. You’d need to re-enable the Proxmox console to reset your password (see later in this post for a how to).

wmic UserAccount set PasswordExpires=False

Windows 11 vGPU Configuration

1. Open a Proxmox console to the VM and login to Windows 11. In the search bar type remote desktop, then click on remote** desktop settings**.
2. Enable Remote Desktop. Click Confirm.
3. Open your favorite RDP client and login using the user name and credentials you setup. You should now see your Windows desktop and the Proxmox console window should show the lock screen.
4. Inside the Windows VM open your favorite browser and download the latest Intel “Recommended” graphics driver from here. In my case I’m grabbing 31.0.101.4972.
5. Shutdown the Windows VM. 
6. You can now unmount the Windows 11 and VirtIO ISOs.
7. In the Proxmox console click on the Windows 11 VM in the left pane. Then click on Hardware. Click on the Display item in the right pane. Click Edit, then change it to none. Note: If in the next couple of steps the 7 GPU VFs aren’t listed, try rebooting your Proxmox host and see if they come back. Then try adding one to your Windows VM again.
8. In the top of the right pane click on Add, then select PCI Device.
9. Select Raw Device. Then review all of the PCI devices available. Select one of the sub-function (.1, .2, etc..) graphics controllers (i.e. ANY entry except the 00:02.0). Do NOT use the root “0” device, for ANYTHING. I chose 02.1. Click** Add**. Do NOT tick the “All Functions” box. Tick the box next to Primary GPU. Click Add.
10. Start the Windows 11 VM and wait a couple of minutes for it to boot and RDP to become active. Note, the Proxmox Windows console will NOT connect since we removed the virtual VGA device. You will see a Failed to connect to server message. You can now ONLY access Windows via RDP. 
11. RDP into the Windows 11 VM. Locate the Intel Graphics driver installer and run it. If all goes well, you will be presented with an Installation complete! screen. Reboot. If you run into issues with the Intel installer, skip down to my troubleshooting section below to see if any of those tips help.

⚠️ Windows 11 24H2 Black Screen Fix: After installing the Intel GPU driver on Windows 11 24H2, you may experience a black screen when connecting via RDP. This is caused by 24H2's changed display adapter handling. Fix:

1. Before installing the Intel driver, connect via RDP and open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
2. Navigate to: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Remote Session Environment
3. Set "Use hardware graphics adapters for all Remote Desktop Services sessions" to Enabled
4. Run gpupdate /force and reboot
5. Now install the Intel driver — RDP should work without black screen

If you still get a black screen, connect via Proxmox console (re-add the Display device temporarily), uninstall the Intel driver, apply the GPO fix, then reinstall.

Windows 11 vGPU Validation

1. RDP into Windows and launch Device Manager. 
2. Expand Display adapters and verify there’s an Intel adapter in a healthy state (e.g. no error 43).
3. Launch Intel Arc Control. Click on the gear icon, System Info, Hardware. Verify it shows Intel Iris Xe.
4. Launch Task Manager, then watch a YouTube video. Verify the GPU is being used.

Intel Xe Driver (Native SR-IOV)

As of Proxmox VE 9.2+ (kernel 7.0+), Intel's new Xe kernel driver is the successor to i915 and includes native SR-IOV support without needing DKMS modules. This is the future of Intel GPU virtualization.

Current status (June 2026):

• ✅ Panther Lake (Gen 15): Native SR-IOV works out of the box on Xe driver
• 🚧 Meteor Lake / Arrow Lake (Gen 14): Partial support, YMMV
• ❌ Alder Lake / Raptor Lake (Gen 12/13): Still requires the i915-sriov-dkms approach in this guide

To try the Xe driver on supported hardware:

# Blacklist i915 and enable Xe
echo "blacklist i915" > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-i915.conf
echo "options xe enable_guc=3" > /etc/modprobe.d/xe.conf
update-initramfs -u -k all
reboot

Then use lspci | grep VGA and dmesg | grep xe to verify. VFs are managed via sysfs as usual.

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS VM Notes

If you're passing vGPU to an Ubuntu 24.04 VM instead of Windows:

• The i915 driver in Ubuntu 24.04 may not recognize the vGPU properly
• Install the same i915-sriov-dkms module on the guest VM as you did on the host
• Or use the Xe driver on the guest if running kernel 6.12+
• Check lspci -k to see which driver is bound to the VGA device
• Use intel_gpu_top to verify GPU utilization in the guest

HDMI / Physical Display Output (Passthrough of 00:02.0)

If you want physical HDMI/DisplayPort output from a VM, you need to passthrough the root function 00:02.0, not a VF:

⚠️ Passthrough of 00:02.0 means the HOST loses access to the iGPU completely.
All VFs (00:02.1 through 00:02.7) will also be unavailable.
This is only suitable for single-VM setups needing physical display output.

1. Add PCI Device → Raw Device → select 00:02.0
2. Tick All Functions AND Primary GPU
3. The VM will now drive a physical monitor connected to the HDMI/DP port

Troubleshooting

VFs not showing after reboot (lspci | grep VGA shows only 00:02.0)

1. Check kernel cmdline: cat /proc/cmdline — ensure intel_iommu=on iommu=pt are present
2. Check sysfs: cat /etc/sysfs.conf — should contain the sriov_numvfs line
3. Manually trigger VF creation: echo 7 > /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/sriov_numvfs
4. Check module loaded: lsmod | grep i915 — if missing, the DKMS build may have failed
5. Check dmesg for errors: dmesg | grep -E "i915|DMAR|IOMMU" | tail -20
6. Verify SR-IOV in BIOS: Some BIOSes have a separate SR-IOV toggle beyond VT-d

"module verification failed" / DKMS module doesn't load

Follow the Module Signing section above — this is required for ALL Proxmox 8.2+ installs.

Intel driver installer fails in Windows VM

1. Ensure you're passing a VF (.1 through .7), NOT the root 00:02.0
2. Try an older Intel driver version — some versions block installation on virtualized GPUs
3. Run the installer with -override flag: Setup.exe -override
4. Extract the .inf files from the installer and install manually via Device Manager

Only raw device 00:02.0 showing (no VFs in PCI list)

This means SR-IOV Virtual Functions weren't created. Check:

1. dmesg | grep -i sriov — should show "Enabled 7 VFs"
2. cat /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/sriov_numvfs — should return 7
3. If it returns 0, manually enable: echo 7 > /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/sriov_numvfs
4. If "Permission denied", the i915 module isn't loaded properly — revisit DKMS Setup

Appendixes

Appendix 1 - Kernel lower than 6.1

You can update the PVE kernel to 6.2 5.19 using these commands:

1. Disable enterprise repo:

vi /etc/apt/sources.list

Then use the following repos from Proxmox:
(https://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Package_Repositories)
My sources.list looks like this:

deb http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib
deb http://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib
deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription
# security updates
deb http://security.debian.org bookworm-security main contrib

2. Install 6.5 kernel.

apt install pve-kernel-6.5

3. Update apt and install headers.

apt update && apt install pve-headers-$(uname -r)

4. Update initramfs and reboot.\

update-initramfs -u
reboot

5. Check your kernel

uname -r

Back to the Guide where you left

Appendix 2 - Secure Boot Enabled

If your system has Secure Boot enabled, you need to enroll the MOK key after building the DKMS module:

apt update && apt install mokutil
mokutil --import /var/lib/dkms/mok.pub

Reboot Proxmox Host, monitor the boot process and wait for the Perform MOK management window. If you miss the first reboot you will need to re-run the mokutil command and reboot again. The DKMS module will NOT load until you step through this setup.

Select Enroll MOK, Continue, Yes, (password), Reboot.

Note: Even with Secure Boot disabled, Proxmox 8.2+ still requires MOK enrollment. See the Module Signing section above.

Back to the Guide where you left

Conclusion

By completing this guide, you should be able to share your Intel Gen 12/13 iGPU across up to 7 VMs for hardware-accelerated video processing, RDP acceleration, and virtualized graphical tasks within a Proxmox environment.

For the Intel Xe driver (Gen 14/15 native SR-IOV), see the Intel Xe Driver section.

Credits

The DKMS module by Strongz is instrumental in making this possible (i915-sriov-dkms GitHub repository).
Additionally, Derek Seaman and Michael's blog post was an inspirational resource (Derek Seaman’s Proxmox vGPU Guide & vGPU (SR-IOV) with Intel 12th Gen iGPU).
Because this is a lazy installer, to reduce variances, this pack also included the archive of strongtz/i915-sriov-dkms driver on the date of 21 Feb 2024.
This installer is tailored for Proxmox 8, aiming to streamline the installation process.

License

This project is licensed under Apache License, Version 2.0.

Author

Nova Upinel Chow
Email: dev@upinel.com

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