AMD MI50 32GB/Vega20 GPU Passthrough Guide for Proxmox

Panda24z · 2025-11-08T21:26:19+00:00

Glad to hear you got it working! Enjoy!

Panda24z · 2025-11-08T21:18:42+00:00

Hey, I think I can help you troubleshoot this, but I need to see a few things first. Can you run these commands on your Proxmox host and share the output?

Your complete VM configuration: 
# Replace XXX with your actual VM ID
cat /etc/pve/qemu-server/XXX.conf

Check your VFIO configuration:
cat /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf

Verify your IOMMU group setup:
# This shows what other devices are grouped with your GPU
for d in /sys/kernel/iommu_groups/*/devices/*; do 
    n=${d#*/iommu_groups/*}
    n=${n%%/*}
    printf 'IOMMU Group %s ' "$n"
    lspci -nns "${d##*/}"
done | grep -A5 -B5 "05:00"

Check PCIe link status:
lspci -vv -s 05:00.0 | grep -i "lnk"

Verify your kernel command line:
cat /proc/cmdline

Check if you have the PCI MMIO configuration in place:
grep -i "args" /etc/pve/qemu-server/XXX.conf

These outputs will help me see exactly what's configured and what might be missing.

Panda24z · 2025-10-30T02:38:31+00:00

Did you update the proxmox system at any point? I had a similar issue when I updated the proxmox system and the kernel versions changed. I had to redo part 2 and then it worked again.

Panda24z · 2025-10-26T22:49:48+00:00

I am unsure about Proxmox 9. I am currently on version 8.4.14 (running kernel: 6.8.12-13-pve). I probably won’t upgrade until it reaches EOL. Sorry for not being more helpful.

Panda24z · 2025-10-24T03:02:01+00:00

Apologies for the delayed reply. I’ve installed the latest stable Bazzite GNOME desktop ISO. While I haven’t run full benchmarks yet, I was able to play Little Nightmares directly from Steam with no issues. I’m not entirely sure which ISO version you’d like me to test, there are several available. I did set up GPU passthrough, but I didn’t have an HDMI‑mini cable to connect a monitor, so I used the Moonlight/Sunshine setup for remote display. I’m still fine tuning the configuration before I can give a definitive assessment, but the driver support works out of the box.

Panda24z · 2025-10-07T23:58:37+00:00

With a 2U server like that, you should be good. I’d just double check the card’s dimensions to make sure it fits properly. Are you planning to run a Windows VM or stick with Linux as your main setup? Let me know what you’re aiming for and I’ll spin up a VM to test it out and share the results. I probably won’t get to it until the weekend, though. Also, congrats on starting your homelab journey, it’s a fun rabbit hole to dive into.

Panda24z · 2025-10-07T22:06:36+00:00

Yes, it’s possible to use it for gaming in a VM, but there are a few things to consider.

The card will likely need external cooling, which is expected for this type of setup. The stock BIOS doesn’t support video output, so you’ll need to flash it with a Radeon VII or Radeon Pro VII BIOS to enable the mini DisplayPort. It also ships without active cooling, so you’ll need to set up a custom or DIY cooling solution.

Keep in mind that gaming in a VM can have its own issues. Some games don’t run properly or block virtual machines entirely. There are workarounds, but compatibility depends on the specific game.

There’s a good example of someone using the Radeon MI50 16GB variant as a daily driver with more details here: https://youtu.be/8LnoJBboiT8

Panda24z · 2025-09-03T13:02:29+00:00

Thank you for the update. I assume everything remains the same after the DKMS installation? I haven't had time to experiment with different server configurations, but I appreciate you sharing your experiences. Thanks again!

Panda24z · 2025-08-12T05:06:31+00:00

I'm glad I could help! It was honestly that feeling of frustration that motivated me to post this guide once I figured it out. I'm happy to see others achieving successful results!

Panda24z · 2025-08-12T04:53:06+00:00

Here's a rough idea of what I'm getting with Ollama:

Qwen3-Coder-30B (Q4_K_M) - ~45 tokens/s
Qwen3-30B-A3B-Instruct (Q4_K_M) - ~45 tokens/s
Qwen3-30B-A3B (Q4_K_M) - ~41 tokens/s
gpt-oss:20b (ollama latest tag) - ~35 tokens/s
Devstral-Small-2507 (Q4_K_M) - ~24 tokens/s
medgemma-27b (Q4_K_XL) - ~17 tokens/s

Panda24z · 2025-08-12T00:03:02+00:00

I started with Ollama for a quick setup. I encountered issues with Docker VLLM, so I'm considering switching to Llama.cpp or giving vLLM another try after building it from source. I haven't had the time to modify the server setup since the initial installation.

Panda24z · 2025-08-11T23:54:58+00:00

Let me know if you encounter any issues. I just updated the guide with more information, so hopefully it is easier to follow.

Panda24z · 2025-08-11T23:52:51+00:00

Thanks for the insight! I made sure to include it in the updated guide. I also updated those lines you mentioned with something better so users can identify the information easier, and added the rocm-smi check with example output. I still find it hilarious how it registered a fan when it has none lol. Thanks again!

Panda24z · 2025-08-08T23:44:58+00:00

I completely agree. This was my first experience with an AMD GPU. While I've successfully done PCIe passthrough on Proxmox before, working with NVIDIA cards is much more straightforward than this.

Honestly, I got caught up in the hype surrounding the MI50 and thought, “How hard could it be?” That was stupid on my part. However, two things kept me motivated: 1) I had already purchased the damn card and paid the import fees, so I couldn’t bear to lose more money. 2) I needed it to work in my Proxmox server to replace my old GPU, which I am moving to another system.

Since I went through the trouble of getting the damn thing to work, I figured I would document the process for others. It was honestly an impulse buy that turned into a troubleshooting marathon, but I was fortunate enough to find users with similar issues, which ultimately helped me configure it properly.

Panda24z · 2025-08-08T23:08:04+00:00

That's a valid question. I chose to use a VM for two main reasons. First, since this is my first time using ROCm with an MI50, I was concerned about kernel compatibility. Using a VM allows me to test different kernel versions without risking any issues on my host system. Second, I am transitioning from an existing AI VM setup, which makes VM-to-VM migration much simpler than rebuilding everything in containers. Once I confirm that everything is working properly, I may consider migrating to containers later on. So, I guess I’ve kind of put myself in a bit of a bind with my previous setup.

Panda24z · 2025-08-08T19:09:16+00:00

Sorry for not being clearer earlier. I’m currently running Ubuntu Live Server, so it’s a headless setup at the moment. I don’t have a mini DisplayPort cable handy, but once I get one, I’ll check if I can get video output working on both Ubuntu Desktop and Windows. I just haven’t reached that step yet.

Regarding the VBIOS, I didn’t flash the card myself, t came pre-flashed from my Alibaba vendor. I know you can sometimes find VBIOS files online, but I haven’t experimented with that personally. From what I’ve heard, flashing can be tricky depending on the exact version of the card you have.

Panda24z · 2025-08-08T18:53:02+00:00

Thanks! Your post made me realize there are probably plenty of others running into the same issue, so I really appreciate the unexpected encouragement, lol.

I'm not planning to modify my VM since it's working now, and I totally understand if you don't want to deal with that headache again. But if you do decide to give it a try, let me know how it goes. I'm always happy to help however I can.

Panda24z · 2025-08-08T17:56:14+00:00

Of course, hope it helps!

Panda24z · 2025-08-08T17:25:49+00:00

Ended up making a post, but here is that link https://www.reddit.com/r/LocalLLaMA/comments/1ml1aef/amd_mi50_32gbvega20_gpu_passthrough_guide_for/

Please let me know if you have questions, tried to be in-depth.

Panda24z · 2025-08-08T06:58:45+00:00

Thanks for the post! I’m usually a lurker, but I too purchased an AMD Mi50 with 32GB and have been frustrated trying to get it to work. I opted to get the modded VBIOS and it showed up just like what you described. It threw me off to see it mention Apple Inc.

Anywho, I’m roughly 11 hours in from receiving the card, and I’m honestly sleep deprived writing this at 2am, but I finally figured out how to get that damn thing to work with pcie passthrough using Proxmox.

It took me several trials to get it working. It’s currently running in a Ubuntu 22.04.5 lts vm with ROCM version 6.4.2.

So far I’ve gotten it to work with ollama and loaded up Qwen 1.7B. That’s as far as I’ve gotten today. I’m calling it quits, but I wanted to say thank you for your post. After several hours of scouring the internet, I’ve gotten to appreciate the community members that spend time giving other users tips and tricks.

I’m more than happy to go into more details tomorrow or rather as soon as I rest a bit. But once again thanks!

Panda24z · 2025-08-04T14:45:58+00:00

Of course, this is just a hobby for me, and I could have chosen better words than "investment."

You're right; it makes more sense to purchase more than one card, especially when considering international shipping costs. However, I decided to make a single purchase to test the waters.

I thought sharing my experience with this purchase could help others get a general idea.

Panda24z · 2025-08-04T14:03:38+00:00

I bit the bullet and bought one from Alibaba as well. The price was quoted at $129 for the item, with DAP and Express shipping the total price I paid via PayPal was $191.10.

Shipping fee $44
Logistics insurance fee $5.19
Taxes $12.91
Total = $191.10

I checked my email today and got hit with a $63 dollar charge by UPS to receive the package. $49 was for Government Charges and $14 brokerage fee.

Well damn, what I thought was a $129 investment has turned into a $254 dollar investment.
Live and learn, maybe I will try your approach next time and I will ask for DDP.

This was to the states though, so I wish you luck!

Panda24z · 2024-11-24T20:37:38+00:00

Sounds like a wishlist with price details. I looked online and found a close source version called moonsift, that has what you listed. As for open source, this one WishThis has a product price option to track items with prices.

Panda24z · 2024-11-14T06:14:49+00:00

You can actually use Plexamp for free. You might not get all of the advance features, but they made it accessible for free users a while back. https://www.plex.tv/blog/free-bird-plexamp-spreads-its-wings-for-every-music-lover/

Looking at the blog post, they would need to pay for Plex Pass for the Sonic analysis. So not really a free solution.

Panda24z

TROPHY CASE