---
title: Connect to a Windows GPU Node
---

# Connect to a Windows GPU Node

Connecting to a Windows GPU node is the same RDP flow as a regular Windows node. The only addition is the post-login NVIDIA driver check.

For the full RDP connect reference — finding the IP, RDP clients on Windows/macOS/Linux, retrieving the Administrator password, password changes, security group rules — follow [Connect to a Windows node](/docs/myaccount/node/connect-to-node/windows-node). This page only documents the GPU delta.

---

## Connect over RDP

Use the same RDP flow as a regular Windows node:

```text
mstsc
```

Enter the GPU node's Public IP (or a reachable Private IP), `Administrator` as the user, and the password from the secure password email. See [Connect to a Windows node](/docs/myaccount/node/connect-to-node/windows-node) for client-specific instructions on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

---

## Verify the NVIDIA Driver

After your first RDP login, confirm the GPU is present and the driver is loaded.

### Device Manager

1. Right-click **Start > Device Manager**.
2. Expand **Display adapters**.
3. You should see the GPU listed (for example, `NVIDIA A40` or `NVIDIA L40S`).
4. Right-click the device > **Properties > Driver** tab.
5. Confirm the Driver Version and Driver Date are present and that the device status reads `This device is working properly`.

### `nvidia-smi` in PowerShell

The Windows driver installer also installs `nvidia-smi.exe`. Open PowerShell and run:

```powershell
nvidia-smi
```

Expected output:

```text
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 580.65.06              Driver Version: 580.65.06      CUDA Version: 13.0     |
|-----------------------------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| GPU  Name                  TCC/WDDM     | Bus-Id          Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
|=========================================+========================+======================|
|   0  NVIDIA RTX A6000           WDDM    | 00000000:00:1E.0  On   |                  Off |
| 30%   38C    P8               14W / 300W|      512MiB / 49140MiB |      0%      Default |
+-----------------------------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
```

What to read from this output:

| Field            | What it tells you                                                                                              |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `Driver Version` | Installed NVIDIA driver.                                                                                       |
| `CUDA Version`   | The CUDA runtime version the driver supports. Your application's CUDA must be ≤ this.                          |
| `Name`           | Detected GPU.                                                                                                  |
| `TCC/WDDM`       | Display driver model. `WDDM` is required for any RDP-rendered display. `TCC` is compute-only.                  |
| `GPU-Util`       | Should be `0%` on idle.                                                                                        |

:::note
Windows GPU nodes default to WDDM because RDP needs to render the desktop. Do not switch to TCC mode unless you are running headless compute and do not need the desktop rendered.
:::

---

## Everything Else

Password change, RDP client tuning, security group hardening, and Access Console recovery work the same as any Windows node — see [Connect to a Windows node](/docs/myaccount/node/connect-to-node/windows-node).

---

## Related Resources

| Resource                                                                         | Use it for                                                       |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Connect to a Windows node](/docs/myaccount/node/connect-to-node/windows-node)   | Canonical RDP connect reference (non-GPU steps).                 |
| [Create a GPU node](/docs/myaccount/gpu/getting-started/create-gpu-node)         | Launch a Windows GPU node.                                       |
| [Choose a GPU card](/docs/myaccount/gpu/getting-started/choose-gpu-card)         | Pick the right card before you connect.                          |
| [Connect to a Linux GPU node](/docs/myaccount/gpu/connect-to-gpu/linux-gpu-node) | Access Linux GPU nodes.                                          |
| [Troubleshoot GPU Nodes](/docs/myaccount/gpu/troubleshoot)                       | Fix NVIDIA driver, WDDM/TCC, and CUDA issues.                    |