# Help: RTX 5080 (Blackwell, Compute Capability 12.1) + WSL2 + CUDA 13.0 “No Kernel Image Available” 

**URL:** <https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/help-rtx-5080-blackwell-compute-capability-12-1-wsl2-cuda-13-0-no-kernel-image-available/12685>\
**Category:** User discussions\
**Tags:** mdrun, simulation-setup\
**Created:** [September 24, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/help-rtx-5080-blackwell-compute-capability-12-1-wsl2-cuda-13-0-no-kernel-image-available/12685 "2025-09-24T20:51:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ASSIM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ASSIM](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/u/ASSIM)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/help-rtx-5080-blackwell-compute-capability-12-1-wsl2-cuda-13-0-no-kernel-image-available/12685/1 "2025-09-24T20:51:05Z")

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Help: RTX 5080 (Blackwell, Compute Capability 12.1) + WSL2 + CUDA 13.0 “No Kernel Image Available” Error in GROMACS 2025.3

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**Post Body:**

Hi GROMACS developers and users,

I am trying to run MD simulations with GROMACS 2025.3 on a new workstation:

- GPU: NVIDIA RTX 5080 (Blackwell, Compute Capability 12.1)

- OS: Windows 11, running Ubuntu under WSL2

- CUDA: 13.0 toolkit and latest Windows/WSL2 NVIDIA drivers

- GROMACS: built from source targeting **`-DGMX_CUDA_TARGET_SM=121`**

- Simulations, gmx --version, and nvcc all confirm correct CUDA/driver setup.

However, at runtime, I consistently get:

```auto
text

```

`CUDA error #209 (cudaErrorNoKernelImageForDevice): no kernel image is available for execution on the device. Fatal error: Cannot run short-ranged nonbonded interactions on a GPU because no GPU is detected. `

Even though my GPU and driver are listed, GROMACS cannot offload to GPU.

**Questions:**

- Is current support for Blackwell (sm\_121, Compute Capability 12.1) officially production-ready in GROMACS 2025.3 for WSL2/Windows?

- Are there known solutions, workarounds, or patches for this kernel image error on RTX 5080 under WSL2?

- Should I build with special flags or change runtime options?

- Would switching to native Linux be necessary for immediate full GPU performance?

Any advice or direct experience would be very helpful. Thank you!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![al42and](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/gromacs.bioexcel.eu/al42and/32/1393_2.png) [@al42and](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/u/al42and)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2025, 8:54pm UTC](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/help-rtx-5080-blackwell-compute-capability-12-1-wsl2-cuda-13-0-no-kernel-image-available/12685/2 "2025-09-24T20:54:46Z")

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Hi.

I believe RTX 50xx-series is CC 12.0, not CC 12.1:[CUDA GPU Compute Capability | NVIDIA Developer](https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-gpus)

Have you tried using `-DGMX_CUDA_TARGET_SM=120`?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ASSIM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@ASSIM](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/u/ASSIM)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2025, 11:35am UTC](https://gromacs.bioexcel.eu/t/help-rtx-5080-blackwell-compute-capability-12-1-wsl2-cuda-13-0-no-kernel-image-available/12685/3 "2025-10-05T11:35:23Z")

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Thanks alot. It is working fine now.