ArcTray

Headless tuner and graphics control panel for Intel Arc GPUs: one native Win32 binary, a tray menu and a full CLI. No Electron, no window, no service, no network, no telemetry.

ArcTray is the tuner half of Arc-Power rebuilt in C: the same IGCL and Level Zero Sysman calls, without the renderer, overlay, recording pipeline and ~150 MB Electron runtime. What is left is a ~91 KB executable that costs 8.5–16 MB of working set and applies the same controls as the vendor tool.

right-click the tray icon
├── Arc A770 — 325 W · 2400 MHz · 51 °C
├── Profiles ▸ Gaming · Quiet · Stock
├── Power limit (325 W) ▸ 115 … 420 W
├── Core offset (+0 MHz) ▸ 0 … +300 MHz
├── Temperature limit (90 °C) ▸ 60 … 115 °C
├── Voltage offset (0 mV) ▸ 0 … +288 mV
├── Fan ▸ Auto · 30 … 100 %
├── Graphics ▸ Low latency · VSync/flip · FPS limit · XeSS FG · CMAA · atomics
│              Save these settings · Restore saved settings
├── Registry tweaks ▸ HAGS · MPO · GameDVR · FSO · MMCSS · timers · throttling
├── Start with Windows
├── Links ▸ GitHub · GitLab · Telegram
└── About ArcTray… · Exit

What it does

Tuner (IGCL + Level Zero Sysman)

Control	Range	How
Power limit	115…420 W	Level Zero Sysman zesPowerSetLimits (sustained + burst), verified by read-back; IGCL fallback clamps to the advertised range
Core clock offset	0…+300 MHz	ctlOverclockGpuFrequencyOffsetSetV2, V1 fallback
Temperature limit	60…115 °C	60…90 through the driver runtime, 91…115 through the bundled 2023 IGCL runtime
Voltage offset	0…+288 mV	ctlOverclockGpuMaxVoltageOffsetSetV2 (positive only)
Fan	auto / 30…100 %	flat 2-point table via ctlFanSetSpeedTableMode (the A770 rejects the fixed-speed API)
Profiles	—	arctray.ini next to the exe (or %APPDATA%\ArcTray)

Every write is read back and the driver's answer is shown in a balloon instead of a fake "OK". Failed applies report the exact IGCL / Level Zero result code. Clearing the voltage offset to 0 mV resets all IGCL overclock controls on this card, so ArcTray snapshots and restores power limit, core and temperature around it.

Graphics (non-overclocking 3D features)

Feature	Values
FPS limit	off · 30 · 60 · 90 · 120 · 144 · 165 · 240
VSync / flip mode	application default · vsync off · vsync on · smooth sync · speed frame · capped to panel rate
Low latency	off · on · on + boost
Frame generation (XeSS FG)	application choice · 2x · 3x · 4x
CMAA	off · on
Emulated 64-bit atomics	off · on

Each entry carries a one-line explanation in its label, values are verified by read-back, and --gfx-save / --gfx-restore keep a named snapshot. --gfx-watch logs every change with a timestamp, so a third-party tool that quietly rewrites these settings is visible.

Registry tweaks

Fourteen reversible settings with a one-line description each: hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling, MPO workaround, Game DVR, fullscreen optimisations, MMCSS "Games" priority, MMCSS system responsiveness, network throttling, global timer resolution, Win32PrioritySeparation, plus the display/scheduler findings — disable async flips (Display1_DisableAsyncFlips, adapter class key), overlay quality enhancement off, DirectX hardware overlay off, GPU scheduler queue limit 2 (HwQueuedRenderPacketGroupLimit) and panel power saving (DPST) off (bit 5 of FeatureTestControl). --tweak=<id>:on|off|revert, or the menu.

Requirements

• Windows 10 1607+ or Windows 11 / Server 2025, x64
• Intel Arc GPU with a driver that ships IGCL (IntelControlLib.dll) and, for the power limit, Level Zero Sysman (ze_loader.dll)
• Administrator rights for writes (a non-elevated IGCL overclock write returns ERROR_OC_INSUFFICIENT_PERMISSIONS or succeeds and then reverts)
• No redistributables: the exe is statically linked

Not affiliated with Intel. Overclocking can crash or hang the GPU; a hang is recovered by a reboot (TDR).

Install (portable)

ArcTray\
  arctray.exe               the tool
  IntelControlLib-2023.dll  optional: temperature limits above 90 °C
  arctray.ini               created on first run (profiles + settings)
  arctray.log               created on first run

1. Put the folder somewhere only administrators can write, e.g. C:\Program Files\ArcTray.
2. Optional: arc.ico next to the exe for the tray icon.
3. Optional: IntelControlLib-2023.dll — Intel's 2023 IGCL runtime, needed only for temperature limits above 90 °C. ArcTray refuses to load it unless its SHA-256 matches the pinned value (see Security); this repository never ships Intel binaries.
4. Run it elevated once and tick Start with Windows. The app creates the logon task ArcTray Elevated (/SC ONLOGON /RL HIGHEST, InteractiveToken), so the tray starts with rights and without a UAC prompt.

arctray.ini is created next to the exe; if that folder is read-only the app falls back to %APPDATA%\ArcTray\arctray.ini.

Install location matters. An elevated tray started from a user-writable folder is a local privilege-escalation vector: whoever can write arctray.exe gets code execution as administrator at logon. Use an administrators-only folder, or do not enable the logon task. See SECURITY.md.

CLI

arctray.exe                             tray icon (no window)
arctray.exe --state                     caps + live values
arctray.exe --set pl=398 core=75 temp=95 fan=60
arctray.exe --set fan=auto
arctray.exe --set volt=50               voltage offset, mV (positive only)
arctray.exe --profile=Gaming            apply an ini profile
arctray.exe --watch[=sec]               board power (W) from the IGCL energy counter
arctray.exe --gfx                       list 3D features with current values
arctray.exe --gfx-set=low-latency:2     write one feature, read it back
arctray.exe --gfx-save[=file]           snapshot all readable features
arctray.exe --gfx-restore[=file]        write them back and verify
arctray.exe --gfx-watch[=sec]           log settings changes with timestamps
arctray.exe --tweaks                    latency registry tweaks with their state
arctray.exe --tweak=<id>:on|off|revert  toggle one tweak
arctray.exe --autostart=on|off|status   logon task
arctray.exe --selftest                  OS build, driver, which IGCL/Sysman symbols exist
arctray.exe --caps                      advertised ranges and current targets
arctray.exe --about                     version, attribution, links
arctray.exe --menudump                  print the menu tree (labels + ids)

Full reference, exit codes and examples: docs/CLI.md.

Config

; profile=Name,PowerW,CoreOffsetMHz,VoltOffsetmV,TempC,Fan(auto|30..100)
profile=Gaming,375,0,0,90,auto
profile=Quiet,150,0,0,85,auto
profile=Stock,230,0,0,90,auto

Hand-edited values are clamped to the advertised ranges and every clamp is logged.

Graphics snapshot (--gfx-save, default %APPDATA%\ArcTray\gfx-snapshot.ini):

# name id enable value
frame-limit 2 1 240
cmaa 4 0 0
flip-mode 9 1 2
atomics-64 13 1 1
low-latency 16 1 2
frame-gen 17 0 0

Build

Requires an x64 mingw-w64 gcc (Strawberry Perl ships one as x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc) and Python 3 for the icon generator.

bash build.sh             # -> arctray.exe + arc.ico
bash scripts/verify.sh    # build + invariants (read-only); --live also reads the card

File	Role
src/tray.c	Win32 tray, menu, INI, autostart task, CLI
src/arc.c / arc.h	DLL discovery, IGCL + Sysman init, state read, apply paths
src/gfx.c / gfx.h	3D features, snapshot, watcher
src/tweaks.c / tweaks.h	registry tweaks
src/probe*.c	read-only probes used to pin structure versions on a live card; not part of the binary

Architecture and driver details: docs/ARCHITECTURE.md. Driver quirks that shaped the code: docs/A770-NOTES.md.

Versioning

Pre-1.0, 0.0.<base><quarters>: the menu, CLI and config format are still moving, so there is no stable release. The counter works as requested:

• base — three digits, +1 for every added option;
• quarters — two digits appended only when non-zero: 25 / 50 / 75, because one fixed bug adds 0.25 (four bugs = one feature step).

So 0.0.004 = four features, 0.0.00425 = plus one bug fix. The number lives in src/version.h, the binary prints it (--about), releases are tagged v0.0.<base><quarters>, and every tag has a matching CHANGELOG entry. 1.0.0 is reserved for a frozen interface; the old 1.x tags stay in history.

Robustness across driver branches

• IGCL discovery — ARCTRAY_IGCL (non-elevated only) → DriverStore *iigd*/*igfx*/*igdlh* → System32\IntelControlLib.dll → Intel Graphics Software folder. System32\ControlLib.dll is never used (UID-whitelisted loader).
• Structure versions — ctlGetDeviceProperties walks Version 3 → 2 → 1 and ctlOverclockGetProperties walks 1 → 0.
• Setters — every V2 call falls back to the V1 symbol; the message says (V1) when that path was used.
• Power limit — without Level Zero Sysman the write goes through IGCL, clamped to the advertised range (A770: 115…276 W), and says ok (IGCL).
• Telemetry — ctlPowerTelemetryGetV2 falls back to the V1 1024-byte structure.

Debug switches: ARCTRAY_NO_SYSMAN=1, ARCTRAY_V1=1, ARCTRAY_PROPS_VERSION=1. DLL-path overrides are ignored in an elevated process by design (see SECURITY.md).

Measuring a power limit

arctray.exe --watch=20 prints board power twice a second, derived from the IGCL energy counter (a double in joules; gpuPowerPercent is unsupported on this stack). Measured on the A770 with a 398 W limit:

idle                                       39.5 W
llama-bench (SYCL, MiniCPM5-2B, -p 4096)   277…282 W, 2532 MHz, 71 °C, flags POWER CURRENT

A real compute load exceeds the 160–180 W that FurMark and Superposition reach — those two do not saturate Xe. The card stops at ~280 W with the current limit flag set, so the VRM/connector budget binds before the 398 W register value matters (2×8-pin + slot is 375 W on paper). Treat >300 W as unreachable on this board rather than as a target.

Security

• No network code, no IPC, no service (WSAStartup|socket|WinHttp|InternetOpen|URLDownload → zero hits), no secrets in the repository.
• The unsigned 2023 IGCL runtime loads only when its SHA-256 matches the pinned value; ARCTRAY_ALLOW_UNSIGNED=1 is the deliberate override.
• DLLs load with LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_DLL_LOAD_DIR | LOAD_LIBRARY_SEARCH_SYSTEM32; environment overrides are ignored when elevated; helper processes run by absolute path.
• Snapshot, restore and watch refuse reparse points; profile values are clamped.
• ASLR + DEP + high-entropy VA (DllCharacteristics 0x0160); this mingw toolchain emits no stack canaries (documented in SECURITY.md).

Threat model, findings F1–F9 and residual risks: SECURITY.md.

Status

Tested on one machine: Arc A770 16 GB, driver 32.0.101.9150, Windows build 26100 (Windows 11 24H2 / Server 2025). Windows 10 is supported in code (no Windows 11-only APIs, version fallbacks for older driver stacks) but has not been run on real hardware yet — if you try it, open an issue with the output of arctray.exe --selftest.

Measured	Value
Tray working set	16 MB (with the hardware handle released: 8.5 MB)
--gfx-watch process	23 MB
Binary	~91 KB, static
Power limit 398 W requested	accepted and read back; draw follows the limit into the low 300s (330 W peak measured), no fixed 289 W wall
Overclock ladder (llama-bench SYCL)	+150 MHz/+100 mV → 2752 MHz @ 342 W · +200/+150 → 2800 MHz @ 345 W · +299/+287 → TDR

License

GPL-2.0. Structure layouts, the 115 °C runtime route and the flat-table fan mechanism are ported from Arc-Power by YamsSE (GPL-2.0). Intel IGCL and Level Zero Sysman are Intel APIs; this project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Intel. See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.txt.

Links

• GitHub — https://github.com/gotofuckinghell/arc-tray
• GitLab — https://gitlab.com/grubyrams/arc-tray
• Telegram — https://t.me/hwretard (/HW/ RETARDS)