This is why I love linux-> Windows Gaming VM!

NyxCharon

NyxCharon

Active Member
Recently, I came across a Linux package called Xen. Xen is a hypervisor which basically means it's sole purpose is for running VM's. What makes Xen a little different is that you have to use a Xen kernel, however it also opens up a realm of new tools for you to use, especially VGA passthrough.
VGA passthrough makes use of Intel's VT-D or AMD's IOMMU protocol. What this basically means is I can assign hardware to my VM. This then allows me to setup a full gaming rig inside of a VM. I've been using this setup for about 2 months now, and it works great.

If you want to learn more about Xen, especially for this purpose, there are multiple guides on how to do it. I'm going to do my own writeup eventually, but they all for the most part work the same way. I'd link them, but i'm not sure of the policy on linking to other forums threads.

If curious, this is the hardware I used:
Case: Zalman Z11
CPU: Intel i5-3570
Mobo: Asrock Z77 Pro3
Cooler: Kuhler H20
RAM: 8Gb Corsair Vengeance
Graphics: Asus DC2 2GB HD7850
PSU: APEVIA 680W
OS: Fedora 17

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Before anyone ask, you have to have a motherboard and a cpu that supports this, period. All the Intel K series chips will not work, and finding a good mobo for this is tricky. In terms of graphics cards, AMD ones work with little effort. Nvidia Quadro cards have decent success, but other Nvidia cards usually dont work at all.

My experience with all of this so far has been a bit tricky, but very rewarding. Long gone are the days of rebooting my computer so I can play games in Windows. Sound is a bit of an issue, but I've made due. I have passed through my mobo sound to the VM, and then bought a USB soundcard for Linux. I then run a Y cable from both into my speakers. I've also passed through a USB controller for my VM, so now the ports on the top of my case work for windows.

In terms of performance lag, there isn't any. Mouse input can degrade sometimes, but I use a separate mouse via the USB ports i passed through with great success. I'm still running most of the games I play on High/Ultra with no frame drops.

If anyone has any questions about xen, performance, etc feel free to ask.
 
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Certainly sounds very interesting indeed and looks like you get a nice performance gain over your usual virtual machines. I would give it a go as I have a 5870 which is an AMD card, but I have a 2500K which apparently won't work?
 
spirit said:
Certainly sounds very interesting indeed and looks like you get a nice performance gain over your usual virtual machines. I would give it a go as I have a 5870 which is an AMD card, but I have a 2500K which apparently won't work?
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Correct. Intel k series support vt-x, not vt-d, which is needed for this to work.
 
spirit said:
Ah that's a shame. :( Windows in VMware seems to be running fine for me now anyway. :)
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But can you play games on Ultra settings in it? :P

salvage-this said:
I was wondering when you were going to get this running :P Is there any chance for AMD systems to run this?
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I've had it running, just been too lazy to make a thread :P
You can certainly run this on an AMD system, it just has to support IOMMU. As far as what processors can do that, not sure, never used an AMD cpu so don't know much about them :P
 
Hopefully I will get the OK from him to work on it. He only is home for a few days a month and likes to spend quite a bit of time with Arma 2 when he is home :/

I'll deferentially send you an update if I get the go ahead to do some work on it.
 
I got the OK to give it a try! :D Hopefully in the next week or so we will give it a go. He is running an 8120 and the Gigabyte 990fx-ud3 with a 6950. Should be a good setup to test it on.

I'll be working with Linux Mint 14 first. If I can't get it working I'll try Fedora 17 to see if that gives off better results.
 
^ that and being able to run your Linux applications at the same time on another desktop. A VM that has good hardware integration is useful for a lot more than just gaming.
 
I guess I'm just questioning why you would use Linux when your sole use is to run a Windows VM to play games. I completely understand if you use Linux for other things, but it didn't sound like the OP did that.
 
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