[VM Newbie] Basic Questions on VMs
by hodak from LinuxQuestions.org on (#4XPHG)
Ok bear with me as i only dived into Linux last month and only last week i have decided to play around with QEMU in Linux Mint 19.3 and one of my proudest Linux moment was getting a W10 Guest VM up in QEMU albeit a simple crude one w/o GPU Passthough whatsoever :hattip:
Now the whole reason for me educating myself on linux and then VMs is to eventually prepare for the day i migrate away from Windows at least as my main 24/7 OS. Having tried almost 10 distros i think i have settled on Mint or Manjaro for my Linux of choice but having W10 as a VM for gaming or Windows specific apps sounds like a clincher haha. Ok now for my questions:
#1 At this current time the only way for GPU pass through is for the CPU to have VM support (not an issue) *and* the motherboard to have VT-D/IOMMU support correct? My test rig running since last month was a simple AMD X3 710/880G IGP chipset and the mobo definitely has no "IOMMU" in BIOS :( Is there tech/patch/software or work around this for GPU pass through to work for a guest VM?
#2 Assuming IOMMU/VT-D mobos are *compulsory* currently for the above to work : does it matter if one uses a GPU in the PCIe x16 or x4 slot? I mean suppose the host would not do anything GPU intensive i can just slot in a GPU on the x4 slot and it would be fine right? Also what happens to the Guest GPU when it is not activated? Does the Guest GPU just sit on the PCIex slot and not power up?
#3 I've watched youtube videos but am still unclear about the actual wiring for display + audio for Host/Guest! Am i correct to assume both Host and Guest GPUs must be physically wired to a display port in a monitor/TV? Suppose (for example) i use a GF9400 HDMI as Host (Mint or Manjaro) GPU and a RX 570 HDMI as Guest (Windows 10) GPU i need to hook both up to my TV with 2 separate HDMI cable correct? What if my audio device is a USB DAC then? Would both Host and Guest VM have access to it?
#4 For my eventual upgrade hardware/software i would like a Ryzen 3700 + B450M combo perhaps? How are B450M chipset doing with QEMU + GPU passthru? I assume i need at least one with 1 x PCIex 16 and PCIex 4 for #3 to work?
Thanks for reading and i hope to hear from you VM gurus who could advise me a mth old Linux newbie :hattip:
Now the whole reason for me educating myself on linux and then VMs is to eventually prepare for the day i migrate away from Windows at least as my main 24/7 OS. Having tried almost 10 distros i think i have settled on Mint or Manjaro for my Linux of choice but having W10 as a VM for gaming or Windows specific apps sounds like a clincher haha. Ok now for my questions:
#1 At this current time the only way for GPU pass through is for the CPU to have VM support (not an issue) *and* the motherboard to have VT-D/IOMMU support correct? My test rig running since last month was a simple AMD X3 710/880G IGP chipset and the mobo definitely has no "IOMMU" in BIOS :( Is there tech/patch/software or work around this for GPU pass through to work for a guest VM?
#2 Assuming IOMMU/VT-D mobos are *compulsory* currently for the above to work : does it matter if one uses a GPU in the PCIe x16 or x4 slot? I mean suppose the host would not do anything GPU intensive i can just slot in a GPU on the x4 slot and it would be fine right? Also what happens to the Guest GPU when it is not activated? Does the Guest GPU just sit on the PCIex slot and not power up?
#3 I've watched youtube videos but am still unclear about the actual wiring for display + audio for Host/Guest! Am i correct to assume both Host and Guest GPUs must be physically wired to a display port in a monitor/TV? Suppose (for example) i use a GF9400 HDMI as Host (Mint or Manjaro) GPU and a RX 570 HDMI as Guest (Windows 10) GPU i need to hook both up to my TV with 2 separate HDMI cable correct? What if my audio device is a USB DAC then? Would both Host and Guest VM have access to it?
#4 For my eventual upgrade hardware/software i would like a Ryzen 3700 + B450M combo perhaps? How are B450M chipset doing with QEMU + GPU passthru? I assume i need at least one with 1 x PCIex 16 and PCIex 4 for #3 to work?
Thanks for reading and i hope to hear from you VM gurus who could advise me a mth old Linux newbie :hattip: