Choose between dual boot or a Windows gaming VM for optimal performance.
Choose between dual boot or a Windows gaming VM for optimal performance.
I plan to use Linux as my primary operating system moving forward, yet I still want to keep Windows for gaming ease. I’m uncertain whether a dual-boot configuration with a Windows virtual machine would suffice if I run a VM for gaming. My goal is to have my boot drive formatted in GPT and to manage Windows installation on it, which can be challenging. I’m comfortable switching between tasks without needing a full reboot, given my current hardware limits.
About my specs: CPU – Intel Core i5 6500 4 cores, 6MB cache, 3.2 GHz; RAM – GIGABYTE GA-Z170 Gaming 3 LGA1151 DDR4 at 2133MHz; Power supply – EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze; SSD – 120GB Intel Series535 M.2.
For gaming experiences, I’m mainly interested in what gamers have tried with virtual machines. Right now I rely on integrated graphics, but I’ve read many guides about passing-through GPUs to VMs. In the near future, this should work well. For now, I’m not planning intense games like Crysis 3 or Bioshock Infinite, but rather titles such as Civilization VI, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Apex Legends, Asphalt 9, AoE, RoMAN, etc. Looking forward to hearing others’ thoughts!
I'm not sure about the most suitable VM choice, but using VMware for OS X caused significant lag, making it unlikely you'll enjoy gaming in a virtual machine. A dual boot setup would be preferable, as Windows runs smoothly on its own partition.
Running in VM depends on enabling GPU passthrough. Without it, performance drops significantly even in older titles. You might manage AoE or RoN, but heavier games will struggle. For the games you mentioned—CS:GO and Civ V—they work natively. Others could run via Wine with some adjustments. Unity won't work in AC: Unity.