Linux distribution and Windows virtual machine setup.
Linux distribution and Windows virtual machine setup.
You're considering Linux for your main system and hardware pass-through gaming. The general guidance is solid—Ubuntu is a great starting point for quick OS setup. For a more stable environment, you might explore other distros like Fedora or Arch, depending on your needs. Dual booting is a solid option if you want flexibility, while VM passthrough suits your interest in tinkering. Just pick what fits your workflow best.
The Debian Wiki helped me get started. You’ll need to check Google about your hardware for dual booting—it’s simpler than you think. A VM means you don’t have to restart to take a filesystem snapshot, and you can easily switch the VM to another system. Consider using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS if you need a reason. Just focus and move forward.
I think I'll try QEMU once my NAS is set up, since it's been working hard copying videos for the last ten hours.
I've been using GPU passthrough for about 2-3 years now on Arch and Void Linux. I found this guide helpful: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PCI...h_via_OVMF. However, if you have an NVIDIA or AMD card, it makes a big difference—just blacklist the relevant vendor drivers and add them to your VM. I use Virt-Manager to simplify things. If you want a user VM instead of a root one, you'll need to handle the setup carefully.