Recommendation for switching to Linux Linux offers powerful alternatives with strong community support.
Recommendation for switching to Linux Linux offers powerful alternatives with strong community support.
Setting up a fresh Linux environment with hardware virtualization for Windows is a solid choice. Consider systems that support efficient passthrough and stability. Look into lightweight distributions like LXC or KVM-compatible options, and ensure your hardware meets the requirements for smooth performance. Regular updates are manageable with proper maintenance.
PCIe passthrough continues to have some problems on AMD Ryzen systems, making the X299 a more reliable choice. AMD offers stronger open-source driver support in this area. For GPU passthrough, adding a second GPU for the host simplifies the process significantly. What are your plans?
I plan to use it for development, but I need a virtual setup so I can still play games. I’m considering adding a second GPU, though with the new releases this year I might postpone it. I already have another system that works, but it doesn’t perform quite as well.
You're looking at a substantial storage setup for a Raid 0 configuration, requiring 10TB SSD Raid. This indicates a significant need for high-capacity storage solutions. The system will likely require both a host operating system and a guest operating system, each potentially needing its own dedicated video card. Depending on your specific requirements, you'll need to choose appropriate hardware for each component. Regarding the operating systems, modern Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch are viable options. While some recommend Arch for hardware pass-through, personal preference ultimately plays a role in the decision.
The primary reason for my raid setup is to handle my heavy video rendering and editing tasks. A single-letter path simplifies management, and the sequential speed boost of a Raid 0 improves overall performance. Thanks for suggesting the OS—though it's been a while since I used Arch, I'm feeling curious and might try it out. I plan to consider another 1080Ti if I can find one at a reasonable price. My goal is to allocate each system for a specific role, so having hardware dedicated to both in virtualization makes sense.
Verify how your IOMMU groups function before choosing a distro. When configuring GPU passthrough, the guest ended up in the same IOMMU group as the host card—just like my motherboard organizes PCIe lanes. If you share the same group, install the ACS patch in your kernel to isolate traffic so only one card can pass. For me, Arch offers a kernel with the vfio-linux patch. If your desired distro lacks the patch or it isn’t available in a repository, you’ll have to rebuild the kernel with the patch each time an update comes out.