Hey!
I am trying to get back to working on my personal SFF rig, and I'm at a bit of a crossroads when it comes to figuring out what hardware is ideal.
I want to run Linux as my primary OS, but I want to run a Windows 10 gaming VM with a video card handed over to it. I would also like for my gaming VM to be handed at least 4 cores and 8 threads from the CPU. RAM is negotiable, but obviously the more the merrier.
I currently have an i7-4790K, a Galax 1070 Mini, and a Logic Supply MC600 that I'm in the process of modding. I have a compatible motherboard and 16GB of RAM, and the system is in a bit of a transient state between cases and stuff, but that's because I'm trying to figure out how to make all this work.
(I kind of went over this in my Build Log thread, but I figured this discussion might be worthwhile as a 'general' Hardware thread.)
I am trying to get back to working on my personal SFF rig, and I'm at a bit of a crossroads when it comes to figuring out what hardware is ideal.
I want to run Linux as my primary OS, but I want to run a Windows 10 gaming VM with a video card handed over to it. I would also like for my gaming VM to be handed at least 4 cores and 8 threads from the CPU. RAM is negotiable, but obviously the more the merrier.
I currently have an i7-4790K, a Galax 1070 Mini, and a Logic Supply MC600 that I'm in the process of modding. I have a compatible motherboard and 16GB of RAM, and the system is in a bit of a transient state between cases and stuff, but that's because I'm trying to figure out how to make all this work.
- The first 'hack' I thought of was to use integrated graphics to drive Linux. Lots of modern boards have at least two video-outs that my host could use, letting me pass my entire GPU over to the system, whatever I go with. This setup is feasible with my current hardware, but my 16GB RAM cap discourages me, as does my limited number of cores and threads to divide between systems. Are there any ITX-friendly CPUs (or Chipsets) that have integrated graphics, ~6+ cores (~12+ threads), and support for more than 16GB of RAM? Are there any CPUs for that setup that are at least comparable in terms of single-threaded performance to my 4790K?
- The next solution I thought of was to simply get a GPU that would let multiple operating systems/hosts/clients use it all at once. I don't know anything about this realm of hardware besides that it's (normally?) ridiculously expensive and not really worth it for a casual user. Most of my gaming is done at 1080p, but I like to strive for 144+fps, and wouldn't appreciate more headroom for higher resolution gaming. Are there any cards that are in this ballpark and can fit into a small case like the Logic Supply MC600? I can mod the case to add a bit of extra length allowance, but at a certain point it'd defeat the purpose of using such a small case.
- Finally, a newer motherboard could support PCI bifurcation. If I went this route, I'd either have to shop for a worthwhile single-slot gaming card (the Galax 1070 Katana is much too long) or do some really janky heatsink hack and port removal on my 1070 mini which is scary, to say the least. But this solution is arguably budget friendly in the sense that just about any second single-slot card would get the job done for ordinary desktop Linux usage.
(I kind of went over this in my Build Log thread, but I figured this discussion might be worthwhile as a 'general' Hardware thread.)