Thinking about a hardware upgrade. Advanced user | VFIO / GPU Passthrough

╭─sly@Sly in ~
╰─λ garuda-inxi
System:
Kernel: 6.8.5-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=9a6c40f9-5527-4910-818c-36876e29d0d0 rw rootflags=subvol=@
quiet quiet rd.udev.log_priority=3 vt.global_cursor_default=0
resume=UUID=61b4f61d-d6a3-47d6-8143-a9051635e7f2 loglevel=3 ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.0.3 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.1.0
wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: MPG Z490 GAMING CARBON WIFI (MS-7C73)
v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required> uuid: <superuser required>
UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.C0 date: 06/08/2022
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i9-10850K bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Comet Lake
gen: core 10 level: v3 note: check built: 2020 process: Intel 14nm family: 6
model-id: 0xA5 (165) stepping: 5 microcode: 0xFA
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 10 tpc: 2 threads: 20 smt: enabled cache:
L1: 640 KiB desc: d-10x32 KiB; i-10x32 KiB L2: 2.5 MiB desc: 10x256 KiB
L3: 20 MiB desc: 1x20 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 4800 high: 4804 min/max: 800/5200 scaling:
driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave cores: 1: 4800 2: 4800 3: 4800
4: 4800 5: 4799 6: 4800 7: 4800 8: 4800 9: 4804 10: 4800 11: 4795 12: 4800
13: 4800 14: 4804 15: 4800 16: 4800 17: 4800 18: 4798 19: 4801 20: 4800
bogomips: 144000
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel CometLake-S GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Micro-Star MSI
driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20
ports: active: none empty: DP-1, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2, HDMI-A-3
bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9bc5 class-ID: 0380
Device-2: AMD Navi 21 [Radeon RX 6800/6800 XT / 6900 XT]
vendor: Sapphire Pulse driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: RDNA-2 code: Navi-2x
process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-22 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s
lanes: 16 ports: active: DP-2,DP-3,DP-4 empty: HDMI-A-4,Writeback-1
bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:73bf class-ID: 0300
Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.13 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6
compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: amdgpu,intel
unloaded: modesetting,radeon alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: radeonsi,i965
gpu: i915,amdgpu d-rect: 7280x2520 display-ID: 0
Monitor-1: DP-2 pos: top-center res: 3440x1440 size: N/A modes: N/A
Monitor-2: DP-3 pos: bottom-l res: 1920x1080 size: N/A modes: N/A
Monitor-3: DP-4 pos: bottom-r res: 1920x1080 size: N/A modes: N/A
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0
drv: iris device: 1 drv: radeonsi device: 2 drv: swrast surfaceless:
drv: iris wayland: drv: radeonsi x11: drv: radeonsi inactive: gbm
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa v: 24.0.5-arch1.1
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: AMD Radeon RX 6800 (radeonsi navi21
LLVM 17.0.6 DRM 3.57 6.8.5-zen1-1-zen) device-ID: 1002:73bf
memory: 15.62 GiB unified: no display-ID: :1.0
API: Vulkan v: 1.3.279 layers: 13 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: AMD
Radeon RX 6800 (RADV NAVI21) driver: mesa radv v: 24.0.5-arch1.1
device-ID: 1002:73bf surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland device: 1
type: integrated-gpu name: Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CML GT2)
driver: mesa intel v: 24.0.5-arch1.1 device-ID: 8086:9bc5
surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland device: 2 type: cpu name: llvmpipe (LLVM
17.0.6 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 24.0.5-arch1.1 (LLVM 17.0.6)
device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: xcb,xlib,wayland
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Micro-Star MSI
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl,snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl
bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:06c8 class-ID: 0403
Device-2: AMD Navi 21/23 HDMI/DP Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 03:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:ab28
class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.8.5-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off tools: aucat,midicat,sndioctl
Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.0.4 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi v: kernel
bus-ID: 00:14.3 chip-ID: 8086:06f0 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter>
Device-2: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: r8169
v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 3000 bus-ID: 06:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8125 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp6s0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: wgpia0 state: unknown speed: N/A duplex: N/A mac: N/A
Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel AX201 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-14:8 chip-ID: 8087:0026
class-ID: e001
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.2
lmp-v: 11 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 6c0104
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 13.19 TiB used: 9.23 TiB (70.0%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:1 vendor: Sabrent model: Rocket 4.0 1TB
size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 63.2 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: RKT401.3 temp: 28.9 C
scheme: MBR
ID-2: /dev/nvme1n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Sabrent model: Rocket 4.0 2TB
size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 63.2 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: RKT401.3 temp: 34.9 C
scheme: GPT
ID-3: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST2000DM008-2FR102
size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> fw-rev: 0001 scheme: GPT
ID-4: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Seagate model: ST6000DM003-2CY186
size: 5.46 TiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
tech: HDD rpm: 5425 serial: <filter> fw-rev: 0001 scheme: GPT
ID-5: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 vendor: Western Digital
model: WD5000AAKX-753CA1 size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1H19
scheme: MBR
ID-6: /dev/sdd maj-min: 8:48 vendor: Western Digital
model: WD2002FAEX-007BA0 size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 512 B
logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1D05
scheme: MBR
ID-7: /dev/sde maj-min: 8:64 vendor: Western Digital
model: WD10JMVW-11AJGS2 size: 931.48 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
logical: 512 B type: USB rev: 3.0 spd: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1
tech: HDD rpm: 5400 serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1007 scheme: MBR
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 1.75 TiB size: 1.75 TiB (100.00%) used: 1.2 TiB (68.3%)
fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme1n1p2 maj-min: 259:4
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 584 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme1n1p1 maj-min: 259:3
ID-3: /home raw-size: 1.75 TiB size: 1.75 TiB (100.00%)
used: 1.2 TiB (68.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme1n1p2 maj-min: 259:4
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 1.75 TiB size: 1.75 TiB (100.00%)
used: 1.2 TiB (68.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme1n1p2 maj-min: 259:4
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 1.75 TiB size: 1.75 TiB (100.00%)
used: 1.2 TiB (68.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/nvme1n1p2 maj-min: 259:4
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 62.58 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
comp: zstd avail: lzo,lzo-rle,lz4,lz4hc,842 max-streams: 20 dev: /dev/zram0
ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 68.84 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
priority: -2 dev: /dev/nvme1n1p3 maj-min: 259:5
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 44.0 C pch: 37.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu
temp: 53.0 C mem: 50.0 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: amdgpu fan: 0
Info:
Memory: total: 64 GiB available: 62.58 GiB used: 6.95 GiB (11.1%)
Processes: 491 Power: uptime: 1m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 25.01 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 255 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: 2313 pm: pacman pkgs: 2303 libs: 624 tools: octopi,pamac,paru
pm: flatpak pkgs: 10 Compilers: clang: 17.0.6 gcc: 13.2.1 Shell: garuda-inxi
default: Bash v: 5.2.26 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.34
Garuda (2.6.25-1):
System install date:     2023-08-04
Last full system update: 2024-04-14
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut
Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
Failed units:

Hello Garuda community, hope all is well on this nice Sunday. So i’ve been busting my ass at work lately and want to reward myself with a potential hardware upgrade to dive deeper into the linux world, so i’ve been thinking about doing a 2 GPU setup with GPU passthrough to a Windows VM. This is the new hardware setup im am considering:

CPU: New AMD 5950X

Mobo: New ASRock X570 Taichi

GPU 1 (Host): Current RX 6800 or New RX 7900 GRE or New RX 7900XT

GPU 2 (VM): Former RX 6800 if upgraded to above or a (Already owned) RTX 3060 12GB, RTX 2060 6GB, GTX 1050 TI 4GB

PSU: New 1200W Gold Seasonic

I’m just looking for some thoughts from other users that have done GPU passthrough before. What would be better? 2 AMD GPUs or could i do one AMD GPU for the host (Garuda) and one NVIDIA GPU to passthrough to a Windows 11 VM? This would be more of a learning experience for me with no real end goal other than to do it and learn something new and keep myself busy. I would like to keep using KDE Wayland for this and not switch back to X11 if possible.

Edit: Also would it be better to have Garuda as the Host OS (my wish) or should I be looking at something like Proxmox for this setup?

Thanks for all the help and advice!

Someone recently attempted this here,

and failed because the /boot is btrfs on garuda.

1 Like

Damn, that is something to consider as btrfs and snapshots are my favorite part of Garuda.

I’ve done VFIO on Garuda Linux without messing with the boot partition before, I’m not sure why that would be relevant, honestly.

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