gaming performance in virtualized MSWindows OS?

[Baraclese]

Hi,
I've always wondered what kind of performance you get in a virtualized Windows environment in comparison to the native one. I just don't want to dualboot Windows any longer once I upgrade my system. Do you have any experience? Is it even possible?

[niniendowarrior]

Not good. Don't even think about it.

[ivanovic]

As long as you need zero 3D stuff: it works.

The problem is that the graphics card is not virtualised but emulated. Only a nice 4MB graphics card gets emulated, that on is a plain 2D card, so no way to use 3D there.

In short: for 90% of gaming that is not usable.

[gilboa]

In theory (!!!), Xen can be made to support 3D applications in the guest.
However, driver support for virtualized hardware (on both host and guest - especially Windows) is a bit... errr... lacking.

EDIT: Link. [1]

- Gilboa
[1] http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~andreslc/xen-gl/

[Tarmael]

I know there is a way to do it in VMware.

But I don't know HOW to do it.

[Huenengrab]

Hm? Accelerated 3D in VMWare is still in a beta-state, isn't it?

[Tarmael]

Well if so, it's Beta and in theory still works just not to the way they completely want.

Give it a few months and ask again :P

[Svartalf]

Well if so, it's Beta and in theory still works just not to the way they completely want.

Give it a few months and ask again :P

That'd be my take on things. Having said this, though, that requires a Windows license (heh...isn't that one of the things we're trying to get RID of?) and it's not much different than trying to emulate in WINE or porting current and old titles to native when you get right down to brass tacks.

All of this is really more akin to band-aids on top of what we really need. I'm in the business with Michael Simms on the side to make native versions of games- but while that's the most robust way of getting a game on Linux, it's still playing catch-up. Even Michael Simms said as much in a recent article he wrote for the state of affairs in gaming on Linux for a Linux magazine. As long as you're playing catch-up, you're really playing the wrong game for the long-term picture.

[niniendowarrior]

Yeah, pretty much all that is said.

I'd say if virtualized Windows is your thing, VMware is probably your best bet.

Svartalf, right on with that. Shouldn't we be spending more time working on original content? Ah well, that's me dreaming.

[Regenwald]

as far as i know, vmware machine is only able to render opengl in a vm (gives these instructions to hosts so that them could render it), directx or direct3d is not yet there...perhaps in future?