Win10 Pro in VM or dual boot?

[thesmileyone]

Should I install Win 10 Pro in a LM VM like VirtualBox or should I install it on it's own SSD and dual boot?

I use Linux 99% of the time and then I wanna game but most games won't run in Linux.

I have (or will have, I am upgrading as we speak)
3770k ~ 4.8ghz
32GB DDR3
Samsung 840 PRO 256GB (currently this has LM on it, only boot drive, no swap (don't require due to ram size) no backup (Timeshift annoys me).
Samsung 860 EVO 250GB (currently it is just sitting as a 2nd drive, empty).
MSI GAMING X 1060 6GB

I read that if you use a VM you have to use 2 graphics cards or IGP for Linux and Nvidia for Windows etc, is this true? Would be a pain having to keep switching.

What do you think I should do best? I like the idea of running Win10 through a VM for security, I would hate to go back to it every day, and it is likely I will end up installing a password manager on it at best, or saving important stuff on it at worst. But do I have enough system resources?

Thanks

[JerryF]

I have (or will have, I am upgrading as we speak)
3770k ~ 4.8ghz
32GB DDR3
Samsung 840 PRO 256GB (currently this has LM on it, only boot drive, no swap (don't require due to ram size) no backup (Timeshift annoys me).
Samsung 860 EVO 250GB (currently it is just sitting as a 2nd drive, empty).
MSI GAMING X 1060 6GB

I read that if you use a VM you have to use 2 graphics cards or IGP for Linux and Nvidia for Windows etc, is this true? Would be a pain having to keep switching.

What do you think I should do best? I like the idea of running Win10 through a VM for security, I would hate to go back to it every day, and it is likely I will end up installing a password manager on it at best, or saving important stuff on it at worst. But do I have enough system resources?

Thanks

I use Windows in a VM and I don't have 2 graphics cards. My laptop has an Intel Core i5-2520M and this is spec for graphics:

Code: Select all

Graphics:  Card: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller
           Display Server: x11 (X.Org 1.19.6 ) drivers: modesetting (unloaded: fbdev,vesa)
           Resolution: 1600x900@59.90hz
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa DRI Intel Sandybridge Mobile version: 3.3 Mesa 18.0.5

When in the VM, I no longer have Intel graphics. The VM uses its own. A generic non-PnP monitor.

Of the specs you listed, you have enough system resources. But, if you'll be playing high-end games that will need very good graphics, then a VM might not do it for you.

In my opinion, since you have two disks, I would leave Mint on the 840 and install Windows on the 860.

[powerhouse]

I'm running Windows in a VM with VGA passthrough and have been doing that for the past 6 years. It may take a little time to set it up properly, but I cannot think about ever going back to dual-boot.

Your hardware needs to support IOMMU, that is Intel VT-d. I wrote a tutorial on how to set up a Windows 10 VM using kvm - see sticky at the top of the forum.

If you have a little experience with Linux, you should be able to install Windows in a VM with next to no performance penalty. It is also much easier to backup and restore Windows when you run it as a VM. If you plan on running games under Linux, you might consider to install a second VM for Linux gaming.

Note that I'm hosting the tutorial now on my own website.

[powerhouse]

...I read that if you use a VM you have to use 2 graphics cards or IGP for Linux and Nvidia for Windows etc, is this true? Would be a pain having to keep switching.

What do you think I should do best? I like the idea of running Win10 through a VM for security, I would hate to go back to it every day, and it is likely I will end up installing a password manager on it at best, or saving important stuff on it at worst. But do I have enough system resources?

Thanks

The easiest way is using the IGP for the Linux host, and the dedicated GPU for your Windows VM (or Linux VM). I also configured an SMB (Samba) server on the Linux host which lets me easily share documents between host and VM and vice versa.

There is also the possibility to use a single GPU for either host or VM, but this isn't ideal. Here is a tutorial and script: https://gitlab.com/YuriAlek/vfio. Before you try it, read this: Linux Virtual Gaming Machine.

[thesmileyone]

Thank you. I think I will try installing it on the seperate ssd for now...seems simpler, although it takes around 8 mins to boot into and out of linux currently so will be a time consuming thing to switch. I am debating just building a new pc specifically for gaming. I also have a gtx 690 lying around but it's too loud to use and doesn't turn the fans off at idle like this 1060 does which is the sole reason I upgraded!

Powerhouse we have pretty much identical specs I even use a 400R lol

[powerhouse]

Thank you. I think I will try installing it on the seperate ssd for now...seems simpler, although it takes around 8 mins to boot into and out of linux currently so will be a time consuming thing to switch. I am debating just building a new pc specifically for gaming. I also have a gtx 690 lying around but it's too loud to use and doesn't turn the fans off at idle like this 1060 does which is the sole reason I upgraded!

Powerhouse we have pretty much identical specs I even use a 400R lol

Booting into Linux takes 8 minutes - there is something wrong! I once had some issues with a USB device not initializing that would delay the boot time by 7 seconds and found a fix - see Fix "timeout initializing reports" and speed up boot. You should check your dmesg log file for what is taking so long.

I have written a rather lengthy post on what I consider the advantages of going "virtual": Why run Windows on Linux? For me it would be next to impossible to go back to a dual-boot solution - virtualization is so much better to me.

[thesmileyone]

The log files suggest nothing is wrong.

It occurs after the login screen, I just get a blank black screen with a cursor for up to 8 minutes. Again when shutting down I get similar too. So I try and leave it online all the time.


After I install Win 10 on my other SSD how do I set up a grub boot manager? Or will it just do that automatically?

Thanks

[powerhouse]

The log files suggest nothing is wrong.

It occurs after the login screen, I just get a blank black screen with a cursor for up to 8 minutes. Again when shutting down I get similar too. So I try and leave it online all the time.


After I install Win 10 on my other SSD how do I set up a grub boot manager? Or will it just do that automatically?

Thanks

Since you chose a dual-boot setup, you better post your question in Installation & Boot.