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Basic VFIO questions

#1

I’m considering taking a look at hardware passthrough.
I’m running Pop!_os and a Ryzen 1700X on a X370 ASUS board

Anyhow to the question, I have a Vega 64 currently installed and the only other half decent graphics card I have to hand is a reference Nvidia 980Ti.
I would like to keep the Vega 64 on Linux and pass through the 980Ti. Am I asking for trouble or would it be easier if I used the 980Ti under Linux and pass through the Vega 64?

Supplementary dumb question, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers and monitor? What do need here? A second set of each?

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#2

This should answer many of your questions - VFIO in 2019 -- Pop!_OS How-To (General Guide though) [DRAFT]

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#3

I’d say pass through the nvidia card.

The nvidia code 43 can be worked around currently, but the reset bug on AMD cards is not fixable currently. Also, if you use AMD on the host then you don’t have to deal with the nvidia binary driver on linux.

I would suggest a second keyboard and mouse, if only for setup and troubleshooting purposes. You may end up using something like synergy, or edev passthrough in day to day.

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#4

There are no dumb questions.

So, typically, you don’t need a second set of anything. Of course, it helps immensely to have a second: keyboard, mouse, monitor. Speakers, you don’t really need to worry about. You can set up your vm to play audio through the host’s audio system. The VM will show up directly as software that’s playing audio (like firefox or VLC would)

I would also recommend checking if your board has a usb controller that can be passed through. If not, I’ll recommend you get a PCIe USB3.0 controller that you can pass through to directly plug things into.

I might be biased, but the Level1 KVM is a great tool if you don’t want to deal with extra keyboards and mice laying around.

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#5

Sorry if my initial response sounded terse but I’ve yet to try VFIO myself and thought Wendell’s guide did cover most of his questions. Anyhow I’ll not chime in next time when I’m about to pass out from pulling an all nighter.

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#6

Nah, it was fine to me.

OP asked a question and you pointed out a doc that might provide answers. I do that on a regular basis myself.

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