First linux build with wild aspirations. Input appreciated

Hardware Hub Build a PC
1

Hopes and Dreams

I want to build a decent linux gaming rig, I also want to build a NAS. I would like to have them in the same box and I would like to spend as much time as possible in CLI to set this up for the experience of doing so. Wendel did a Tek linux arch video on running a VM gaming rig and LinusTechTips has a a few videos on running gamingVMs on raid arrays including one with a NAS and now I want one. I also want to be as AMD as possible on this build for the sole reason of wanting to support AMD. I kinda wnat a plane black pannel case for this because I want to paint the text of shell scrips or other code for decoration.

Additionally, I have absolutely no experience building a pc, but I have spent a good 2 years using linux as my daily driver, researching fixing problems as I come across them, so I feel confident I can pull this off so long as I don't botch the build.

What am I actually asking for here?

Hardware Side
What motherboard, cpu, and gpu should I be looking for on this project? I figure I will need a good motherboard with lots of expandability potential and virtualization capability and a 6 or 8 core cpu. I'm lost on gpu as I have never had a tower and always worked and played on laptops with underpowered integrated gpu's yielding basically horrific results.

I like the Fractal Design Define S as a case for this build, but I need a second oppinion along with an idea of what expantion cards, like usb controllers or network adapters, I would need to think about.

Software side
I know my way around debian and its derivatives well enough to feel confidant about using it to host the VMs, but I'm not against using another distro to host or use windows in a VM to actually play some games although I prefer to keep to Linux. I basically just need a lead on additional on topic reading to start researching.

Am I a Moron?

Probably, although some may say otherwise. I will either succeed in this venture with a functional machine, ranging between usable and Frankenstein's monster, or I will die with a flaming pile of waised hardware fueled by my hubris.

Thanks for your help.

  • 2 hours in update
    -VM NAS software is probably a bad idea.
    -Sharing a drive or drive partition will do short of a separate NAS build
    -I am not convinced AMD cpu is out, I am stubborn but the night is still young.

If there is still interest in answering my questions, i'd like to focus on gpu suggestions for host and gaming quality pci pass through. Thanks

  • A Day has passed and it is time to update the OP with the progress.
    -There seem to be 2 types of suggestions based on varying interpretations of my post. A Linux Workstation that can also VM into a gaming windows VM and a Linux/BSD Server Hosting a Gaming VM and NAS VM.
    -My original idea was more like the server idea and I still am leaning that way while seeing the merits of the other.
    -Most are suggesting intel, but I intend to be a stubborn ass a little longer. You Can't Kill My Spirit In Just One Day You Intel Loving Bastards.
    -I have to spend some time combing through the suggestions and parts lists to put together my own options for the forum to review. I also need to get on that virtualization research to get an idea of what I want as my host distro.

Why did I not post here sooner, I've learned more about hardware in a day than months of passive research.

2

Well waiting till AM4 CPU's would be a positive thing. Past that you can use anything really. I tend to go for older hardware as microcode is already done on that side and theres little in the way of bugs.

Whats your budget? Want 4/6/8 cores? 12? Consumer area or server?

3

Consumer, around $1000 over the course of a few months. I have the cash to do one large buy if I can get a list together, but I prefer to have a nice buffer for when life inevitably slaps me in the face. I'm looking for suggestions on cores and would like to lean more on the newer side of proven hardware for stability sake.

4

Going to need more than a thousand to do this properly.

also it's probably a bad idea to virtualize your NAS

2 Likes
5

I'll do more than a thousand if I have to, benefit of spreading out the purchases. I kinda want this to be my workhorse for years to come.

6

Well shoot for X99 then if anything, Zen isn't going to be out until the end of the year

7

I feel like I should clarify one aspect. If the nas idea is too difficult or will be unstable in execution, I'm fine with taking that idea off the table. I have a rPi that can fill the roll, but I want to maintain the ability to sequester a full powered windows gaming instance in a VM. As long as that is possible I'm fine.

I have had an idea for mounting the pi in the case doing something, assuming I have a large enough case, and a nas is something.

8

Are there any other advantages to x99 over AMD's offerings that you know of aside from performance?

9

So are you saying that you want to run Linux as your daily driver then run Windows with gaming in mind in a VM?

If yes then you will need to do a hardware pass through to run just about any Windows game in a virtualized instance of windows..

If that is your goal we can help, but you need to forget the NAS portion and build a separate box for your storage.

10

X99 is much newer, unless you plan on waiting for zen. it's also much more popular, which is important on the linux side of things.

if you want to do vfio based pci passthrough, intel also offers the igpu's (though i dont think on x99) which is great because the host also needs a gpu. amd on the otherhand offers (at least with am3+) almost no configuration for vfio passthrough, though you will need a separate gpu for the host to bind to.

As for the NAS, i cant think of a reason you couldnt just add a couple nfs/samba shares on the host

11

Linux is my daily driver as it stands and I see no reason to change from that, but I want a build that has the potential to run a near full power windows partition for gaming in the event that I feel like playing darksouls or skyrim.

I feel like getting into the habit of running gaming and distro hopping on VM just to avoid damaging the my os on the bare metal with shenanigans, of which i am prone to.

1 Like
12

nfs/samba shares might be a significantly sounder idea than my original thought.

13

im an asus nub but these are some random things i put together because im bored...

~$1500 intel x99 http://pcpartpicker.com/p/L76VrH 5820k (hyperthreaded hexa-core)

~$1300 intel z170 http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RJT7cf 6700k (more expensive HT'd quad core?)

~$1100 amd 990fx http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tB4kCJ 8320E (8core 4+Ghz pretty easy oc)

now obviously you can shift some stuff around to make them less/more expensive, but if i were to buy a build tomorrow this is what I'd be looking at. Now the amd platform doesnt have pcie3.0 or m.2 or ddr4 or usb 3.1(the 10gbps one), but zen should rectify that. As for the intel builds x99 is generally better/less worrisome/vfio works easily, but the lack of iGPU marks the need for an add-in host gpu. z170 has the iGPU, but is newer/less supported/more work for vfio.

As for the graphics card, the r9 290/390 is basically the highest end card that generally has no issues with being used in a vm. nvidia 600/700 series cards tend to work decently for passthrough as well, but will require a small xml edit(or launch flag) to get around nvidia not wanting the cards used in vm's. the r9 nano and up amd cards have a reset/driver issue that makes a host reboot necessary everytime the windows vm shuts down. the nvidia 900 series cards seem to work if the guest uses efi, but im not 100% sure.

well that was a wall of text, gl finding your way out...

14

AMD has no offerings that compete with X99, or really any other intel CPU for that matter, they really zen to save their asses, there are few times now where an AMD CPU makes sense to get

15

Followed that pretty well, thanks for the help. I'm going to take a bit of time to decide which of your presets I like best, but these look solid.

16

The recent microcode issues in overclocking non K parts in windows 10 make me leery of intel in the same way that windows 8 made me leery of windows to the point where I am only comfortable with a windows in a VM with all the potential for pitfalls and performance loss. Aside from having a less powerful chip, is there any reason I should swallow my issues and give my money to a company caught acting shady?

17

I know Linus gets alot of smack talk on this forum but his unraid build wasn't that bad. I would do it if I had a skylake system. I think wendell did it first when he virtualized a windows & linux build on one machine them steam streamed from windows to linx.

18

Problem is current AMD CPUs are leagues behind intel's in performance, really only worth it for budget builds at this point

19

Linus' video made me think of Wendel's video then I rewatched both and posted this.

20

What is unraid based on, from what I can tell it is a unix-like at least. I cant seem to find the source code posted on their site so I assume its a BSD or Red Hat style Linux behind pay-wall type deal.