so I just had a random idea for a setup on how to combine a powerful Windows PC for gaming with a modest Linux machine: What if I use my Linux machine as a “terminal” for my windows machine?
So let me explain, obviously I could use something like Sunshine + Moonlight for streaming the content over the network from one system to the other. That works. But as I have both systems sitting right next to each other, I thought, why not put a capture card in the Linux machine, hook the output of the Windows machine up to that capture card and also put in some USB card into the Linux machine which could act as an HID device for the Windows machine?
So the result/goal would be to have a “window” on my Linux machine displaying the output of the windows machine and being able to forward the mouse and keyboard inputs to the windows machine (just like in a Windows-VM with a passthroughed-GPU setup).
I would expect such a setup to be less laggy than network based streaming and at the same time have better video quality (by eliminating the necessity for en+decoding for network transfer I guess?).
However, I am neither sure if anyone ever done something like this, nor how such a setup would be called (what terms would I need to put into my favorite search engine to read upon this, if it even exists)?
Anyone ever came across or thought about something like this?
Best,
londos
PS: Not sure if this better suited for the hardware or software topic, sorry if misplaced.
I would call it a passthrough system. Instead of software passthrough of hardware, it’s a hardware passthrough of hardware.
only benefit, is not having to re-plug the mouse/keyboard, and switch inputs on the monitor?
Before I got to that point, I literally just have a windows machine as an improved console, only for gaming. But I do have a KB&M switch, and I select the input stream on my monitor.
I have a elgato capture card in my machine to capture the output of my nintendo switch (and also sound). I use it to play while on discord and also ocassionally share stuff (don´t stream anything, just with friends when it comes up). Can tell you that the patththrew output from the capture card is indistinguishable in terms of latency. Sound is fine too. But if I try to play off captured video, while the quality is good the delay makes it completely unusable.
Your milage may vary, but I don´t think that is really the “intended usage” for most capture cards. You´ll have to try. It´s possible the latency will be much worse than you might hope it to be.
connect the 2 via your internal network and log in to windows via rdp from linux.
if you give your windows login admin credentials then you will have admin level access to the windows box.
you will be able to launch applications, add and remove files anything you like as if you were using the windows machine directly.
pretty much any other method will be using a cable of some sort.
that way you can keep the connection off your routers network.
but…
1 of your boxes will need 2 ethernet ports on the motherboard to do this.
if you try via usb it will be slow
i dont think you boxes will be old enough to have com ports like serial or parallel.
so yeah…
a network cable if your boxes have the connections will do the job.
if not just run it though your local network and hope you can max out everything on there without hammering your external networks latency.
(sorry 4 al the editz… seems i cant splel or granmar )
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