Running Virtual Machine and Hefty Gaming

[sarkarian]

Hi Guys,
Greetings, how are ya all ?

Last year I had built a gaming rig :
Intel Core i5-7600K LGA 1151 Desktop Processors (BX80677I57600K)
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Windforce OC GV-N1080WF3OC-8GD Graphics Cards
ASRock Motherboard Z270 Gaming ITX/ac
Corsair LPX 32GB DRAM 3000MHz C15 Memory Kit for DDR4 Systems

Games run fine - happy with it ... but recently I have started running VMWare workstation on this pc and I am not having the smoothest experience.
I tried running two guest systems ( 8 gb ram each, allocated 2 core to each ) and ran some script automating a game inside the guestos. Its getting stuck and giving choppy experience...

I would like to run 3 virtual machines, and still would like juice left for the host os ( let the automation run in the guest os, and play game in the host os ) .

I have been doing some google research and when it comes to virtualization, people seem to think an intel i7 with more core is the answer or some even saying when it comes to more thread and more core + cost effectiveness, AMZ Ryzen is a better candidate
I also realized latest coffee lake i5-i7s wont run on my motherboard z270 series - so I may need to get a new mobo as well as a processor...

What is your guys take on it? Or do you need more info?

I would prefer not to spend more than 500-600 usd on this upgrade if at all.

 

[macky21]

Desktop processors like your i5-7600k are built to primarily be used for 1 to 1 applications. What I mean by this is yes they support virtualization, but they're not optimized for it, especially for gaming purposes.

Most current games are optimized for single thread performance and that can sometimes be difficult for a hyper-visor to appropriately allocate resources for.

If you want to continue doing something like this, upgrading to a server grade processor, even a low end XEON would be appropriate, but you would have to buy a new mobo and different RAM.

From my experience, virtualization within a desktop OS is usually best when used for testing low impact applications or using it for a DMZ when messing with less secure sources for applications.

Hope this helps.

 

[mdd1963]

If you install WIndows 10 Pro, and then add the Hyper-V role, then you have installed Hyper-V, and, converted your OS into a VM, and are actually running all your Win10 games virtualized thereafter. (Which works fine, based on my Battlefield 1 1 and Doom experiences....)

 

[marcus134]

I'm about to suggest that you ditch vmware workstation for a type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisor.
I know it sounds crazy but linus tech tips did a similar project.
2 gamers, 1 cpu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuJYMCbIbPk

 

[asoroka]

Also make sure that you have vt-d and vt-x (virtualisation support) enabled in the Bios.

I am running multiple VMs on my i5 without problems.

The other thing to watch out for is how many Virtual CPU you are allocating to each VM. More is not better and HT is not the same as a real core.

On your i5 you have 4 cores, if you give each VM 2 VCPU, you need to have 2 cores free to give your machine time to run. Especially if you are doing things on the host.

A VM will only get processing time if there are enough idle cores to satisfy its requirement when it wants to run, so more VCPU for your VM may slow it down, especially if you are doing other things in the foreground (games).

Can you try checking your Bios settings and giving each VM just one single core CPU.

If this is going to be a real requirement, then the more physical cores you have, the better. You can over provision (allocate more cores than you have), but you may find choppy response.

How much CPU are you using before you start your VMWare. THat gives you an idea of how much processing power you have to spare.


Also what HDD are you using?

 

[asoroka]

I also assume that you have installed vm-tools in your VMs

 

[sarkarian]

Thank you guys, for taking time out of your precious schedule and trying to help me out. Appreciate it.


Let me try to answer each of you

@macky21 thanks for that interesting idea, can I play games using XEON processor in high res ? I play games like GTAV, pubg, FarCry 5 ( wanna play that soon ) on my 1440p monitor... can a xeon paired with my GTX1080 and 32gb ram handle gaming as well as I do click farming in background in VMWARE (upto 3 instances I think) ?

@mdd1963 Interesting, I had not considered using Microsoft's Hyper-V - how mature is it ? Does it give similar experience like VMWare ?

My usecase is - the Virtual Machines should have virtual display adapter - so that the automation tool i use to do click farming in game, can identify pixel on screen and take some actions...

@marcus134 , again another interesting suggestion - same question to you like I asked @mdd1963 - does hosting virtual macines on ESXI on a bare metal - give me virtual display adapter for click farming -
can I play game in one of the VM hosted in esxi while 3 of the other VMs continue to do click farming ?

@asoroka - thank you, yes I have vmware vmtools installed latest version, also vmware recently ( 1 week back i think) released a patched version of their workstation product, I have installed that too.

I am using 1 cpu 2 cores in my vmware and 8gb ram allocated to each.

I am using western digital 500gb ssd . Will check on the bios settings pronto and come back

 

[asoroka]

So each of your VM dual core CPUs will need two idle real cores before the VM can be scheduled.
Try 1 CPU and single core. You only have 4 physical cores on your host.

I assume that your VMs are not running out of memory.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Intel are a pain, because they only let their latest chipsets last less than a year and then you need to upgrade.
You have 2 options -
1) New Mobo/CPU and go AMD - because at least that is supported until 2020 so you can easily upgrade
2) Look for a second hand i7 of Ebay

 

[nmb255]

When you says "Its getting stuck and giving choppy experience..." is your problem performance with the Guest or the Host? Sorry, it's not that clear.

I regularly run VM machines on my i7-4770k [not overclocked] without problem. As I type this I have 6 VMs running [although they aren't doing much]. I've occasionally had 8 or more booted up at the same time. Using VMPlayer, VirtualBox or both at the same time.

Define your problem. Guest or Host. I'm thinking that most of the answers are assuming host is the problem. Definitely upgrade to an I7-7770k would be your easiest drop-and-go solution if it's a CPU grunt problem.

 

[TerryLaze]

Could just as well be a GPU performance issue,VM graphics suck and might not be capable enough to run the game well enough.
Could also be a storage issue,unless the game is installed inside the VM it has to be read through network emulation which is incredibly slow,even if the files are on a ssd it would still be pretty slow.

Basically you should run the games in windowed mode with GPU-z and coretemp running to determine what is slowing down the games.

 

[TerryLaze]

When you says "Its getting stuck and giving choppy experience..." is your problem performance with the Guest or the Host? Sorry, it's not that clear.

I regularly run VM machines on my i7-4770k [not overclocked] without problem. As I type this I have 6 VMs running [although they aren't doing much]. I've occasionally had 8 or more booted up at the same time. Using VMPlayer, VirtualBox or both at the same time.

Define your problem. Guest or Host. I'm thinking that most of the answers are assuming host is the problem. Definitely upgrade to an I7-7770k would be your easiest drop-and-go solution if it's a CPU grunt problem.

ZUUUL,ehm I meant ZOOL.

 

[mdd1963]

Thank you guys, for taking time out of your precious schedule and trying to help me out. Appreciate it.


Let me try to answer each of you

@mdd1963 Interesting, I had not considered using Microsoft's Hyper-V - how mature is it ? Does it give similar experience like VMWare ?

Win10 under Hyper-V same as native performance....(please do not let any fools tell you that Win10 with the Hyper-V role added *is* a Type2 Hypervisor....it is NOT.)

There is no way you are going to get near native performance from any Type2 Hypervisor...

But even with Type1, I'm not expecting miracles with 2 or 3 folks gaming on one 4 core/4 thread i5 and a single GPU...