sprange

I own a small dental practice. Since 2010 I have used ESXI for server virtualization although my demands have been extremely limited--mysql and various programs that require USB security dongles. Over the years I've had good quality server hardware randomly die and had very little downtime (thanks to VMWare Workstation on a spare computer back when I had only one host). The trend in dental software is cloud based solutions in which your patient's data is basically a service and access to records is not guaranteed. Where I practice I need to have records available for at least 30 years so local storage and programs that may not be supported forever but at least can run in a VM are a must. I have several workstations that could easily be backup hosts for ESXI however the workstation software (dental 3D modelling for example) require GPU and USB passthrough, both of which are hit/miss with ESXI. I have a Zenith Extreme 2950X computer for example that will not work for this purpose. Unraid however has no problems passing through the GPU and either a USB controller or more conveniently just a keyboard, mouse, and a dongle. For my purposes the VM speed is just as fast as baremetal. The cool thing is that I can install ESXI inside UNRAID (complete with hardware RAID controller passthough) and it just works. A VM running in ESXI under Unraid benchmarked faster than a VM under Proxmox baremetal which was surprising. Unraid isn't an ideal product for my needs as it is, but it sure opens up hardware that would otherwise be useless for ESXI. I understand that Unraid utilizes KVM. For kicks I've used Gentoo to create the most optimized host for VMs but it was extremely brittle and was way too much effort. With Unraid I could easily pass through GPUs and USB controllers FAST. Unraid sometimes gets called a gimmick etc but not only can it turn a 3970X into three gaming machines at my home, but also open up hardware at my office, Works for me!

Agreed 100%. I don't need to reboot my server that often, but when tinkering with VMs it becomes a necessity. Waiting for this service drives me mental!

I am pretty sure I have used most of those settings before (not all) and I don't recall seeing any benefits although I never specifically measured FPS for example. One thing I do note is the topology...what's up with that? Certainly doesn't mirror the host CPU.

I have a s limilar setup (3970x with 3 2080TIs) and also a spare (2950x with 3070 and 2080TI) and they all run games at very respectable frame rates. The only real difference I see with your setup is the lack of passed through nvme (I have dedicated ones for each VM) and your clock setting is different. I use the default xml code (basically just has hpet no hypervclock yes). From what I've read clock settings can really influence Windows VM behavior. Maybe something to check? It seems mine are suboptimal but my results don't reflect that.