Hi everyone,

Recently, I have upgraded my GPU from RTX 3060 12 GB to RTX 5080. After the upgrade, my gaming VM, running Windows 11, started random crashes. The crash sometimes triggers complete Unraid server crash.

In case of further questions, my GPU is passed through with vBIOS (edited version without header part). GPU and soundcard are both bind in system devices settings.

Games or apps affected: Flight Simulator 24, Counter Strike 2, and sometimes running 3D Benchmark (while running 3rd

phase)

The games runs like maybe 15 minutes and then either complete unraid or VM crashes. I also tried other games but didnt have the same problem. (Baldur's Gate, Stardew Valley etc.)

If I dont play a game, no crash or whatsoever even after hours.

I appreciate if someone points me to right direction.

What I have tried so far:

1. CPU Isolation on different cores.

2. MemTest86+ . No error. Passed.

3. Clean installation of Nvidia drivers inside VM.

System

• Host: Unraid (current stable)

• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 5080 (MSI Expert)

• VM: Windows 11

• Hypervisor: KVM / QEMU

• Passthrough: VFIO

• Motherboard: MSI x570 Unify (with the latest BIOS version)

• Memory: 64 GB 3600 MHz

Screenshots after each crash:

I have attached my VM xml below and also the unraid server diagnostics log as zip.

Screenshots from logs

Second screenshot:

Windows 11 VM / XML:

Windows 11 VM / XML

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<domain type='kvm' id='2'>
  <name>Taygun Gaming VM v2</name>
  <uuid>8a113ffa-bba4-660a-9706-ed62f497733d</uuid>
  <description>Main Desktop</description>
  <metadata>
    <vmtemplate xmlns="http://unraid" name="Windows 11" iconold="windows11.png" icon="windows11.png" os="windowstpm" webui="" storage="default"/>
  </metadata>
  <memory unit='KiB'>33554432</memory>
  <currentMemory unit='KiB'>33554432</currentMemory>
  <memoryBacking>
    <nosharepages/>
  </memoryBacking>
  <vcpu placement='static'>10</vcpu>
  <cputune>
    <vcpupin vcpu='0' cpuset='3'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='1' cpuset='11'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='2' cpuset='4'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='3' cpuset='12'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='4' cpuset='5'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='5' cpuset='13'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='6' cpuset='6'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='7' cpuset='14'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='8' cpuset='7'/>
    <vcpupin vcpu='9' cpuset='15'/>
  </cputune>
  <resource>
    <partition>/machine</partition>
  </resource>
  <os>
    <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc-q35-9.2'>hvm</type>
    <loader readonly='yes' type='pflash' format='raw'>/usr/share/qemu/ovmf-x64/OVMF_CODE-pure-efi-tpm.fd</loader>
    <nvram format='raw'>/etc/libvirt/qemu/nvram/8a113ffa-bba4-660a-9706-ed62f497733d_VARS-pure-efi-tpm.fd</nvram>
    <boot dev='hd'/>
  </os>
  <features>
    <acpi/>
    <apic/>
    <hyperv mode='custom'>
      <relaxed state='on'/>
      <vapic state='on'/>
      <spinlocks state='on' retries='8191'/>
      <vpindex state='on'/>
      <synic state='on'/>
      <stimer state='on'/>
      <vendor_id state='on' value='none'/>
    </hyperv>
  </features>
  <cpu mode='host-passthrough' check='none' migratable='off'>
    <topology sockets='1' dies='1' clusters='1' cores='5' threads='2'/>
    <cache mode='passthrough'/>
    <feature policy='require' name='topoext'/>
  </cpu>
  <clock offset='localtime'>
    <timer name='hpet' present='no'/>
    <timer name='hypervclock' present='yes'/>
  </clock>
  <on_poweroff>destroy</on_poweroff>
  <on_reboot>restart</on_reboot>
  <on_crash>restart</on_crash>
  <devices>
    <emulator>/usr/local/sbin/qemu</emulator>
    <disk type='file' device='cdrom'>
      <driver name='qemu' type='raw'/>
      <source file='/mnt/user/isos/virtio-win-0.1.285-1.iso' index='1'/>
      <backingStore/>
      <target dev='hdb' bus='sata'/>
      <readonly/>
      <alias name='sata0-0-1'/>
      <address type='drive' controller='0' bus='0' target='0' unit='1'/>
    </disk>
    <controller type='pci' index='0' model='pcie-root'>
      <alias name='pcie.0'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='1' model='pcie-root-port'>
      <model name='pcie-root-port'/>
      <target chassis='1' port='0x8'/>
      <alias name='pci.1'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x0' multifunction='on'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='2' model='pcie-root-port'>
      <model name='pcie-root-port'/>
      <target chassis='2' port='0x9'/>
      <alias name='pci.2'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x1'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='3' model='pcie-root-port'>
      <model name='pcie-root-port'/>
      <target chassis='3' port='0xa'/>
      <alias name='pci.3'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x2'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='4' model='pcie-root-port'>
      <model name='pcie-root-port'/>
      <target chassis='4' port='0xb'/>
      <alias name='pci.4'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x3'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='5' model='pcie-root-port'>
      <model name='pcie-root-port'/>
      <target chassis='5' port='0xc'/>
      <alias name='pci.5'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x4'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='pci' index='6' model='pcie-root-port'>
      <model name='pcie-root-port'/>
      <target chassis='6' port='0xd'/>
      <alias name='pci.6'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x01' function='0x5'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='virtio-serial' index='0'>
      <alias name='virtio-serial0'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x02' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='sata' index='0'>
      <alias name='ide'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x1f' function='0x2'/>
    </controller>
    <controller type='usb' index='0' model='qemu-xhci' ports='15'>
      <alias name='usb'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x07' function='0x0'/>
    </controller>
    <interface type='bridge'>
      <mac address='52:54:00:79:16:a1'/>
      <source bridge='br0'/>
      <target dev='vnet1'/>
      <model type='virtio-net'/>
      <alias name='net0'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x01' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
    </interface>
    <serial type='pty'>
      <source path='/dev/pts/0'/>
      <target type='isa-serial' port='0'>
        <model name='isa-serial'/>
      </target>
      <alias name='serial0'/>
    </serial>
    <console type='pty' tty='/dev/pts/0'>
      <source path='/dev/pts/0'/>
      <target type='serial' port='0'/>
      <alias name='serial0'/>
    </console>
    <channel type='unix'>
      <source mode='bind' path='/run/libvirt/qemu/channel/2-Taygun Gaming VM v2/org.qemu.guest_agent.0'/>
      <target type='virtio' name='org.qemu.guest_agent.0' state='disconnected'/>
      <alias name='channel0'/>
      <address type='virtio-serial' controller='0' bus='0' port='1'/>
    </channel>
    <input type='mouse' bus='ps2'>
      <alias name='input0'/>
    </input>
    <input type='keyboard' bus='ps2'>
      <alias name='input1'/>
    </input>
    <tpm model='tpm-tis'>
      <backend type='emulator' version='2.0' persistent_state='yes'/>
      <alias name='tpm0'/>
    </tpm>
    <audio id='1' type='none'/>
    <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='pci' managed='yes'>
      <driver name='vfio'/>
      <source>
        <address domain='0x0000' bus='0x2d' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
      </source>
      <alias name='hostdev0'/>
      <rom file='/mnt/user/isos/MSI.RTX5080.edited.rom'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x03' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
    </hostdev>
    <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='pci' managed='yes'>
      <driver name='vfio'/>
      <source>
        <address domain='0x0000' bus='0x2d' slot='0x00' function='0x1'/>
      </source>
      <alias name='hostdev1'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x04' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
    </hostdev>
    <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='pci' managed='yes'>
      <driver name='vfio'/>
      <source>
        <address domain='0x0000' bus='0x22' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
      </source>
      <alias name='hostdev2'/>
      <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x05' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
    </hostdev>
    <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='usb' managed='no'>
      <source>
        <vendor id='0x046d'/>
        <product id='0xc52b'/>
        <address bus='3' device='4'/>
      </source>
      <alias name='hostdev3'/>
      <address type='usb' bus='0' port='1'/>
    </hostdev>
    <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='usb' managed='no'>
      <source startupPolicy='optional'>
        <vendor id='0x1462'/>
        <product id='0x7c35'/>
        <address bus='3' device='2'/>
      </source>
      <alias name='hostdev4'/>
      <address type='usb' bus='0' port='2'/>
    </hostdev>
    <hostdev mode='subsystem' type='usb' managed='no'>
      <source startupPolicy='optional'>
        <vendor id='0x8087'/>
        <product id='0x0029'/>
        <address bus='1' device='2'/>
      </source>
      <alias name='hostdev5'/>
      <address type='usb' bus='0' port='3'/>
    </hostdev>
    <watchdog model='itco' action='reset'>
      <alias name='watchdog0'/>
    </watchdog>
    <memballoon model='none'/>
  </devices>
  <seclabel type='dynamic' model='dac' relabel='yes'>
    <label>+0:+100</label>
    <imagelabel>+0:+100</imagelabel>
  </seclabel>
</domain>

tower-diagnostics-20260109-2337.zip

Hi everyone,

I wanted to provide an update on my progress. After troubleshooting the MCE errors (Bank 1: bc800800060c0859) on my Ryzen 5000 / MSI X570 Unify build, I’ve had partial success.

What I’ve changed: I modified my Syslinux append line to include: processor.max_cstate=1 rcu_nocbs=0-15

The Result: This has successfully stabilized the VM during heavy gameplay. I am no longer seeing crashes while the RTX 5080 and CPU are under load.

The Current Problem: The system is now crashing and rebooting the entire Unraid server specifically when I close the some games. It seems the sudden transition from high load to idle is still tripping a hardware error.

Next Step: I am now adding idle=nomwait to my Syslinux append line to see if disabling the MWAIT instruction prevents these crashes during the power state transition.

Current line: append initrd=/bzroot processor.max_cstate=1 rcu_nocbs=0-15 idle=nomwait

I’ll report back once I've had some time to test if this stabilizes the "exit-to-desktop" crashes.

After several days of testing with different games and benchmark tools, it seems that the two addition to the append lines solved the problem entirely.

I hope this would help to anyone who experience similar issues.