Please help a poor guy aka new build :)

[zirconi]

Hey all, i'm moving soon to my new apartment (bought, so i'm damn poor right now) and i'm rethinking my nas/pc re-using my parts.

At the moment i'm using a windows 10 configuration with flexraid for pooling and parity but i really miss the online parity calculation of unraid,the hdd spindown (with windows + flexraid i cannot spin down anything) and this community

I already own an unraid pro license.

The point is that i need windows 10 for my gaming needs (and at the moment i cannot buy another box for sure) so i'm thinking about using unraid + virtual windows 10 with gpu passthrough for my gaming,plex and emby servers (i like having them on windows)

 

What i own :

 

- Intel i7 4790 (so vt-d enabled) with HD Graphics 4600

- 32 gb ram

- Asrock z87 extreme 6 (http://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/z87%20extreme6/) with 10 esata + dual intel nic

- Nvidia GTX 960 2gb ram

- bluray reader/writer

- 2x Seagate archive 8tb

- 3x Seagate green 2tb

- 1x Crucial MX100 256gb SSD

- Fractal R3 Case with added silent fans

 

I own a single monitor (a dell 24" U2410 1920x1200).

 

Can i install unraid and leave it headless using the dispay only for windows (i want my windows up 7x24, i prefer to use it for my downloads and other stuff too for example)? Or even better the igpu for unraid and the nvidia one for windows ?

I will need to pass all my usb ports to windows after the initial setup too.

 

Something else to consider ? Any problems i do not see ?

 

Thanks a lot !

 

[ashman70]

Your system is very similar to my second UnRaid server, although yours is newer. I also have a Windows 10 VM installed and pass through my 2GB Nvidia GTX 960 for gaming, it works great. You can leave your server headless and connect your monitor to your 960, I have only assigned two cores and 4GB of RAM to my Windows 10 VM and I can ply CSGO and full settings no problems. I have windows installed on a Samsung 250GB SSD and the performance is fantastic. You should have no issues if you follow the guide to build your Windows 10 VM as I did.

[zirconi]

Good to know

So i should install windows on my ssd...and boot everything from a usb stick.Do you think i do not need a cache drive for unraid installing my software on windows like plex ?

[ashman70]

Many people use their SSD for dual purposes, so for cache, apps, as well as their VM, I haven't done this as in my case my second UnRaid server has light duties and I have no need for a cache drive so I use the entire SSD for my Windows 10 VM. UnRaid itself boots from the USB flash drive.

[French-Guy]

Your system is very similar to my second UnRaid server, although yours is newer. I also have a Windows 10 VM installed and pass through my 2GB Nvidia GTX 960 for gaming, it works great. You can leave your server headless and connect your monitor to your 960, I have only assigned two cores and 4GB of RAM to my Windows 10 VM and I can ply CSGO and full settings no problems. I have windows installed on a Samsung 250GB SSD and the performance is fantastic. You should have no issues if you follow the guide to build your Windows 10 VM as I did.

Where is that guide you are talking about?

[ashman70]

Here: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID_Manual_6#Installing_a_Windows_VM