VM with GPU Passthrough and steam link or moonlight


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Hi.  I have recently upgraded my unraid machine from core i3-2120 to Xeon E3-2640v2.  It has 8 GB of RAM.  I'm using Unraid server plus version 6.3.2.  I have a few docker containers, such as nzbget, sonarr, couchpotato.  I wanted to create a Windows 10 VM, and passthrough an AMD RX 460, to run games such as Cities Skylines.  I wanted to do this on my monitor in my room, I wanted to remove the desktop connected to my monitor (so it becomes silent).  Unfortunately, the Unraid box is quite far, and I'd like to keep cost down.  I've read about Steam Link, with the box being so inexpensive.  I've also read about Raspberry Pi 3 easily doing the same (I have RPi 3).  I've also read moonlight on Raspberry Pi being able to do the same with Nvidia GTX 600+ cards.  

 

Question #1

Have any one tried this combination before?  Unraid VM+ GPU Passthrough+ Steam Link?

 

  • If yes, do I need to connect any monitor onto the Unraid machine's AMD RX 460 or can it remain headless?
  • Is this machine capable enough to play some other titles such as Witcher 3?
  • I've read others say they need to keep screen unlocked, any easy way to do this?

 

Question #2

Are there moonlight alternatives that can run on RPi and yet use AMD RX 460?

 

Question #3

I've heard good things about Splashtop.  Can I install Splashtop onto VM and use Raspberry Pi (connected to monitor) and stream whole desktop, and games to the monitor where I'm facing?

 

I'm using Supermicro X9SCM-F server board, with at least 2 PCIe 3.0/ 2.0 x 8 slots.  I will use a PCIe riser cable to convert the AMD RX 460 (x16) I want to buy to x8.  I may add additional memory if needed.  

 

Hope someone can shed some light on this project.

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Hi @jang430

I myself use moonlight on 2 vms one streaming to an nvidia shield and the other to a raspberry pi 3. On a good interent connection you can even game remotely over the net

 

You dont need any monitor connected to your unRAID server.

Witcher 3 should be okay

 

 

Moonlight alternative is Remotr.  http://remotrapp.com/ I have not used it but heard good reports. Works with windows amd and nvidia  and android devices so no raspberry pi im afarid.

But you can pickup cheap quad core android boxes on ebay.

 

 

I like splashtop but not for gaming. Mouse control is really unuseable in games. Plus doesnt work on rpi.

 

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gridrunner, thanks for your reply. Are you using AMD Rx 460 on your VMs? What are the video card models? So does Moonlight run on both AMD and Nvidia? Have there been new developments? I've been reading about Moonlight, and they all say a monitor needs to be connected to the video card, and it even has to be turned on. Are there updates in Moonlight that changes this?

 

Haven't tried Moonlight yet, so just want to confirm a few things, GPU passthrough to the VMs, but the GPU doesn't have to have any physical device attached to it. On a remote TV with raspberry pi running, all you have to do is connect raspberry pi to the same network and it will be able to see the VM with GPU?

 

Thank you for your time.

 

 

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, jang430 said:

gridrunner, thanks for your reply. Are you using AMD Rx 460 on your VMs? What are the video card models? So does Moonlight run on both AMD and Nvidia? Have there been new developments? I've been reading about Moonlight, and they all say a monitor needs to be connected to the video card, and it even has to be turned on. Are there updates in Moonlight that changes this?

 

Haven't tried Moonlight yet, so just want to confirm a few things, GPU passthrough to the VMs, but the GPU doesn't have to have any physical device attached to it. On a remote TV with raspberry pi running, all you have to do is connect raspberry pi to the same network and it will be able to see the VM with GPU?

 

Thank you for your time.

 

 

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@jang430

Sorry I think you may have mis understood my post. Moonlight is only for connecting to Nvidia experience therefore only compatible with Nvidia cards. I use a gtx 1070 and a gtx 750ti.

I do have monitors connected but when gamestreaming they are never turned on.

 

For AMD cards maybe you should try Remotr.  http://remotrapp.com/  This works with either AMD or Nvidia. But client has to be andriod/ios or windows 10 so using an android box like this may be an option

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2017-MXQ-Pro-M8S-Quad-Core-Android-6-0-Lollipop-TV-Box-Fully-Loaded-KODI-XBMC-UK-/221766861627?hash=item33a255c33b:g:0ZgAAOSwfVpYvUKz

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  • 7 months later...

@gridrunner Seems that you have already done everything that I am trying to accomplish... Have you planned a video how to get gamestream to work as above? ;-)

 

I have a Win10 VM with a passthrough GTX1050. I have GFE running from it and have manually added some games. I have tried to play these games from a RPi (retropie) and also from my iphone (moonlight). Both clients pair nicely with GFE. On the iphone, I can get to the games list. I can then select the game, but then I am getting an error message: "Connection failed failed to launch app". Similar with Retropie, but I cannot even get to the gamelist there.

 

No clue how to trouble-shoot or what log files may be relevant. Any advice highly appreciated!

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Maybe a video is a bit too much of an ask, but any chance to give me some pointers what I can try.

 

I would really like to play PC games on my RPi (Retropie) connected to my main television. Reading in this forum that several has got it working. So, there must be some way.

 

I have a Win10 VM running GFE. I am using Moonlight on IOS to troubleshoot why I cannot get the game to show on Retropie. Moonlight is successfully paired and shows the list of games. I see the gamelist on Moonlight on IOS, but get the error message "Connection failed failed to launch app" when launching the game.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I succeeded to get Moonlight running from my IOS device. Still not succeeded to get it running from my Raspberry 2 (using retropie). @gridrunner, you give me hope that there must be a way as you indicate above that it works with your setup. Let me share some more context on my setup below:

 

Host / server

Unraid 6.4.0

LAN setup

VM with Windows 10 Pro with GPU passthrough GTX1050

GFE with Geforce Driver 390.65

Headless setup, VM accessed via Teamviewer

 

Clients

1) IOS with Moonlight app - working!

 

2) Retropie with LAN (on same network as Unraid) - not working, successfully paired with the VM, but cannot stream games. After selecting 720p-30fps, the screen turns dark for 1-2sec and then is back to the selection screen.

Other info: Raspberry 2 with Retropie 4.3 with XBOX bluetooth controller (working with retro games), moonlight installed and paired with VM via script (https://github.com/TechWizTime/moonlight-retropie)

 

 

Very much appreciate your help. Would really love to find a way to get gaming in the living with a thin RPi client working. Thanks in advance!

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On 3/28/2017 at 6:30 AM, jang430 said:

I've read about Steam Link, with the box being so inexpensive.

I have one, they're okay -- they do work as advertised, but I wouldn't use it for FPS if you're serious your shooters (this holds true with all the streaming solutions you proposed - imo).

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