What Specs Do I Need For 2 Gaming Vms?

[RyanW]

I am looking to make my kids an UnRaid Machine that has two virtual systems (Both running Windows 10. Want to make the system future proof for gaming). My first child plays mainly GTA V, Fortnite, Battlefield 1, COD WWII and GTA VI (when it comes out.) My Second child only plays the Sims 4. I was wondering if anyone could give me a list of specifications of what I should buy. I was looking for a list of what you guys recommend and a list for a pc that cost around $2000 AUD. If possible I was looking for the games to run in Medium/High/Very High. I also live in Australia.

 

Thanks in advance

Ryan

[SSD]

I am not a gamer, but the performance of a VM gaming rig is largely dependent on the GPU(s).

 

I'd probably look at at least a hex core though. That would give you 2 cores for each VM (or 3 for one and 2 for the other). unRAID needs one core not assigned to a VM, so with a hex core CPU you could not go 3 and 3.

 

Something like the i5-8600K or i7-8700K should work.

 

You could also look at an AMD Ryzen 1700 or 1700x with 8 cores (3+3 or 3+4 cores for the VMs). Cores not as powerful as Intel though, although X quite a bit faster than non-X. Passthrough has been a challenge on Ryzen but I believe recently there has been success. Do your homework though and don't take my word for it.

 

With Intel going above 6 cores gets expensive. The i9-7820x (8 core) might be a possibility. But both MB and CPU will be more money. 

 

EDIT: Here is a YouTube video with Linus doing a 2 gaming in one PC. He used an 8 core 5960x (similar to 7820x). 

 

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3222652/gaming/how-we-hosted-a-star-trek-vr-party.html

[Jcloud]

On 1/22/2018 at 9:17 PM, SSD said:

I am not a gamer, but the performance of a VM gaming rig is largely dependent on the GPU(s).

And this becomes dependent on your main logic board and cpu combo to accommodate enough PCIe lanes for the GPU(s). So assuming two GPUs at 16x you'll need a cpu with at least 32 lanes; in Intel world this will be the K-series, new X-series, or a Xeon chip. For AMD, Ryzen and TR, but these are still having bugs ironed out, and as for other AMD series, you'd have to check since I don't know either. 

 

As for RAM requirements just provision it accordingly 2x 16GB then you'll want something like 36GB+. Or aim for 64GB of system memory and gives you several options on how to provision it out. Or start with 32GB, with half the board leaving the other half to double when the price cuts down.

 

You did mention future-proof, this would be on the tail end of "maybe." However, for costs savings, something like a 3930K or newer, used cpu (high seller rating); and a new motherboard, of correct cpu socket (manufacture warranty) might be the cost effective entry? Or the Ryzen's, once all the kinks are ironed out in Linux kernel.

 

As for the main board, it should have two 16x PCI-e slots, spaced to accommodate the physical sized graphics cards you're going to buy; and which both slots can be run at full 16x speed.  

 

Just two more cents 

Edited January 26, 2018 by Jcloud

[tential]

Do you already have parts?  Otherwise, $2k is going to lead to some compromises somewhere, especially with the increased DDR4 / GPU Pricing

 

[SSD]

On 1/26/2018 at 2:07 AM, Jcloud said:

As for the main board, it should have two 16x PCI-e slots, spaced to accommodate the physical sized graphics cards you're going to buy; and which both slots can be run at full 16x speed.  

 

Actually the difference in performance between using x8 vs x16 had been shown to be trivial. I posted a benchmark while back. Although you'll need physical x16 shots, electronically x8 and x8 should be fine.

[Jcloud]

9 hours ago, SSD said:

Actually the difference in performance between using x8 vs x16 had been shown to be trivial. I posted a benchmark while back. Although you'll need physical x16 shots, electronically x8 and x8 should be fine.

Do you have the link handy (I'd be interested in the light reading)?  If not, I'll search your posts when I'm bored.

 

Something like this came up at work, this Friday, on the subject of Valley benchmark, but a co-worker and I were dismissing it due to the age of the benchmark. Hypothesizing it's the same sort of phenomenon as single, double, and quad-ranked memory -- where the type of job could make one ranking perform better then another. But if that's truly the case, Linus 7x1 type boxes and their performance makes much more sense, of how it was pulled off.   I'd seen the SLI and crossfire boards with two 16x slots one doing 16, the other doing 8x, I always figured the second card in that configuration didn't require bandwidth since it was supplemental-calculator and not pushing out video itself. 

 

Sorry OP, not trying to hi-jack your post. 

Edited January 28, 2018 by Jcloud

[SSD]

@Jcloud -

https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/2488-pci-e-3-x8-vs-x16-performance-impact-on-gpus

[Jcloud]

@SSD - Thank you sir. I obviously haven't kept up on PCIe specs, but from the first graph on your URL, it's all right there, just follow the curve. Even suggests that when PCI-e 4.x comes around, if the bandwidth needs of graphics remains constant then x4 will suffice. However, I could see the caveat being future needs for VR given binocular viewpoint and mega fast refresh rates. 

[SSD]

13 minutes ago, Jcloud said:

if the bandwidth needs of graphics remains constant

 

We know this won't be true!  

 

But today, x8 is fast enough to keep up with the graphic throughput for modern games. So if you're constrained on PCIe lanes, no problem backing down to x8 on the graphics card slots. You can basically run 2 for the "price" of one.

[NewDisplayName]

I would not recommend a AMD CPU, they are new and have bugs.

 

Then, i would go for 2x GTX 980, its over kill for sims4, but its future proof (for some years atleast).

 

Atleast 16GB RAM.

 

Intel CPU, maybe i7 8700k, for gaming you really dont need a super fast cpu, so safe the cash for the cpu and buy nice GPUs. (actually i only have 2 games which 100% my CPU, this is factorio and minecraft with alot of mods) And i guess, this wont play ur kids. 

Edited January 29, 2018 by nuhll

[NewDisplayName]

11 hours ago, Jcloud said:

Do you have the link handy (I'd be interested in the light reading)?  If not, I'll search your posts when I'm bored.

 

Something like this came up at work, this Friday, on the subject of Valley benchmark, but a co-worker and I were dismissing it due to the age of the benchmark. Hypothesizing it's the same sort of phenomenon as single, double, and quad-ranked memory -- where the type of job could make one ranking perform better then another. But if that's truly the case, Linus 7x1 type boxes and their performance makes much more sense, of how it was pulled off.   I'd seen the SLI and crossfire boards with two 16x slots one doing 16, the other doing 8x, I always figured the second card in that configuration didn't require bandwidth since it was supplemental-calculator and not pushing out video itself. 

 

Sorry OP, not trying to hi-jack your post. 

 

Btw. i can confirm this. I have running 2 GPUs in 8x now. And i dont see any FPS changes (!). One for Gaming one for decoding (in 4k Stream and 4k record). No FPS drop. Its incredible, i also thought my whole life, i need 16x

 

Its just not good if u want to run it in SLI, but if you use the 2 GPUs seperatly, no problem.

Edited January 29, 2018 by nuhll

[SSD]

If your video card slot is PCIe 2.0, you need the x16 slot. This is equivalent to PCIe 3.0 x8.

[NewDisplayName]

Y, but who has 2.0

[SSD]

Not sure, but expect some of the high core count Xeon E5 motherboards might.

[tential]

Considering you want to make it "future proof", I don't think an 8700k is enough.  IT's not enough cores with only 6 cores.  You still need cores to dedicate to unraid/server tasks so you really are cutting it thin.  Games like GTA 5 won't do well on a 3 cores.  I wouldn't even bother with 6.

 

I'd look at 8 cores minimum OP, 10 cores if you really want to be set for the future.  4 cores per gaming VM, with 2 cores reserved for server tasks.  If your second child is really a light gamer, you may be able to get away with 2 cores for them/3 cores, but really, if you want to give them a pleasant user experience, you should just get 10 cores.

 

https://www.techspot.com/review/1155-affordable-dual-xeon-pc/page7.html

 

E5-2670 is highly regarded here and has 8 cores and still holds up for gaming today.  If you want, you can upgrade to the V2 10 core ivybridge version for slightly more performance.  It's alittle more expensive at ~$300 but you'll be pretty specced.

 

Edit:

I know this is aliexpress, and I don't have any experience with buying CPU parts from them but:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/HNan-motherboard-CPU-combos-Intel-X79-LGA-2011-motherboard-with-CPU-Xeon-E5-2650-16G-DDR3/32801462864.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.9.52ff324bdK3BBD&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10065_10344_10130_10068_10324_10547_10342_10325_10546_10343_10340_10548_10341_10545_10084_10083_10618_10307_5722316_10313_10059_10534_100031_10103_441_10624_442_10623_10622_10621_10620_10142,searchweb201603_37,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=4aa99123-135f-4087-9292-e0fcfea8c807-1&algo_pvid=4aa99123-135f-4087-9292-e0fcfea8c807&transAbTest=ae803_4&priceBeautifyAB=0

 

That would serve your purposes.  $280 for the mobo/CPU/Ram.

 

Then, you drop in 2 GPUs.  You come in very under budget with this solution.  

Edited February 3, 2018 by tential