XenServer 6.2SP1 GPU Passthrough

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[H]F Junkie
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Anyone tried this? I have the following hardware setup:

Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H
i5-4570 (great cpu for $160 at microcenter)
16G ddr3-1600
Sata 1.5T drive.
XFX Radeon 6850 to pass through (main video card is a 6870....which xenserver is using)

After installing 6.2 + patching from CLI 6.2SP1, I have a GPU tab in xencenter & it shows the 6850. Unfortuntately to test I think I'm going to have to purchase another copy of windows (anyone know if 7, 8, or 8.1 is best?)

Ideally I'd like to eventually have 2 windows guests ea. with 2-3 cores to have two gaming boxes going at once (I have 2 spare SSDs I can throw into xenserver as well)

Anyone tried this? How well did it work for you?
 
Last edited:
I'm running Xen 4.3 on Linux Mint 16 (Ubuntu 13.10) using the "xm" toolstack. No patches, no nothing. Should work for your hardware too. Here is my how-to, if you are interested: HOW-TO make dual-boot obsolete using XEN VGA passthrough. Some people have done exactly what you are planning to do.

VGA passthrough works great, and the Windows VM also runs nicely. I'm using it all the time for photo editing etc.

I believe the best option is Windows 7, for compatibility with games etc. but Windows 8 should also work. Not sure there free trial versions, but I saw one for Windows 8.1 Enterprise.

P.S.: Make sure your motherboard/BIOS supports VT-d and that it's enabled!
 
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