8 ms·

Apart from very useful, also very easy to setup https://github.com/foxlet/macOS-Simple-KVM https://github.com/foxlet/macOS-Simple-KVM

StavrosK 7y ago
Hmm, what's performance like on that? It feels like running under QEMU would be pretty slow.
- Wowfunhappy 7y ago
  It’a a type 1 hypervisor so not bad. But, I wouldn’t do it on a laptop. You need to pass through a gpu for it to work acceptably.
  - StavrosK 7y ago
    I'm going to try this on my Linux desktop right now. It might prove to be a good way to run Photoshop on Linux, though I'm not too hopeful... Thanks for the tip!
    - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
      If you just want to run Photoshop etc, you’ll have a much easier time with a Windows VM! If you need to run, say, Sketch or Omnigraffle, then it would make more sense!
      - StavrosK 7y ago
        I tried a Windows VM but it was unworkably slow :/ I've been dual-booting.
        Wowfunhappy 7y ago
        Are you using KVM, and are you using GPU passthrough? Those two things together are what's able to provide close-to-native performance.
        StavrosK 7y ago
        I'm using VMware, I'm not sure if that uses KVM. It should have GPU passthrough though, yes.
        Wowfunhappy 7y ago
        Nope, VMWare is a type-2 hypervisor, not a type-1 like KVM. (Unless you're using ESXI, but you would know if you were.) Mind, VMWare + GPU passthrough really should have more than acceptable performance, so I'm surprised.
        StavrosK 7y ago
        It's not that it's abysmal, it's just annoying enough to prevent me from using it. I stopped using it a while ago, I possibly had issues with my Wacom tablet as well, but I don't really recall. Do you know a type-1 hypervisor I could use on Linux? Will QEMU do? Thanks for the info!
        Wowfunhappy 7y ago
        Qemu can do it, but you explicitly need to configure it to use kvm. And then you need to set it up to use GPU passthrough. It's a somewhat involved process, especially for GPU passthrough.
        fapjacks 7y ago
        On Ubuntu ish systems (not sure about base debians), you can get full KVM support in qemu by installing the "qemu-kvm" package right out the repos and then starting your VMs with the "-enable-kvm" switch. You may also need to get EFI working in qemu to support OSX EFI bootloader, which you can get by installing the "ovmf" package right out the repos, and then adding the "-bios OVMF.fd" switch to your qemu command (OVMF.fd being the firmware file used by qemu to do EFI, which the "ovmf" package seems to install near /usr/share/qemu/OVMF.fd). I'm not sure about GPU passthrough, but with full KVM support enabled, you will immediately notice a pretty huge difference in the performance of the VM.
unicornfinder 7y ago
Genuinely really tempted to try this. Should fix any of the issues with AMD compatibilities as well...
- StavrosK 7y ago
  I'm currently installing it and it really was as easy as running the two scripts. I haven't gotten to GPU passthrough yet, though.

StavrosK 7y ago

Hmm, what's performance like on that? It feels like running under QEMU would be pretty slow.

Wowfunhappy 7y ago
It’a a type 1 hypervisor so not bad. But, I wouldn’t do it on a laptop. You need to pass through a gpu for it to work acceptably.
- StavrosK 7y ago
  I'm going to try this on my Linux desktop right now. It might prove to be a good way to run Photoshop on Linux, though I'm not too hopeful... Thanks for the tip!
  - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
    If you just want to run Photoshop etc, you’ll have a much easier time with a Windows VM! If you need to run, say, Sketch or Omnigraffle, then it would make more sense!
    - StavrosK 7y ago
      I tried a Windows VM but it was unworkably slow :/ I've been dual-booting.
      - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
        Are you using KVM, and are you using GPU passthrough? Those two things together are what's able to provide close-to-native performance.
        StavrosK 7y ago
        I'm using VMware, I'm not sure if that uses KVM. It should have GPU passthrough though, yes.
        Wowfunhappy 7y ago
        Nope, VMWare is a type-2 hypervisor, not a type-1 like KVM. (Unless you're using ESXI, but you would know if you were.) Mind, VMWare + GPU passthrough really should have more than acceptable performance, so I'm surprised.
        StavrosK 7y ago
        It's not that it's abysmal, it's just annoying enough to prevent me from using it. I stopped using it a while ago, I possibly had issues with my Wacom tablet as well, but I don't really recall. Do you know a type-1 hypervisor I could use on Linux? Will QEMU do? Thanks for the info!
        Wowfunhappy 7y ago
        Qemu can do it, but you explicitly need to configure it to use kvm. And then you need to set it up to use GPU passthrough. It's a somewhat involved process, especially for GPU passthrough.
        fapjacks 7y ago
        On Ubuntu ish systems (not sure about base debians), you can get full KVM support in qemu by installing the "qemu-kvm" package right out the repos and then starting your VMs with the "-enable-kvm" switch. You may also need to get EFI working in qemu to support OSX EFI bootloader, which you can get by installing the "ovmf" package right out the repos, and then adding the "-bios OVMF.fd" switch to your qemu command (OVMF.fd being the firmware file used by qemu to do EFI, which the "ovmf" package seems to install near /usr/share/qemu/OVMF.fd). I'm not sure about GPU passthrough, but with full KVM support enabled, you will immediately notice a pretty huge difference in the performance of the VM.

unicornfinder 7y ago

Genuinely really tempted to try this. Should fix any of the issues with AMD compatibilities as well...

StavrosK 7y ago
I'm currently installing it and it really was as easy as running the two scripts. I haven't gotten to GPU passthrough yet, though.