Combination Linux/Windows Machine for Software Dev & Gaming

[chanolluim]

Hi!

Decided to create an account and ask here, seeing as LTT semi-routinely makes videos regarding virtualization and multiple workstations per computer. I'll lay out what I'm looking for, and hopefully we can find a cool solution!

 

The gist is, I want to have a single machine that resides at my home that I can use to play games on Windows while not working, develop on some Linux distro for work, and remote into when working not from home (not applicable now, obviously, but I can dream...). 

 

I have a good idea of what I'm looking for in general from a hardware perspective, but I'm looking for advice on how to configure the system. The questions currently floating around in my head are:

 

1. Should both operating systems run on bare metal, or should I virtualize one inside the other (or maybe both?).

   a. I lean towards virtualizing one inside the other, that way I only need to worry about remote access into one - in this case, which is better to run on bare metal?

2. What is the best way to remote into a machine? I saw their recent video on Parsec - is that the best solution, or are their others?

3. Are there better solutions that I'm missing for the goals I am trying to achieve (having a single 'computer' that I can access via a laptop or desktop environment)?

  For example, in a world where laptops were as powerful as desktops, I would be happy having a one-cable dock at home that converted it to a desktop experience (keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc) and using that laptop at work.

 

Here's that recommended list of points:

Budget & Location

I am flexible on budget, but I intend to be frugal where it makes sense. Looking to get a high-end RTX card, a high core-count Ryzen 3 chip and ample RAM to handle running both systems potentially simultaneously. Located in the US.

 Aim

The system will be used for general use and gaming on Windows, and software development in Linux. I'll want to be running challenging games on Windows (AAA, high refresh rate) as well as general productivity and light audio production work. On Linux, I'd love to compile faster than I can on my current machine (i7-9750H, 64gb ram laptop) and be able to run our full software stack locally (should be good with anything more than 32gb of RAM by my experience). I'd like to be able to remote into the machine and use it with relatively low latency (Should be easy, given that the ping between home and office is pretty low).

Monitors

I plan on running either two 1440p monitors, or a comparable singe ultra-wide. Are there limitations here for remote desktop (i.e. would a 1080p monitor limit my remote machine to a 1080p stream)?

Peripherals

Don't need any peripherals, currently happy with everything I have. And I have existing Windows keys.

However, I figure this section best describes where I would ask for recommendations on software and solutions for both 1) running multiple operating systems and 2) remoting into my machine.

Why are you upgrading?

I'm due a laptop upgrade at work and want to take one of those slim lightweight computers those marketing guys are always toting around.

 

Thanks for the help guys, I'm excited to see what you can come up with! Let me know if there's anything that needs clarification.

- chanolluim

 

Bonus Points: Looking to get back into music production in Logic Pro using a friends old Mac Mini - How could that fit into this situation better than just using a KVM switch between the combination machine and the Mac?

Edited April 17, 2020 by chanolluim
fixed my error of referring to linux as unix

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 minutes ago, chanolluim said:

2. What is the best way to remote into a machine? I saw their recent video on Parsec - is that the best solution, or are their others?

Do you need a gui?  How much graphical performance do you need? How much does secuirty matter?

 

Something like rdp over a vpn is the most secure, parsec is probably the best performance. SSH is great if you don't need a gui.

 

6 minutes ago, chanolluim said:

1. Should both operating systems run on bare metal, or should I virtualize one inside the other (or maybe both?).

   a. I lean towards virtualizing one inside the other, that way I only need to worry about remote access into one - in this case, which is better to run on bare metal?

bare metal is faster, and less issues, virtulaition lets you run multiple at the same time. What is more important to you?

 

7 minutes ago, chanolluim said:

The system will be used for general use and gaming on Windows, and software development in Unix. I'll want to be running challenging games on Windows (AAA, high refresh rate) as well as general productivity and light audio production work. On Unix, I'd love to compile faster than I can on my current machine (i7-9750H, 64gb ram laptop) and be able to run our full software stack locally (should be good with anything more than 32gb of RAM by my experience). I'd like to be able to remote into the machine and use it with relatively low latency (Should be easy, given that the ping between home and office is pretty low).

Do you need a gui on on the linux(im assuming, unix is well dead by now). If no, id just run a linux vm in windows, and ssh into the box. Performance is good, and its easily to ssh from windows. Or just use WSL, its basically a linux vm built into windows already for you.

 

9 minutes ago, chanolluim said:

Bonus Points: Looking to get back into music production in Logic Pro using a friends old Mac Mini - How could that fit into this situation better than just using a KVM switch between the combination machine and the Mac?

You can run a vm of osx, but Id personally use the old mac mini as there are less issues. 

[chanolluim]

2 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

(im assuming, unix is well dead by now)

Good callout, lazy/incorrect of me to say unix. Yeah, it will be some linux distro.

 

2 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Do you need a gui on on linux

Seems like this is the biggest question. I do my work in an IDE, and while it seems like there are solutions for working over ssh, they bring a lot of overhead. I think because of this, having my IDE live on my linux box and accessing it with a GUI are probably worth the performance cost to me. 

3 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

virtualization lets you run multiple at the same time. What is more important to you?

I think running them at the same time is more conducive to my needs. That gives me more flexibility, and I don't like the idea of having to reboot to change systems (and I don't really want to build two separate machines).

 

With all of these things, it sounds like running virtualized linux and some remote desktop software on my windows machine is the best path forward. Any software recommendations for the virtual machine? And is Parsec the way to go for the remote desktop?

 

3 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

You can run a vm of osx, but Id personally use the old mac mini as there are less issues. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, chanolluim said:

Good callout, lazy/incorrect of me to say unix. Yeah, it will be some linux distro.

 

Seems like this is the biggest question. I do my work in an IDE, and while it seems like there are solutions for working over ssh, they bring a lot of overhead. I think because of this, having my IDE live on my linux box and accessing it with a GUI are probably worth the performance cost to me. 

I think running them at the same time is more conducive to my needs. That gives me more flexibility, and I don't like the idea of having to reboot to change systems (and I don't really want to build two separate machines).

 

With all of these things, it sounds like running virtualized linux and some remote desktop software on my windows machine is the best path forward. Any software recommendations for the virtual machine? And is Parsec the way to go for the remote desktop?

 

Id really try out wsl, seems to be built for your use case, lets you easily run linux apps on windows. GO try that first, should even let you run x programs on windows, so id try that with your current system.

 

 

[chanolluim]

3 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id really try out wsl, seems to be built for your use case, lets you easily run linux apps on windows. GO try that first, should even let you run x programs on windows, so id try that with your current system.

 

 

I'll give it a shot, thanks for the recommendation