Is Headless Gaming PC Possible?

[pingman]

Hello guys,

 

I am new here. It has been awhile since I built my last gaming computer (2009). I haven't gamed since 2011. But for some reason, I just want to build a new rig for me and my gf.

I am thinking to do the unraid route and bring up two VMs. However, the users will be in a different location. The location of this PC will be in the basement, and my gf and I will be in the living room. 

I would like to know if headless gaming rig is even possible?. We are not hardcore gamers, but we are casual gamers (probably we'll be playing Steam games)

 

I haven't selected the parts yet because I don't even know if this is even possible.

My goal is to play video games wirelessly (video, keyboard, mouse, audio) for both players.

If headless gaming is possible, how much wireless bandwidth would I need per VM from the PC to the remote user (from basement to living room) and what else do I need in regards to peripherals (wireless hdmi, steam link, rpi, vnc, dummy gpu plugs, etc)?

 

Please see attached file for the topology

 

In regards to infrastructure, I have a wireless 2.4GHz and 5GHz in the house already setup.

I did a wireless scan and pretty much I am the only one that uses 5GHz within my block. My guess is I am the only one that uses a non-Comcast provided router/modem.

[Majestic]

Nvidia Shield or Steam Link are probably the solutions you're looking for?

[lieder1987]

With the fact that with most games / systems these days you have to be plugged directly into the video card for ideal performance you might be able to do it but you will take a major system hit doing so.

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

lag is crap. youre better off getting two computers when you work out the total cost

[pingman]

3 hours ago, lieder1987 said:

With the fact that with most games / systems these days you have to be plugged directly into the video card for ideal performance you might be able to do it but you will take a major system hit doing so.

 

How much lag would I get in regards to video performance?

Also, what about the keyboard, mouse and audio?

 

3 hours ago, Majestic said:

Nvidia Shield or Steam Link are probably the solutions you're looking for?

I have heard of Steam link, but not sure about the Nvidia Shield. I need to check this one out.

[lieder1987]

3 minutes ago, pingman said:

How much lag would I get in regards to video performance?

Also, what about the keyboard, mouse and audio?

It would depend largely on your network setup and your connection types. You would need at a minimum of Gigabit ethernet between all devices. For keyboard and mouse, I am not sure what you would have to do. I guess if you can get the video part sorted you could do thin clients elsewhere but that would just hog resources.

 

The NVIDIA shield is similar but only works with NVIDIA hardware. It is like an advance shield and can theoretically do 4k game streaming on a local network.

[pingman]

2 hours ago, lieder1987 said:

It would depend largely on your network setup and your connection types. You would need at a minimum of Gigabit ethernet between all devices. For keyboard and mouse, I am not sure what you would have to do. I guess if you can get the video part sorted you could do thin clients elsewhere but that would just hog resources.

 

The NVIDIA shield is similar but only works with NVIDIA hardware. It is like an advance shield and can theoretically do 4k game streaming on a local network.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am thinking to use Nvidia and Intel since I had luck with these hardware in the past.

Does the Nvidia shield requires subscription? I don't need to stream games outside my living room and for now, the highest resolution I would go is going to be 1080p. 

[Arkham Knightmare]

No, the shield does not require a subscription for in home, local streaming although nvidia is currently working on a game streaming service similar to playstation now for pc and mac (which might already be on the shield).

[leodaniel]

On 26/03/2017 at 5:00 PM, pingman said:

I am thinking to use Nvidia and Intel since I had luck with these hardware in the past.

Does the Nvidia shield requires subscription? I don't need to stream games outside my living room and for now, the highest resolution I would go is going to be 1080p. 

No, no subscription required at all. I personally run a system like this (Virtualised machine) and stream my games to my NVIDIA Shield (tho only have one client). I would consider to use Moonlight as Client on your Shield, in my experience, the lag and overall performance seemed better to me. Personally as a casual gamer I really recommend a setup like this, there is complete silence in your Living room and it works great.

I can't tell you how the performance is over WiFi, but from what I heard, I would strongly recommend to use it over a Gigabit-Ethernet connection if somehow possible.

 

[tlink]

if i was going to do something like that i would just use raspberry pi's and the moonlight project with nvidia gpu's, im not sure though if it would work in a virtual enviroment. 

https://www.howtogeek.com/220969/turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-a-steam-machine-with-moonlight/

[Scheer]

From my experience it isn't going to happen over wireless or powerline adapters, gigabit Ethernet is an absolute must and even then its still not all that great.

 

Steam Link's are only ~$40 each, and occasionally go cheaper.

[Verrm]

Hi there!

Your quest is possible of course! What you'll need above all is to test wifi connection from basement. I assume you chose wifi over lan as you cannot have a cable running from your basement. Here are some thoughts about it:

 

1. It is certainly possible.

2. The experience should be fine if not playing fast games like shooters. This will very hardly be based on wifi performance.

3. I don't know what you'll really need in terms of wifi speed, but I would be comfortable at 10mbit/s.

4. The Server (PC in basement) will need an intel CPU, most probably a Xeon. It has to be with VT-d. This will enable next point.

5. The Server will need to have 2 separate GPUs. Each GPU will be assigned to one VM (this option is enabled by CPU having VT-d).

6. You want to have a very low-load OS on the Server - a linux with Docker or KVM should work.

7. I very much propose you to study the videos from Linus "1 PC 2 Players" or something like this. He already managed something a bit similar.

8. You'll need a receiver PCs and a receiving technology. Technology might be for example a mentioned Moonlight. Or some Steam streaming (forgot name). Forget about steam link or shield whatever - it wont serve your purpose. A mini PC like Raspberry Pi 3 or better might be a good idea. You don't need much in terms of performance. Mini PCs tends to have bad wifi built-in. You might want to get a router/repeater or something good that be staying in your living room, connected to AP in basement and providing LAN through cables to your Computer 1 and Computer 2. This means that Wifi would be used only by dedicated high-quality machines.

9. You need 2 separate legal windows licences - one for each VM.

10.  I would buy a minimum of 12GB of RAM - 4GB for base computer and 2x 4GB for VMs. Though you probably would want a minimum of 20GB to give 8GB to each VM. Make sure that not only CPU, but also Motherboard supports at least 32GB RAM.

11. In terms of CPU - I would think first on what I'd like to have in one machine. Then I would check benchmark performance and get a CPU that will run at least 1,5 times as fast. Some CPU performance will be spread between VMs.

12. You'd prefer CPU with many physical cores to assign them directly to VMs.

13. Get a laptop, AP in basement and test gaming online in living room just on your Wifi from basement.

 

And many more items to discuss. I actually wanted to build something similar, but without Wifi part. Don't underestimate the cost, the skill and time you need to get it done. It is certainly one crazy, but very very interesting idea  Good luck! I would gladly help out with advice and/or track your progress if you want to do it!

[leodaniel]

30 minutes ago, Verrm said:

Hi there!

Your quest is possible of course! What you'll need above all is to test wifi connection from basement. I assume you chose wifi over lan as you cannot have a cable running from your basement. Here are some thoughts about it:

 

1. It is certainly possible.

2. The experience should be fine if not playing fast games like shooters. This will very hardly be based on wifi performance.

3. I don't know what you'll really need in terms of wifi speed, but I would be comfortable at 10mbit/s.

4. The Server (PC in basement) will need an intel CPU, most probably a Xeon. It has to be with VT-d. This will enable next point.

5. The Server will need to have 2 separate GPUs. Each GPU will be assigned to one VM (this option is enabled by CPU having VT-d).

6. You want to have a very low-load OS on the Server - a linux with Docker or KVM should work.

7. I very much propose you to study the videos from Linus "1 PC 2 Players" or something like this. He already managed something a bit similar.

8. You'll need a receiver PCs and a receiving technology. Technology might be for example a mentioned Moonlight. Or some Steam streaming (forgot name). Forget about steam link or shield whatever - it wont serve your purpose. A mini PC like Raspberry Pi 3 or better might be a good idea. You don't need much in terms of performance. Mini PCs tends to have bad wifi built-in. You might want to get a router/repeater or something good that be staying in your living room, connected to AP in basement and providing LAN through cables to your Computer 1 and Computer 2. This means that Wifi would be used only by dedicated high-quality machines.

9. You need 2 separate legal windows licences - one for each VM.

10.  I would buy a minimum of 12GB of RAM - 4GB for base computer and 2x 4GB for VMs. Though you probably would want a minimum of 20GB to give 8GB to each VM. Make sure that not only CPU, but also Motherboard supports at least 32GB RAM.

11. In terms of CPU - I would think first on what I'd like to have in one machine. Then I would check benchmark performance and get a CPU that will run at least 1,5 times as fast. Some CPU performance will be spread between VMs.

12. You'd prefer CPU with many physical cores to assign them directly to VMs.

13. Get a laptop, AP in basement and test gaming online in living room just on your Wifi from basement.

 

And many more items to discuss. I actually wanted to build something similar, but without Wifi part. Don't underestimate the cost, the skill and time you need to get it done. It is certainly one crazy, but very very interesting idea  Good luck! I would gladly help out with advice and/or track your progress if you want to do it!

Some really good points here. I completely agree.

I can tell you, for RPG it works great, tho you're certainly right, for competitive online games like shooters it wont be great  

A solution like this will not be cheap, I would also consider buying a Server MoBo, it comes with benefits for a headless system (tho higher price).

For 2 System you might get around buying a XEON, but most likely not.

 

Also install something like TeamViewer on the VMs, thats a must in my opinion --> NVIDIA Gamestream crashes sometimes and you have other stuff to do (TeamViewer is Free for personal use!). 

 

[Verrm]

Yeah, I agree that TeamViewer is necessary. Especially with option to connect before log-in. This pre-login connection option is the only reason why it is so great tool widely used in enterprise environment.