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Can you run a virtual machine and install a "fake" graphics card?

Anique
By Anique
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I have a top of the line Surface book Pro and bought it specifically to run Solidworks 2016. However, as I later found out, the GTX is horrible at Solidworks and other productivity programs.

My question: is it possible to run a virtual machine and virtually run a Quadro graphics card and drivers?

Thanks guys,

AI

 

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2 minutes ago, Anique said:

I have a top of the line Surface book Pro and bought it specifically to run Solidworks 2016. However, as I later found out, the GTX is horrible at Solidworks and other productivity programs.

My question: is it possible to run a virtual machine and virtually run a Quadro graphics card and drivers?

Thanks guys,

AI

 

um.. what? I don't quite understand what you're asking.

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No, you cant use a GTX to make a fake Quadro, thats not how that works. The quadro is good at rendering things very very precisely. The GTX cant replicate something that it wasn't built for in the first place. 

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Just now, newcbomb said:

No, you cant use a GTX to make a fake Quadro, thats not how that works. The quadro is good at rendering things very very precisely. The GTX cant replicate something that it wasn't built for in the first place. 

You can. There are caps on the PCB that are either there or not (I forget) that make the driver installer think it's a GeForce or a Quadro card. And Quadros are based off the GeForce line, they're just binned for higher reliability.

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1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Windows doesn't even provide the capability to virtualize the GPU, meaning the virtual machine manager has to emulate one.

Windows Server 2016 and later does. Pain in the ass to enable.

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Your question is "can I make my Prius perform like a Lambo by putting a Lambo's exhaust on it so it sounds like one?"

 

No, no you can't.

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Just now, Imbellis said:

um.. what? I don't quite understand what you're asking.

I have a GTX 965M graphic card in my surface book. 

Can a virtual machine give me the ability to fool it to think I have a Quadro instead of a GTX?

Quadro firmware is better suited for CAD programs. 

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4 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Your question is "can I make my Prius perform like a Lambo by putting a Lambo's exhaust on it so it sounds like one?"

 

No, no you can't.

That is the most accurate comparison here

" Can I have a get stronger by really, really thinking about it?"

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3 minutes ago, Imbellis said:

Can I have a get stronger by really, really thinking about it?

Maybe you plebians can't. Drak3, on the other hand...

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6 minutes ago, Anique said:

I have a GTX 965M graphic card in my surface book. 

Can a virtual machine give me the ability to fool it to think I have a Quadro instead of a GTX?

Quadro firmware is better suited for CAD programs. 

 

You wouldn't gain any performance boost - I'd say at minimum, you'd lose ~25% of the computational power.

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58 minutes ago, Anique said:

I have a GTX 965M graphic card in my surface book. 

Can a virtual machine give me the ability to fool it to think I have a Quadro instead of a GTX?

Quadro firmware is better suited for CAD programs. 

No, sorry. You'll only get a worst graphics card, at best the same one with no fooling.

What you can look into, with the risk of bricking your Surface Book, is vBIOS replacement to fool the graphics card driver in thinking you have a Quadro. But beside optimized drivers for CAD software which will give you some performance gain, you still don't have the GPU features of a Quadro as those are cut out, or simply not there on the chip, depending on the card. Also, I never done this, don't know the success rate, don't know what you'll need to edit on the vBIOS, so do it at your own risk. Keep in mind that you can not replace the GPU if it bricks.

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