GPU Passthrough/DMART X4080 Windows Guest Hypervisor-V: A Comprehensive Guide

GPU Passthrough with Nvidia RTX 4080 on Windows 11 Pro as a Hypervisor-V Guest

In recent years, GPU passthrough has gained popularity in the virtualization world. GPU passthrough enables virtual machines (VMs) to directly access the physical GPU, providing a significant performance boost. This article is a comprehensive guide on how to set up GPU passthrough for the Nvidia RTX 4080 with 12GB of memory on a Windows 11 Pro host, using Hypervisor-V as the virtualization platform.

Prerequisites

To set up GPU passthrough for the Nvidia RTX 4080, the following hardware and software are required:

• Laptop installed with Windows 11 Pro
• 13900 CPU with 64GB of RAM
• Integrated Intel Xe graphics
• Nvidia RTX 4080 with 12GB of memory
• Hypervisor-V

Checking Hardware Compatibility

Before proceeding with the setup, it is important to check if the hardware is compatible with GPU passthrough.

Several factors contribute to the compatibility of GPU passthrough:

• The processor should support virtualization technology, such as Intel VT-x or AMD-V.
• The motherboard should support IOMMU (Input-Output Memory Management Unit) technology, which enables DMA (Direct Memory Access) remapping.

To check if your system supports virtualization, open the Task Manager, click on the Performance tab, and click on CPU. Check if virtualization is enabled.

To check if your motherboard supports IOMMU technology, you can refer to your motherboard's manual or the manufacturer's website. You can also check if IOMMU is enabled in the BIOS settings.

Setting Up Hypervisor-V

To set up Hypervisor-V, follow these steps:

1. Open the Start menu, search for Windows Features and click on it.
2. Scroll down to Hyper-V and check the box next to it.
3. Click OK to install Hypervisor-V.
4. After installation, restart your system.

Setting Up GPU Passthrough for Nvidia RTX 4080

To set up GPU passthrough for the Nvidia RTX 4080, follow these steps:

1. Open the Hyper-V Manager and click on Virtual Switch Manager.
2. Click on New Virtual Switch and select External.
3. Select the Physical Ethernet Adapter and click OK.
4. Create a new VM and configure it with the required settings, such as the operating system, RAM, and CPU.
5. In the VM settings, click on Security and check the box next to Enable Secure Boot.
6. Click on Add Hardware and select SCSI Controller.
7. Select the VHD or VHDX format and click Create a virtual hard disk.
8. Configure the virtual hard disk settings and click OK.
9. Click on Add Hardware and select GPU.
10. Select the Nvidia RTX 4080 as the physical GPU and click OK.
11. Start the VM and install the operating system.
12. After installation, install the Nvidia drivers for the RTX 4080 in the VM.

Testing GPU Passthrough

To test the GPU passthrough, you can run graphics-intensive applications in the VM and check the performance. You can also run benchmarking tools to measure the FPS (frames per second) and compare it with the performance of the host system.

References

• Enable Hyper-V in Windows 10
• Nested Virtualization in Hyper-V
• Connect to Hyper-V Manager
• Nvidia Tesla Installation Guide for Windows Server
• Testing GPU Overclocking with Hyper-V and GPU Passthrough