Which direction to take on a multiseat setup // VMWare vs Linux

[Alca]

I am trying to figure out a way to set up 2 seats on one computer. I know it is possible but I have a really hard time to figure out what is the best way for my use case, what are the benefits or what are the trade-off.

Here is what I would like to do: a 2 dynamic attribution of resources seats set up running on windows 10. Mots of the use case is light : Microsoft word, browsing, r studio with light data, casual video editing on adobe premiere, movies, casual gaming. My idea was to be able to run a multi-seat and when needed to pull all resources on one seat when needed (video editing, gaming, R studio operation with big data).

Here is my computer:

Fractal R6 case, MSI MEG unify x570 motherboard, AMD 3900X cpu, AMD radeon Sapphire nitro+ 5700XT gpu, 2x8 lpx 3600 corsair memory stick, 1000gb Samsung evo SSD, 2 tb ssd.

I have a free slot for another gpu if necessary.

I used to windows 10, that is why I would rather like to keep it but I could consider move to linux, find alternative program or a virtual machine of windows with a passthrough. In any case, it would be great to be able to run both OS, either linux from windows, or windows from linux.

I would like to study how to build this set-up slowly within the next 3 to 6 months but I don't know where to start. Would a solution using VMWare be best? Or would a linux solution be better? I also have seen the aster solution, but somehow I half trust it and it also seems like I would learn more, and discover more possibilities using the linux or VMWare solutions.

Is there a multi-seat solution where it is possible to pull back all resources to one computer if needed with same performances than if it was a one seat normal set up?

Thank you for any advice!

 

[Alca]

After some research, it seems that it would be quite easy to simply use VMWare player, power up a vm and choose a monitor, keyboard and mice there. When the second seat is not needed, it is easy to turn off the VM and the computer is back to normal.
I could use shared folder to pass data from one to another. It looks like performance aren't that fast for shared folder, is it still the case?
I will test it and see if it is a problem.

If anbody has any advice on how to configure the VM efficiently, do not hesitate to participate.

I also wonder if there are any possibility to improve graphic performance on the VM. I will look into that.

 

[Gbalgobin]

Hey, I,m interested in using a setup similar to yours could you share some information or tutorial resources I can use to get started?
Thanks in advance

 

[MBastian]

Pure Windows: Hyper-V with GPU-P could do the trick.
Linux: libvirt/qemu with GPU passthrough. Very versatile but you can't share a single GPU and the learning curve is quite steep.

Edit: You should give Aster a try. It seems rather lightweight and ~60$ for a 2-seat lifetime license is not a bad deal.