This is getting weird, you pay for windows to use WSL then pay $50 for an X server clone... who wants to try this hard to not use the Linux kernel?
WSL 2 now _does_ use the Linux kernel.
Still isn't RTM.
X410 – X Server for Windows 10
211–220 of 254 posts
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
They used to sell it for much cheaper - way back when I got it, I'm pretty sure it was under $10. If they raised it that much, surely that's a sign of demand? I have little doubt that it's a polished fork, but what ultimately matters is the value added - in this case, the value is, "it just works". The only thing I had to do manually was to configure DISPLAY=:0 system-wide in my WSL.
Have you tried Cygwin's X server? I've been using it for many years already with no problems, and it's free (both as in beer and as in freedom).
I've used Cygwin X and Xming before WSL even existed.
The beauty of X410 is that you click "Install" in the store (which also means it auto-updates), run it, and that's it - it's configured out of the box to work in desktop integration mode. Top-level windows are projected onto the host desktop, clipboard is shared etc. It also has some convenience stuff, like DPI scaling.
I don't think I'd have paid $50 for that myself, to be honest (although I don't think they are actually selling it at $50... this looks more like one of those "permanently on sale" psychological tricks). But when they just got started and were selling it for cheap? I think it was a bargain then. OTOH for somebody who has never even seen an X server before, I can see how it can be a bargain even now.
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#213For a somewhat alternative if you want to run both Linux and Windows, you can run Linux natively and then run Windows in a VM with GPU passthrough. Then you can use Looking Glass which sends the Windows pixels to a Linux window with native performance. For the Linux machine, you can run it as a host or use something like Proxmox as a hypervisor if you need more VMs or containers. I use this setup to run Windows, macO…
I'm glad someone brought this up. I'm about to build a new rig and was hoping to make it compatible with Looking Glass (I can buy any hardware I need since it's a fresh build), but I can't make sense of the hardware requirements. I was planning on an AMD GPU, since nvidia famously has bad Linux support and I don't want the driver headaches. BUT – all the hardware lists I come across warn you not to buy AMD GPUs becau…
You'll notice they specifically say "passthrough gpu." What you use on the Linux side and what you passthrough don't have to be the same and probably shouldn't be. I'd optimize for the use cases you have, also as much as I truly hate to give this recommendation: youtube has a lot of resources on shit like this (because I hate having to watch a video for something I could read).
Also, you might want to really think about the GPU and its use-cases, newer isn't always better, because there are some specific ones you can buy that'll let you also run another OS 10 in a VM effortlessly :)
At the end of the day this all pretty much powered by Qemu, KVM, and virtio. So if you can't find a resources for "looking glass" then just go to one of the the sources above...
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even with an old Intel IGP it moves smoothly at 4k, framerate locked at 60fps of course. And this has nothing to do with "YouTube videos" which is a completely different animal.
Well here with 'Intel Corporation HD Graphics 620 (rev 02)' it's awful in Firefox and still has the odd hitch every few seconds with Chromium. Youtube videos are likewise not smooth.
Do you have VSync enabled?
Otherwise try about:config -> layout.frame_rate = 60
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
They used to sell it for much cheaper - way back when I got it, I'm pretty sure it was under $10. If they raised it that much, surely that's a sign of demand? I have little doubt that it's a polished fork, but what ultimately matters is the value added - in this case, the value is, "it just works". The only thing I had to do manually was to configure DISPLAY=:0 system-wide in my WSL.
Can you please tell me the exact location of the file to configure the system-wide WSL? Would it be the equivalent of /etc/profile?
Where to set global environment variables (and I mean global for all users here!) depends on the distro. On Debian and most derivatives, you can use /etc/environment for this.
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#216For a somewhat alternative if you want to run both Linux and Windows, you can run Linux natively and then run Windows in a VM with GPU passthrough. Then you can use Looking Glass which sends the Windows pixels to a Linux window with native performance. For the Linux machine, you can run it as a host or use something like Proxmox as a hypervisor if you need more VMs or containers. I use this setup to run Windows, macO…
I'm glad someone brought this up. I'm about to build a new rig and was hoping to make it compatible with Looking Glass (I can buy any hardware I need since it's a fresh build), but I can't make sense of the hardware requirements. I was planning on an AMD GPU, since nvidia famously has bad Linux support and I don't want the driver headaches. BUT – all the hardware lists I come across warn you not to buy AMD GPUs becau…
[deleted]
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, but is that also the case for mobile Intel CPUs? I was unsure so I said "some" rather than "most."
GVT-g works on my mobile Intel GPU.
Do you, or anyone, happen to know, if WSL2 (=HyperV), or any other Hypervisor on Windows supports GVT-g (well), so that (wsl2) linux applications running on-guest can benefit from hardware assisted rendering?
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#218This is getting weird, you pay for windows to use WSL then pay $50 for an X server clone... who wants to try this hard to not use the Linux kernel?
Photoshop/Davinci Resolve/Capture One/Lightroom
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is nothing new, I have used X Windows servers on Windows all the way back to 1999, there are quite a few to choose from. If anything the amount to choose from went down not up, slowly replaced by RDP clients. So that tells who will will win.
That might change with WSL drastically increasing the demand for such a thing. With enough resources, doing it as an X server is the better approach because it gives more flexibility - top-level windows can be shown directly on the host desktop etc. And with enough demand, there are resources for something like X410... I've used both Xrdp and X410 for my WSL UI needs, and so far X140 has been a much better experience…
RDP also supports showing only the windows instead of the full desktop session.
Re: X410 – X Server for Windows 10
#220Earlier quoted context omitted.
This sounds really fantastic. Can you explain a bit more about the hardware requirements? If I have a decent notebook with an Intel-integrated GPU, how can I both passthrought the GPU to the VM and use it for rendering the GUI on the host?
It won't really work for laptops, at least without a lot of research and fiddling. You need a desktop with at least one GPU, for the guest. If you want to run the host as GUI, instead of headless, then you need a GPU for the host as well. You can shut down each guest and boot up another one but generally you'll need a GPU for each guest you want to run with a GUI, if you want proper hardware acceleration and if you w…
In a World where virtualization has allowed to run several virtual machines on one physical machine (not even high-end) for 15+ years, it looks like a strange concept to need one physical piece of hardware per VM.
I actually understand why it makes sense, simplification and best performance for GPU intensive context, yet it feels like "let's virtualize, not really".