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Playing with Mac OS X and full 2D/3D acceleration with KVM

Posted: 7 August 2015, 17:20
by NicCo
While reading InsanelyMac I've found an interesting topic:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/ ... n-kvmqemu/
I am wondering why so many people are focused on using VMware for OSX virtualization when KVM/QEMU can provide full GPU acceleration with VGA passthrough using Seabios or VFIO GPU assignment using OVMF. I have come across a couple step by step blogs on how to do the OSX install using Seabios. Clean install is also possible with OVMF but requires more work. There is a large thread on Arch Linux forums about VGA passthrough and VFIO GPU assignment.

I prefer GPU assignment using OVMF since it allows me to use integrated Intel graphics with full 2D/3D acceleration on my Linux host and assign my Radeon 5450 card to the guest which also has full 2D/3D acceleration. I am still trying to work out some audio issues but for the most part everything just works.

If anyone else has tried KVM/QEMU with either VGA passthrough using Seabios or VFIO GPU assignment using OVMF, please post your results here.
The original project is maintained by Gabriel L. Somlo
Running Mac OS X as a QEMU/KVM Guest
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~somlo/OSXKVM/
and here the example of installation with nice pictures
if someone will try this guide obtaining good results, please, inform us!