Running Windows 11 on Proxmox as a Daily Driver: Complete Guide & Performance Insights

Few experiences push the boundaries of both practicality and technical curiosity like the quest to turn virtual machines from specialized tools into genuine daily drivers. For many in the Windows enthusiast and home lab community, laying hands on the likes of Proxmox is an invitation to experiment with server-grade features from the comfort of one’s desktop. But how realistic is it to run Windows 11 on a Proxmox virtual machine—full-time, every day, for tasks ranging from productivity to gaming? This article dives deep into one such experiment, examining both the technical specifics and broader implications for anyone tempted to virtualize their daily workflow.

Setting the Stage: Why Proxmox for Windows 11?​

Virtualization has long moved past the point of novelty: it’s a mainstay for development, testing, and increasingly, for gaming thanks to advances in hardware pass-through technology. Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE) stands out as a favorite for enthusiasts due to its robust open-source underpinnings, ease of management, and support for advanced features like ZFS, clustered nodes, and PCIe passthrough.
Windows 11, meanwhile, has grown ever more resource-hungry, but it also brings genuine productivity and compatibility advances users want to harness—even in non-traditional settings. So the notion of using Proxmox as a foundation for a Windows desktop system has a certain logic for anyone with a spare rig and a desire to push technical boundaries. The big question: Would the experience match, or even come close to, bare-metal Windows usage?

Hardware Decisions: Picking the Right Beast of Burden​

The success (or failure) of a virtualized desktop hinges on hardware choices. Not every home server or mini-PC is cut out for the job: single-core performance and GPU compatibility matter more than raw core count for desktop-like responsiveness and gaming.
For this experiment, the system comprised:

• Ryzen 5 1600 CPU (first-gen Zen architecture)
• 16GB DDR4 memory
• Intel Arc A750 GPU

This hardware, while somewhat dated by 2025 standards, still offers a formidable foundation—especially for 1080p gaming and creative workloads like Blender. The choice of an AM4 platform, over dual-Xeon server boards, sidestepped IOMMU compatibility headaches and maximized potential for successful PCIe passthrough.

Installing Proxmox: The Foundation for Something Different​

Proxmox installation is as straightforward as any mainstream Linux distribution, once you add the ISO to your preferred boot medium. Legacy home labbers might use direct USB, but network booting (PXE) remains popular for streamlined deployments across multiple rigs.
Basic install tips for Proxmox beginners:

• Use the latest stable Proxmox ISO for best hardware and virtualization support.
• Assign PVE its own volume, ideally on fast SSD or NVMe storage.
• Check BIOS settings for virtualization extensions (AMD-V/Intel VT-x) and IOMMU support before proceeding.

After installation, the PVE web UI is accessible from any browser on the LAN, providing a powerful dashboard for VM management, storage, and troubleshooting.

Spinning Up a Windows 11 VM: Not as Simple as Click-and-Run​

Unlike most Linux, BSD, or minimal Windows VMs, installing Windows 11 on Proxmox requires a two-ISO approach:

• The standard Windows 11 installation image.
• The VirtIO drivers ISO, to enable essential features like disk and network access during installation.

A few critical configuration points:

• Enable EFI and TPM if you want full Windows 11 compatibility (and BitLocker support).
• Select VirtIO storage and network for performance, but use Intel E1000E drivers if you run into compatibility snags during install—it’s a good initial fallback, as evidenced by the author’s experience.
• Assign enough CPU (all 12 threads of this Ryzen 5) and RAM (16GB) to approximate real desktop usage; be careful not to overcommit, as Proxmox reserves some memory for the hypervisor itself.

The trickiest bit? Windows Setup can’t “see” the Proxmox virtual disk until you manually load the SCSI pass-through drivers from the VirtIO ISO. Once this step is complete, installation proceeds just as it would on a physical PC.

GPU Passthrough: The Mortal Enemy of Easy Setup​

GPU passthrough transforms modern virtualization, enabling real-world gaming and hardware acceleration. Yet it remains one of the more technically challenging elements, especially considering motherboard quirks, BIOS bugs, and the growing diversity of consumer GPUs.
The following steps, while technical, are critical for Proxmox GPU passthrough:

• Enable IOMMU in both BIOS and GRUB bootloader (iommu=pt in GRUB).
• Edit /etc/modules to load kernel modules: vfio, vfio_iommu_type1, vfio_pci, vfio_virqfd.
• Blacklist host GPU drivers (e.g., i915 for Intel GPUs).
• Use lspci to find device IDs for assigned hardware, and add them to /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf for Proxmox to bind correctly.

The system in this case ran into the classic issue of RAM overcommit: if you allocate virtually all available RAM to a VM, Proxmox blocks the VM from starting to avoid starving itself. Reducing VM RAM from 16GB to 12GB resolved the issue, highlighting the need for headroom. This is a common pitfall for anyone pushing VM resources to their limits.

Access Methods: From QEMU and RDP to Parsec and Beyond​

Initial setup often involves accessing the VM via the built-in QEMU remote desktop, but this is a poor substitute for real interaction—latency, poor input response, and limited display capabilities make it unsuitable for anything but troubleshooting.
RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is better for productivity, yet fails to deliver when it comes to gaming or activities that require accelerated video output.
The gold standard, especially for users keen on low-latency interaction and smooth graphics, is remote streaming software. Apollo (a Sunshine fork) and Parsec are standout choices. While Apollo failed to work in this case (possibly due to configuration or driver issues), Parsec provided an instantly usable, highly responsive alternative—albeit at the cost of requiring authentication and streaming via its own cloud architecture, a trade-off some home lab purists may chafe at.

Day-to-Day Performance: Smooth Sailing in Surprising Waters​

How does a Proxmox-based Windows 11 VM stack up under genuine everyday loads?

• Productivity: Performance in applications—word processing, image annotation, light photo editing—was virtually indistinguishable from bare metal. The author wrote, edited, and processed this very article within the VM, a testament to Proxmox’s lightweight overhead and the capability of KVM.
• Creative Work: Blender, video editing, and other accelerated tasks ran with only minimal slowdowns, a notable feat given the use of a first-gen Ryzen and a budget-friendly Intel Arc GPU.
• Gaming: Here, results depended on expectations. For native 1080p gaming, the setup bested modest expectations. Hardware-accelerated titles like Hades 2, Scarlet Nexus, and Devil May Cry 5 ran smoothly—even if 4K gaming was beyond reach.
• Responsiveness: Using Parsec to stream the desktop resulted in surprisingly low input latency. For productivity, it felt as if right on bare hardware; for gaming, it approached console-level smoothness.

This outcome won’t surprise anyone who has tracked the maturing of KVM/QEMU and PCIe passthrough in recent years. Multiple independent sources, from enterprise virtualization documentation to enthusiast forums, agree: KVM overhead on real hardware is minimal, and with correct driver installation, Windows 11 hums along almost as smoothly as it does outside a VM.

What Worked: Notable Strengths​

• Flexibility and Security: Separating workloads into virtual machines allows for rapid resets, cloning, and disaster recovery. Windows 11 can be versioned, snapshotted, and restored with a few clicks.
• Hardware Abstraction: Tinkerers can allocate resources as needed, test different hardware, and even run multiple OSes on the same box—no dual-boot fiddling required.
• Centralized Management: The Proxmox web interface is among the best for home labbers, with accessible dashboards and detailed logs for diagnosis.
• Surprisingly High Performance: For users with even modest modern hardware, the performance penalty is small. In practical terms, casual gaming, creative work, and everyday productivity exceed expectations.
• Virtualization Features: Ability to experiment with nested virtualization, run containers for ancillary services, and use advanced features (TPM, PCIe passthrough, ZFS, backup) without additional cost.

What Didn’t: Potential Risks and Frustrations​

Despite the encouraging results, anyone considering this setup as a daily driver must weigh several caveats:

• Complexity of Setup: PCIe/GPU passthrough is not for the faint of heart. Configuration steps can be lengthy, obscure, and error-prone. A single typo or overlooked BIOS setting can mean hours of troubleshooting.
• Reliability: Not all hardware combinations are equally supported. Proprietary drivers, rapidly changing kernels, and firmware bugs can introduce regressions with OS or Proxmox updates. Always verify compatibility lists before committing to hardware.
• Resource Overcommitment: As seen in this case, allocating too much RAM and CPU can prevent a VM from starting. Proxmox’s memory manager is conservative for a reason.
• Peripheral Support: Plug-and-play expectations for webcams, microphones, or specialty USB devices are sometimes thwarted by virtualization.
• Network Performance: While most users see minimal impact, high-speed gaming or professional workloads may uncover additional latency—especially if not using the fastest network drivers and remote protocols.
• Software Licensing: Microsoft’s licensing model for Windows in VMs can be restrictive; official support may vary, and product activation can trigger unexpected hitches.
• User Experience: Parsec’s reliance on centralized authentication may be a stumbling block for privacy-minded users. Open-source alternatives like Moonlight/Sunshine require manual setup and may not always work “out of the box.”

The Broader Implications: Who Should Consider This Approach?​

The feasibility of using a Proxmox-based Windows 11 VM as a daily driver ultimately hinges on user priorities. For technical users—developers, security researchers, or DIY home lab enthusiasts—the rewards are substantial: flexibility, rapid prototyping, rollback capabilities, and the thrill of total system control.
However, for users craving a maintenance-free, plug-and-play experience, the challenges may outweigh the benefits. Reliance on passthrough, driver updates, and complex scripting for automation introduces points of failure. Gamers with ultra-low latency demands or those relying on bleeding-edge GPUs may find troubleshooting simply isn’t worth it.
Still, for anyone undeterred by an occasional need to reboot, edit config files, or trawl forums for arcane driver advice, the Proxmox+Windows VM path offers fascinating potential. You’re not just virtualizing an OS; you’re future-proofing your desktop, building disaster recovery into your daily workflow, and learning more about how modern PCs operate beneath the surface.

Future Prospects: Where Next for Virtualized Desktops?​

The steady advancement of open-source virtualization means this experiment is only going to get easier. Each release of Proxmox, QEMU, and KVM brings improved device emulation, lower overhead, and broader hardware support. Microsoft’s own increasing openness with Hyper-V hints at further convergence between “native” and virtualized compute.
Emerging standards around GPU partitioning, direct USB passthrough, and cloud-based gaming platforms promise to further blur the distinction between physical and virtual machines. As Proxmox and similar tools mature, advanced features once reserved for the enterprise—live migration, thin provisioning, comprehensive snapshotting—are now accessible to anyone with a spare desktop and a willingness to experiment.

Conclusion: Virtualization Is (Almost) Ready for Prime Time​

Running Windows 11 as a Proxmox VM for daily use is not a pipe dream. With careful hardware selection, patience for GPU passthrough, and the right remote access tools, users can achieve a desktop experience that is, for most use cases, indistinguishable from bare metal. Performance is routinely excellent, with only minor—though sometimes frustrating—pitfalls standing in the way of mainstream adoption.
For power users willing to venture into configuration files and BIOS settings, the freedom, flexibility, and resiliency of a virtualized desktop are hard to beat. For everyone else, the steady march of virtualization technology means that one day, “virtual” and “real” might be distinctions without a difference. Until then, there are few projects as rewarding—and illuminating—as making your primary PC just another guest on your own personal Proxmox server.

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Source: XDA https://www.xda-developers.com/i-tried-using-a-proxmox-based-windows-11-vm-as-my-daily-driver/