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I'm *STILL* looking to build a multipurpose, all-in-one machine that requieres IOMMU virtualization in working order to be able to do what I want to, namely, a fully virtualized Desktop platform where everything runs on top of the Hypervisor, without sacrificing access to Hardware pieces like the Video Card, essencial to play games. I have been waiting until Intel Haswell and AMD Richland are released to make a platform decision.
One of the things that annoys me the most is the fact that most times, you usually don't know if the BIOS implementation of AMD's ACPI IVRS table or whatever Intel uses works properly on a given Motherboard and/or BIOS version. This also will hurt early adopters the most, as they (And potentially I) will have to figure out by themselves everything they need to make it work. So basically, if I want to purchase a Desktop platform for virtualization purposes that requires the IOMMU in working order, it seems that I will have to spend money on a Motherboard just to test if it works or not. Motherboard support lists are already lacking on current platforms, let alone something brand new that needs to be tested from the ground.
I can't risk my money to purchase something that I don't know if it will work or not. Server grade parts would be a safer bet, but they are hard to come by here, and if they do, they are MUCH more expensive, so they're not an option. On the other hand, there are always some Desktop Motherboards that are usually popular enough to guarantee that you will always find them everywhere. There may be also some cheaper models, or obscure ones too, that fill some niches.
Sometimes I could get a friend with a specific Motherboard that is willing to run some tests in his Hardware to verify if this works or not, but it would be hard if not impossible to instruct him about how to install Xen, use whatever patch or workaround for that specific platform, etc., until he gets it working or figures out that nothing will make it work. It would be MUCH easier, if there was a standalone application that checks for proper VT-d/AMD-Vi support by itself with not too much user input, so I could spam forums asking people to use such application on some specific Motherboard/BIOS and post results. Or better if I could feed the application a BIN or ROM file downloaded from Motherboard manufacturers websites to analyze the file and tell if it got the required/expected values or not, or make a dump that I could give to a developer, that could give me a idea if it will work or not before testing on real Hardware.
Such application would be best suited to be Windows compatible, just because if Joe Average wants to make me such favor of run it, I doubt he runs Linux.
Do anyone knows if such thing exist, is possible to develop, can be practical and useful, etc? I consider it a solid option to make sure potential Xen users like me knows if they can run the desired feature before smashing their heads against a brick wall and figuring out that they can't do it with their current Motherboard/BIOS.
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