I’d like to introduce myself. I’m a creative and now diving into cybersecurity, Qubes, and networking. I’ve been exploring Qubes OS for several months. Starting from zero knowledge, I began with a regular Linux desktop, tried a couple of popular distros, and eventually made the leap to Qubes.
I was a lurker on the forum for a long time, and it took me some courage to sign up. Party because of my threat model and partly because I find it hard to ask for help. I’m glad I did, though — I still have many questions and technical problems to solve, and I hope my creative background will be useful to the community.
Today I’m a happy user—Qubes feels mind‑blowing and has given me a new appreciation for compartmentalized security. In fact, I’ve even developed a case of “monolith phobia”: a monolith feels like walking around naked while not being a nudist!
I intend to support Qubes financially and contribute my time and creative skills wherever the community needs them.
Thank you to the entire Qubes team for all the hard work that makes this OS so amazing, and thanks to everyone on the forum for providing information and helping other users. I look forward to learning more from you all and sharing my own experiences.
Welcome! I’m brand new around here as well – just made the move from Windows and Qubes is my first and most likely only distro I’ll use. I started a monthly donation plan as soon as I ordered my NovaCustom laptop a couple weeks ago.
I saw that too! Read through it and I can’t fault NovaCustom since they are technically certified for Qubes OS per the certification criteria pointed out. Although it would be nice to have additional ‘tiers’ of certifications. Something like Qubes OS Bronze Certified and the fancier the material (silver, gold, plat, etc) for more features it supports I’m reserving the Qubes OS Platinum Certified badge for whoever comes out with one that’s OCuLink ready out of the box.
I have no complaints so far. I thought my laptop came defective when my keyboard shortcuts for screen brightness, volume, lcd on/off, etc weren’t working but after some research, I just had to enable them from within Qubes.
Well, perhaps in the future I didn’t know OCuLink - hope it’s more safe then usb. I was looking at that Nova Custom too. So how do you like Qubes so far? Do you miss Microsoft? I don’t miss my old operating system at all and I’m relieved I got out of the Lock-In trap. However moving to Linux has been hard work.
In this case it’s meant to connect to an external GPU (eGPU) to be able to run applications/games that require dedicated graphics card acceleration.
I’m loving it! Still trying to re-wire my brain to get used to running different VM’s under ‘one roof’. I’ll get there eventually, though! Every now and then I’ll be stuck on something wondering why it’s not working and hit that "oh that’s right…" light bulb moment.
I decided to splurge on getting the maxed out NovaCustom Qubes OS laptop and I’m not regretting it at all! Boot up and VM start times are pretty quick - and with plenty of storage (8 TB) and RAM (96 GB), I don’t really have to worry about watching my resource usage (at least right now…).
Just for playing games. My short term plan, once I have moved all my files from OneDrive and Google, is to wipe my gaming laptop and just install Steam and Discord to it – nothing else. That’s the plan until I find a reliable method to play video games on Qubes,
I’m finding out myself! But once I take the time to research and work on replacing a convenience or workflow that I was accustomed to on Windows, it gives me motivation to keep going and chase the next thing to make this OS perfect for my use-case. And that’s something Windows or Apple can’t offer to me anymore.
I gave up on using my external GPU on qubes os. It’s not worth the effort for me, I installed a random distribution (cachysos at the moment IIRC) on a dedicated gaming computer, and I’m fine.
Well that doesn’t sound to hopeful. I wanted a desktop with GPU pass trough too. But I’ll just wait it out then since I see many other forum members struggling with this too.
I’m not sure there is a real problem with external GPUs themselves.
My issues with mine were that I had to tweak grub every time I booted without it, otherwise the parameter to hide the GPU from dom0 was preventing the boot. The thing is not plug and play, it’s super noisy when connected and I have to shutdown Qubes OS to disconnect it without a crash.
Then, you can start struggling with the usual GPU passthrough setup
I’m using a Razer core case with a full pci-express GPU inside.
I’m looking for a desktop workstation now for my creative work for which I need gpu passtrough too and was eying the intel arc pro b60 graphics or the ndivia rtx 2000. But I feel super overwhelmed and insecure about choosing the right hardware, especially seeing how very advanced users are already struggling with gpu passtrough - and I’m new to all this and have zero knowledge regarding picking hardware to build a workstation. I really would like to use Qubes for creative work too but I’m not so sure anymore. So maybe I will need to do the same as Solene and use a monolith just for that - but for me that has severe implications since I will probably end up compromising that system.
I would try to find an Intel ARC Pro B60 Dual Turbo if I were you – theoretically, you should be able to use that one GPU for multiple VM’s (Qubes) due to it supporting SR-IOV natively. And, if it plays nice with Qubes OS, it would be a game changer for me. Some of my Qubes would greatly benefit from GPU acceleration.
The current issue, from my understanding, Nvidia and AMD video cards don’t support SR-IOV so you have to pick a dedicated monitor and Qube to use it on which becomes janky when booting up or setting up Qubes you want to have GPU accelerated.
For other users like me reading this post (who are noobs concerning hardware). Chat GPT told me these are the benefits of SR-IOV and double gpu (like the Intel Arc Pro Dual Turbo):
Benefit
Description
Increased GPU Power
With a dual-GPU design, you gain significant processing power, allowing multiple VMs to efficiently handle graphics-intensive tasks simultaneously without performance degradation.
Extensive VRAM
The 48GB of GDDR memory supports heavy applications, such as high-resolution rendering, complex simulations, or data analysis, enabling smoother performance for VMs that require it.
Flexible Resource Allocation
If SR-IOV is supported, VMs can have their individual virtual functions, allowing for tailored resource allocation and utilization across different qubes, enhancing overall efficiency.
Reduced Latency
Direct GPU access through SR-IOV eliminates the overhead of routing GPU tasks through the hypervisor, resulting in lower latency and better responsiveness for applications in multiple qubes.
Simplified Setup
Assigning a single GPU to multiple VMs becomes easier, reducing the complexity involved in configuring dedicated GPU resources for each qube and streamlining your workflow.
Support for Virtualization
Designed with virtual environments in mind, this GPU could enhance compatibility with various virtualized workloads, making it suitable for tasks ranging from development to production.
Improved Multi-Tasking
Multiple VMs can run GPU-heavy applications concurrently, allowing for advanced multi-tasking capabilities that can be beneficial in development, testing, and other environments.
Potential Use Cases
Graphics-Intensive Applications: For tasks such as 3D rendering, simulation, or gaming within VMs, having dual GPUs ensures that even demanding applications can run smoothly.
Data Analysis and Visualization: For roles that require massive data processing and visualization, like machine learning models or extensive spreadsheet calculations, the ample VRAM allows handling larger datasets effortlessly.
Development and Testing Environments: If you are developing software that leverages GPU resources, the ability to easily spin up VMs with dedicated GPU access can significantly enhance productivity.
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I’m reserving the Qubes OS Platinum Certified badge for whoever comes out with one that’s 
I didn’t know OCuLink - hope it’s more safe then usb. I was looking at that Nova Custom too. So how do you like Qubes so far? Do you miss Microsoft? I don’t miss my old operating system at all and I’m relieved I got out of the Lock-In trap. However moving to Linux has been hard work. 
