Intel Arc Pro B50 → Proxmox → Windows 11 VM — Full GPU Passthrough Guide

This guide walks through passing an Intel Arc Pro B50 16GB directly to a Windows 11 VM running under Proxmox on a Minisforum MS-A2 (AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX). Verified working as of May 2026.

What this guide does: Passes the full Arc Pro B50 16GB directly to a Windows 11 VM running in Proxmox on the Minisforum MS-A2. The Windows VM gets the entire card for gaming, business workloads, and AI inference — accessible both on a physical monitor/keyboard and remotely via RDP.

Architecture

Minisforum MS-A2 (Proxmox host)
├── AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX  ← host CPU, Proxmox management only
├── AMD Radeon 610M iGPU ← host display (Proxmox console)
└── Intel Arc Pro B50 16GB ← bound to vfio-pci, passed to Windows VM
    └── Windows 11 VM
        ├── Intel Arc Pro drivers (full GPU acceleration)
        ├── Physical display via HDMI/DisplayPort from B50
        ├── Physical keyboard/mouse via USB passthrough
        └── Remote access via RDP or Parsec

Key advantage of this setup: The Proxmox host uses the AMD Radeon 610M iGPU built into the 7745HX for its own console. The Arc Pro B50 is handed entirely to the Windows VM. This means you never lose host access when the VM is running — the host always has its own display output.

Prerequisites

• Proxmox VE 9.0+ already installed on the MS-A2
• Arc Pro B50 firmware updated to Q3 2025 on a separate Windows PC before installing
• Windows 11 ISO downloaded
• VirtIO drivers ISO
• Intel Arc Pro drivers (Q4 2025 recommended — see driver note below)

Firmware note: Update the B50 on a separate Windows PC before installing in the MS-A2. Use the Intel Arc Pro Graphics driver installer — it includes a firmware flash utility.

Driver note: Q1 2026 Intel Arc Pro drivers (32.0.101.8515+) have a known issue with VM passthrough causing Error 43. Q4 2025 drivers work reliably. Check the Intel community forum for current status before installing newer drivers.

MS-A2 hardware overview

The Minisforum MS-A2 with Ryzen 7 7745HX features 8 cores and 16 threads running up to 5.1GHz, paired with AMD Radeon 610M integrated graphics. It supports up to 96GB DDR5-5200 across two SODIMM slots, and includes a PCIe x16 slot running at PCIe 4.0 x8 speed accepting low-profile single-slot GPUs.

Connectivity includes HDMI 2.1, two USB-C ports with DisplayPort, dual 2.5G LAN, and 10G SFP+ networking.

CPU and memory recommendations for this setup

The Ryzen 7 7745HX has 8 cores and 16 threads. For a Proxmox host running a single Windows 11 VM with GPU passthrough:

CPU allocation for the Windows VM: 1 socket, 12 cores. This gives the VM 12 of the 16 available threads, leaving 4 for Proxmox host operations. With AMD's Zen 4 architecture all cores are full performance cores — no hybrid P-core/E-core split like Intel. You can be more generous with allocation.

Memory: The MS-A2 supports up to 96GB DDR5-5200. For a Windows 11 gaming and AI VM:

• Minimum: 32GB to the VM — Windows 11 plus AI workloads plus gaming needs headroom
• Recommended: 48GB to the VM if you have 64GB or more installed — leaves 16GB+ for Proxmox host overhead
• Proxmox host needs: 8-16GB minimum for stable operation

Suggested configurations:

Part 1 — Proxmox host configuration

SSH into your Proxmox host as root for all steps in this section.

Step 1.1 — BIOS settings (MS-A2 specific)

Press DEL on boot to enter BIOS. Verify:

AMD-specific notes: - The MS-A2 uses AMD IOMMU — look for "SVM Mode" or "AMD IOMMU" rather than VT-d - "Above 4G Decoding" is required for the Arc Pro B50 — modern GPUs need it for proper BAR mapping - Set PCIe slot to 4.0 explicitly — Auto can cause the Arc Pro B50 not to be recognised

Step 1.2 — Enable IOMMU

nano /etc/default/grub

Find GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT and set it to:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet amd_iommu=on iommu=pt xe.vram_bar_size=256"

AMD vs Intel difference: Use amd_iommu=on instead of intel_iommu=on. Everything else is the same. iommu=pt is passthrough mode. xe.vram_bar_size=256 prevents GPU device lost errors on the Arc Pro B50.

Apply and reboot:

update-grub
reboot

Verify after reboot:

cat /proc/cmdline
# Should contain: amd_iommu=on iommu=pt xe.vram_bar_size=256

# Verify IOMMU groups exist
find /sys/kernel/iommu_groups/ -type l | head -10
# Should return a list of paths

Step 1.3 — Load VFIO modules

echo -e "vfio\nvfio_iommu_type1\nvfio_pci" >> /etc/modules
update-initramfs -u -k all
reboot

Step 1.4 — Add KVM stability settings for Windows

These prevent Windows VM crashes from unhandled MSR reads:

echo "options kvm ignore_msrs=1" > /etc/modprobe.d/kvm.conf
echo "options kvm report_ignored_msrs=0" >> /etc/modprobe.d/kvm.conf
update-initramfs -u -k all
reboot

Step 1.5 — Verify the B50 is detected

lspci -nnk | grep -i "8086:e212"

Expected:

03:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Battlemage G21 [Intel Graphics] [8086:e212]
        Kernel driver in use: xe
        Kernel modules: xe

Note your PCI address — it may differ on your system.

Step 1.6 — Bind the B50 to vfio-pci

nano /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf

Add:

options vfio-pci ids=8086:e212,8086:e2f7

Binds both the GPU and its audio function. Both are required for clean passthrough to Windows.

Apply and reboot:

update-initramfs -u -k all
reboot

Verify:

lspci -nnk -s 03:00.0
# Expected: Kernel driver in use: vfio-pci

Step 1.7 — Verify AMD Radeon 610M is still on host

Important — confirm the host's iGPU is still available for Proxmox console access:

lspci | grep -i "radeon\|amd\|vga"
# Should show AMD Radeon 610M with a different driver (amdgpu or similar)
# Should NOT show vfio-pci on the Radeon

The Radeon 610M being on the host is what keeps Proxmox accessible. The Arc Pro B50 on vfio-pci is what goes to the VM. This is the clean split you want.

Part 2 — Create the Windows 11 VM

Step 2.1 — Upload required ISOs

Upload to Proxmox local storage (local → ISO Images):

• Windows 11 ISO
• VirtIO drivers ISO

Step 2.2 — Create the VM

Click Create VM:

General:

• Name: windows11-arc-b50
• VM ID: your choice

OS tab:

• ISO: Windows 11
• Guest OS Type: Microsoft Windows
• Version: 11/2022/2025
• Tick: Add additional drive for VirtIO drivers → select VirtIO ISO

System tab:

Windows 11 requires both TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Unlike Ubuntu, Pre-Enroll keys must be checked here.

Disks tab:

CPU tab:

12 cores from the 7745HX's 16 threads. All AMD Zen 4 cores are equal performance — no hybrid architecture to worry about. host type exposes full AMD instruction sets including AVX-512 which benefits AI workloads.

Memory tab:

Adjust based on your total RAM — see the recommendations table in the hardware overview section.

Network tab:

Do NOT add the GPU yet — install Windows first.

Step 2.3 — Install Windows 11

Start the VM and open the Console in Proxmox. The Windows installer will boot.

During disk selection — Windows won't see the VirtIO disk:

1. Click Load driver
2. Browse to the VirtIO CD drive
3. Navigate to vioscsi\w11\amd64
4. Install the storage driver
5. The disk now appears — proceed with installation

Complete Windows setup:

• Create a local account (not Microsoft account) for easier initial setup
• Once at the desktop, open Device Manager
• Install all remaining VirtIO drivers from the CD — right-click the CD drive and run the installer
• Install QEMU Guest Agent from guest-agent\qemu-ga-x86_64.msi on the VirtIO CD

Do NOT install Arc Pro drivers yet — add the GPU first.

Step 2.4 — Add the Arc Pro B50 to the VM

Shut the Windows VM down from within Windows (Start → Shut down).

In Proxmox UI → VM → Hardware → Add → PCI Device:

Primary GPU checked: Unlike a headless server, we want Windows to use the Arc Pro B50 as its primary display adapter. This enables physical monitor output from the B50 directly to your display.

Also add USB passthrough for keyboard and mouse — this lets you use physical peripherals directly with the Windows VM:

Hardware → Add → USB Device:

• Select your keyboard by USB ID
• Add again for your mouse

Alternatively, add the USB controller passthrough to give the VM full control of a specific USB port. Check which USB ports on the MS-A2 you want dedicated to the Windows VM.

Start the Windows VM.

Step 2.5 — Install Intel Arc Pro drivers

Once Windows boots with the GPU passed through:

1. Connect a monitor to the Arc Pro B50 outputs (HDMI or DisplayPort from the card)
2. Windows will boot to that display
3. Open Device Manager — you should see Intel Arc Pro B50 listed
4. Download and install Q4 2025 Intel Arc Pro drivers from intel.com
5. Do NOT use Windows Update for driver installation — it may pull Q1 2026 drivers which have VM passthrough issues

After driver installation, Device Manager should show:

Display Adapters
└── Intel Arc Pro B50 Graphics  ← no warning symbols

Part 3 — Remote access setup

With GPU passthrough Windows runs natively on the Arc Pro B50. You have two remote access options:

Option A — Windows RDP (built-in, free)

RDP works well for business/productivity use but has limitations for gaming (no GPU acceleration over RDP by default).

Enable RDP inside Windows:

1. Settings → System → Remote Desktop → Enable Remote Desktop
2. Note the PC name or VM IP address
3. Ensure Windows Firewall allows RDP (port 3389)

Connect from another machine:

• Windows: Run mstsc.exe, enter the VM IP
• Mac: Microsoft Remote Desktop app
• Linux: Remmina or xfreerdp

For GPU-accelerated RDP (good for AI tools and some business apps):

Inside Windows VM, open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc):

• Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Remote Session Environment
• Set Use hardware graphics adapters for all Remote Desktop Services sessions → Enabled

Option B — Parsec (recommended for gaming)

Parsec provides low-latency remote access with full GPU acceleration — essential for gaming over the network.

1. Download Parsec from parsec.app inside the Windows VM
2. Create a free Parsec account
3. Install and log in
4. Connect from any device on your network (or remotely)

Parsec uses the Arc Pro B50 for encoding, delivering near-native gaming performance over a local network connection.

Option C — Physical monitor and keyboard (direct use)

Connect directly to the MS-A2:

• Monitor → HDMI or USB-C DisplayPort output on the Arc Pro B50 (not the MS-A2's built-in HDMI which goes to the host iGPU)
• Keyboard/Mouse → USB ports passed through to the VM

When using physically, the Windows VM behaves exactly like a normal desktop PC. The Proxmox host runs silently in the background on the iGPU.

Part 4 — AI workloads on Windows

With the Arc Pro B50 passed through to Windows you can run AI inference natively on Windows.

Option A — Ollama for Windows

# Download and install from ollama.com
winget install Ollama.Ollama

# Pull and run a model
ollama pull qwen3:14b
ollama run qwen3:14b "Hello"

Ollama on Windows uses the Arc Pro B50 via the DirectML backend — slightly less efficient than Vulkan on Linux but functional and fully supported.

Option B — Open WebUI on Windows (Docker Desktop)

1. Install Docker Desktop for Windows from docker.com
2. Create the same docker-compose.yml as the Linux guide — it works identically
3. Access Open WebUI at http://localhost:3000

Option C — LM Studio (Windows GUI)

LM Studio provides a user-friendly GUI for running local models on Windows — useful if you prefer not to use the command line.

1. Download from lmstudio.ai
2. Install and select the Intel Arc backend
3. Download models from the built-in model browser
4. Start the local server for API access

Part 5 — Recommended models for Windows with 16GB VRAM

The full 16GB is available to Windows. Model performance on Windows via DirectML is slightly lower than Vulkan on Linux, but all the same models fit.

70B models will not load on 16GB regardless of OS.

Part 6 — Useful commands reference

Proxmox host

# Check GPU binding
lspci -nnk -s 03:00.0
# Should show: Kernel driver in use: vfio-pci

# Check host iGPU still available
lspci | grep -i "radeon"

# Check IOMMU is active
find /sys/kernel/iommu_groups/ -type l | wc -l
# Should be > 0

# VM management
qm start <vmid>
qm stop <vmid>
qm status <vmid>
qm list

Windows VM (PowerShell)

# Check GPU in device manager
Get-PnpDevice -Class Display

# Check GPU VRAM
(Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_VideoController).AdapterRAM / 1GB

# Restart GPU driver
pnputil /restart-device "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_E212*"

# Check RDP is enabled
Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -Name fDenyTSConnections

Disk space management

# On Proxmox host
df -h
qm list   # check VM disk usage

Troubleshooting

Physical vs remote — quick reference