You must perform certain preparation tasks on the Windows or Linux host system to use 3D accelerated graphics in a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • On a Windows host, verify that the host has a video card that supports DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 10.1, or DirectX 11 and the latest DirectX Runtime required for the DirectX version being used.
  • On a Linux host, verify that the host has a video card that supports accelerated OpenGL 2.0 if you are using DirectX 9, or OpenGL 3.3 if you are using DirectX 10 or DirectX 10.1, or OpenGL 4.5 if you are using DirectX 11.

    The VMware guest operating system OpenGL driver for Windows and Linux supports the OpenGL 3.3, OpenGL 4.1, and OpenGL 4.3 compatibility profile.

    Note: You can use Vulkan renderer on a Linux host with Intel, Nvidia, or AMD GPUs. Vulkan renderer provides support for Direct3D 11 (and earlier) and OpenGL 4.3 (and earlier) in the guest.
    The Vulkan renderer support is limited to the following GPUs:
    • Intel Skylake and later GPUs (for example, Kaby Lake and Ice Lake)
    • AMD RDNA/NAVI14 and later GPUs (for example, the Radeon RX/Pro 5300 and 5500 series)
      Note: Presently, for AMD GPUs, use the AMDVLK driver. You can download the AMDVLK driver from here: https://github.com/GPUOpen-Drivers/AMDVLK/releases
    • Nvidia Turing and later GPUs (for example, the RTX series)
      Note: For pre-Turing GPUs, Workstation uses the legacy OpenGL renderer.

Procedure

  1. Upgrade the video drivers on the host system to the latest versions.
    ATI Graphics drivers are available from the AMD Web site. NVIDIA drivers are available from the NVIDIA Web site. Intel drivers are available from the Intel Web site.
  2. If you have a Windows host system, move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the Full position.
    Option Description
    Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 Right-click the desktop and select Personalize > Screen resolution > Advanced Settings > Troubleshoot > Change settings.
  3. If you have a Linux host system, run commands to test the host for compatibility.
    1. Verify that direct rendering is enabled.
      glxinfo | grep direct
    2. Verify that 3D applications work.
      glxgears