Also DXVK [1], an implementation of DirectX over Vulkan that allows (most) games to run on Linux with native or even better performance. Some people are using DXVK even on Windows to circumvent bugs or simply because it's faster for some DX9 games.
But some other enterprising threadripper user worked around that by stuffing the game in a Linux VM to avoid the rebooting.
Crazy to think that a Windows game would perform better in a Linux VM under Windows than running on Windows natively, even if the reason is that it's effectively presenting the game with worse hardware that it understands how to use more effectively.
I believe for non-production usage, Microsoft is okay with unlicensed or trial Virtual Machines and such. The idea being that if developers are testing their software in Windows, that’s better than the alternative (not testing their software in Windows).
Similarly, if willing to beta test versions of software, you can get Visual Studio for “Insiders” and test the Enterprise edition for free with a non-production license for as long as newer beta versions are made available. (Note: IANAL, this ain’t legal advice, read the terms and conditions on any Microsoft VMs or software installations)
Game Mode is a new feature in AMD Ryzen™ Master that reconfigures the platform in two key ways:
• It temporarily disables half of the CPU cores, which turns the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X into an 8C16T device (like the AMD Ryzen™ 1800X) and the 1920X into a 6C12T device (like the AMD Ryzen™ 1600X). For the truly technical, this is a 4+4 CCX configuration on one die. This ensures the game encounters the number of cores it was truly designed to handle. Please note that Game Mode does not disable SMT.
• We tell the OS to use a Local Mode (NUMA) memory, which keeps a game and its memory footprint inside one CPU die and the locally-connected DRAM. This minimizes several key latency points in the system, which most games love.