What are the limitations of virtual machines?

Posted by j-g-faustus on Super User See other posts from Super User or by j-g-faustus
Published on 2011-01-04T20:18:36Z Indexed on 2011/01/04 20:56 UTC
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I'm considering setting up a virtual machine running Windows, with Ubuntu 10.10 as the host OS, for those cases where I have a Windows-only program.

I understand that using a VM will lose some performance, but are there other limitations to what the OS in a virtual machine can do compared to "running on bare metal"?

For example:

Can a VM play games, like Dragon Age Origins or Civilization V? (Possibly with poorer framerates and/or lower resolution, but does it play at all?)
Can a VM rip DVD/Blue-ray using AnyDVD or similar Windows program?
Can a VM handle new hardware that requires dedicated drivers, but the drivers are only available for the OS running inside the VM? (Ex. graphics card, digital camera, card reader for smart card authentication.)

Is it possible to say anything about "general limitations" of VMs, or is this wholly dependent on the specific VM?

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