This video illustrates a variety of x86_64 native binary applications executing on a POWER8 machine using QEMU user mode translation. These applications are using the full 3D hardware capabilities of the host POWER8 machine, and have access to the host’s ALSA audio. Applications that primarily use scalar instructions perform quite well, while applications making heavy use of vector instructions experience lag and stuttering due to missing features in QEMU (see notes below). Multiple 3D games were used to demonstrate the feasibility of a non-native engine binary interfacing with the POWER8 host GPU.
They blew it up!
Now, I wonder how well it would’ve done if qemu had been pinned to a single core instead of meandering around all the time. :)