Hello all

[shawngell]

Well Ive been reading your forums for quite some time now, and the things you guys are doing is simply amazing. My question is is there anyone around in the Maryland area that mightbe willing to help me setup my new 5 box? I will pay for a room and supply all the food and also give you a fee for helping installation. I would really like to do this on my own but I just dont think this is feasable being im a Project Manager. So if there is anyone within range to Maryland please let me know or even a few emails might be able to help me out with setting up my 5 box. Sorry for the wall of text but I am very excited and could just use some help!

Thanks in Advance,

Shawn

[Ellay]

Most of us here are glad to help with any questions you have. It may feel like a daunting task but that's the fun of it! Once it's all complete, it's a great sense of accomplishment all on its own.

I'd say try to put it together yourself, and feel free to ask any questions you might have here :)

[zanthor]

Suddenly I find myself wondering if there is a place in the world for a paid multi-box consultant... Technologically speaking it can be daunting to setup, but there are plenty of people in the world who may desire to multibox and expense doesn't matter to them...

[Xzin]

Well - I normally charge $600 per hour if you are going to hire me hourly. If I work for myself, I can make more so yes, it is more than justified.

My client list includes (consists only of):
Xzin

Not willing to travel.
Already busy with other engagements.
Most of my knowledge has been put online for free.
I have never actually worked for anybody else.
I don't have any plans of actually doing so.

Hmm.... can't imagine this is going to be a well paying consulting job :)

But damn if I couldn't put together a KICK ASS setup for somebody who had the money to spend. But would it make sense? Probably not. I never expect to make any money with this hobby (if anything, it has cost a ton but provided enjoyment) and that is perfectly ok by me.

There may be some other cash strapped people here (Brad?) that are interested.

[shawngell]

point taken xzin :(

[keyclone]

here is my suggestion.
----
1. decide whether you want to use a software solution for your multiboxing (ie: keyclone/ahk). if no software, go to next post.

2. if you are going with keyclone (my bias is showing here :) )... try starting with just 5 characters on 3 machines, saving you a bit of money until you get the hang of it.

3. go to the local best buy and buy your machines (ask for exact specs if needed)

4. buy a netgear firewall router (if you don't already have a NAT firewall router)

5. plug your computers into the router and boot each

6. turn off windows firewall on your machines (no need while gaming behind a hardware firewall)

7. install wow on each machine and log in

8. download and activate keyclone on each machine

9. on each machine, add your wows to keyclone (ask if more needed.. should auto-add by default)

10. on keyclone, type in the ip and port (located in the keyclone title bar) of your main keyclone box and hit enter or the 'connect' button

11. you are now multi-boxing. setup your follow and assist macros as needed

if you need more, we can chat via phone. i also have friends in the washdc metro area if need be (you should be ok without it)

[Xzin]

Don't underestimate how complex these setups can be.

You need to consider hardware or software routes.
If hardware, what hardware? Combinations?
If software, what combinations? What bugs will you encounter?
Input methods?
Heat / electricity concerns.
Monitor arrangements, wiring, hard drive mirroring.
KVM, multiplexing styles.
Desk design, layout.
UI mods....

Etc etc.

It took me about 6 MONTHS to design and build everything I have now. Granted, I did it all from scratch and my setup is far above what you would simply need to 5 box. But even then, knowing that much of the work has already been done - expect it to be a bit more complex than it might seem at first glance. I HIGHLY doubt you could be completely up and running with a prefect 5 box setup in under a month. It just doesn't happen unless somebody does all of the work for you and packages it. Business opportunity? Maybe. Not one I plan on working on though.

[Xzin]

Alright - I will give you that :) I can get a bit obsessive about doing things right. But still.

Yes, you can get a basic setup going in a few hours provided you have the hardware handy and are willing to go software only. But you will not be able to actually DO anything. You will still have to setup macros, tweak your UI (at least some to monitor health), setup your input method(s)....

To do it the *right way* is one thing...

to do it so it works is another but I still urge you to not underestimate the time it takes to even get the basics going. It is a bit more than you might think. Can you get a working setup going in a few weeks of part time work? Sure. Will you be able to PvP with it? Probably not. Can you PvE well and grow and expand as you go? Probably but don't expect to be "slaying a lot of dragons" right away. You will be lucky if you can do more than follow and fireball. Which can get you amazingly far in a game like WoW, at least from a PvE perspective.

But software is inferior to hardware solutions (although much cheaper). Huge strides are being made though by Keyclone, VMs and other software utilities though. Eventually, you will be able to 5 box on 1 machine with no problems at full resolution. Of course you lose a LITTLE redundancy though :)

[Tonuss]

I'm used to being around computers and tangled wiring, but some of the hardware setups make my blood run a bit cold. :)

Then again I only started dabbling in multi-boxing this past week after watching the videos and browsing the forums for a while. I am three-boxing at the moment on two computers and am going to see how it goes if I box a main toon on one computer and up to 4 on a second one. Might be time for some hardware upgrades (cackles madly).

Anyway, thanks to the people who run sites like this and write software like Keyclone, because I'm not sure I'd have actually taken that first step if I had to tangle myself in a few more miles of wiring!

[shawngell]

ok well Let me show you what im working with currently, and what i am planning on getting. If the hardware you are talking about is only 500 andis better than Cyclone than by all means I would rather get that.

Current CPU Link:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8493828&type=product&id=1186003686058

And yes i know I could have built a better one for cheaper I just dont simply have the time. :)

Here is what im thinking for the 4 other pc's I believe i saw these in someone setup here on the site.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/LAN_Party_Special/

And as for my monitor setup this is what i was thinking:
http://www.cinemassivedisplays.com/Trio_Gemini_17D.php

Please let me know your thoughts but please be reminded im stuck with the first mentioned pc which runs wow at full settings at 60+ fps.

If this setup is possible then I might need to get in touch with your friends in DC.

Thanks again,

Shawn

[Ellay]

Check your PM's Shawn :)

[shawngell]

lol i did while you were making that post.

[shawngell]

So anyone have any suggestions as if those items I posted would work?
Sorry I'm at work and im very bored.

[keyclone]

my suggestion... start small.. test the waters.. plan for bigger... determine best route for your play style along the way.

[Tonuss]

The Best Buy link is a nice system, but I would go to Velocity Micro's own site (http://www.velocitymicro.com) and price out a system there instead. I'm using a VM system for my additional boxed characters (2 at the moment, might add 2 more). I am considering replacing that box with a quad-core system, but first I want to see if the current one can handle 4 accounts at once.

Then again if your intention is to run 5 accounts on 5 separate boxes, the quad-core system is probably overkill, look for a system with more modest CPU and GPU options and 2GB RAM instead. For the secondary boxes I'd go to Best Buy or Circuit City and see what they have in the price range you are after. They often have decent Gateway or Dell systems for a very nice price ($350-700).

[Slats]

Dont buy your monitors like that mate.

Buy seperate stands and monitors, you'll save some serious cash.

=)

[shawngell]

so the comp i listed for the 4 additional boxes isn't suffice? Looks very like it should be able to run wow... and on those 4 comps i will minimize the settings ans have the eye candy for my main box with the quad core..

As for my monitors i like the convienance of the harnessing and making it look like it was professionally done. If i wasn't spendng money on something nice like this I would be at the local bar racking up a 100+ bar tab a night.. And if it was the weekend i usually spend 300 a night at the bar. I figure at a nice slow pace of over 3 months this 7000 system would easily be blown at the bar.

But back to my main point do the 4 other comps look ok? they look small on power consumption compared to the comp im on now and could fit practically anywhere.

And cheers to you all for giving me tips you seem like a great bunch. I hope to be up and running sometime soon and maybe come to the server where you all 5+ box at so we can shatter some alliance. My days of 1 toon doing all end raid content are over I love pvp to much.

[shawngell]

The Best Buy link is a nice system, but I would go to Velocity Micro's own site (http://www.velocitymicro.com) and price out a system there instead. I'm using a VM system for my additional boxed characters (2 at the moment, might add 2 more). I am considering replacing that box with a quad-core system, but first I want to see if the current one can handle 4 accounts at once.

They often have decent Gateway or Dell systems for a very nice price ($350-700).

Well the one I linked was like 524 I believe..

[shawngell]

ok well i loaded 4 acconts onto my pc just to try and see if my comp could handle it. i had 3 minimized and one playing at full screen and was still getting 60 fps... I download the keyclone and tried tinkering with that.
I went to the round robin thing and hit keystroke 1,2,3,4 and i click on the opther applications that are runiing in keyclone and they showed up on each application. But when i press 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 nothing happens with the rest of the chars. I tired to purchase a full version and it takes me to a broken link pay pal site.

Any suggestions on anything? i thought i was so close and now im going to lose sleep over it lol. but it was nice seeing 4 locks run around simultaniously.

[keyclone]

i'm still available if you need some quick tech support to get you through the night

[Braggon]

Just my 2 cents here - I started boxing wow about 2 months ago. Most if not all of my info gathering I attained here on these forums. There is a wealth of knowledge here for the casual Multi-boxer like myself.
When I first started I was amazed at some of the various PC setups that gamers were using. Breath taking configurations.
The only question I had was if I would really enjoy playing this way. That question COULD have cost me thousands of dollars. (And a verbal beating from my wife)
I decided to go the most efficient way for ME. Since I had 1 top of the line PC and 1 not so top of the line that was readly avaible, I'd go the software route. Im glad I did.
I had the boxing up and ready the same day that i created the accounts. Im not using anything ground breaking either. Keyclone and mutliplicity are the only programs I use other then in-game macros. My main pc runs 3 accounts while the secondary pc runs 2. I BELIVE everything runs flawlessly. My server is PVP and I PVP often. I only have 2 monitors up( Main is a 23" widescreen running at 1900 * 1200 btw thats what i use on my main toon with all options maxed including sound)
One last issue im content with is the electrical use and heat generation of the set-up. I only have to look at 2 monitors and not become over burdened by stage show lights.
Good luck and welcome aboard.