new dual box setup advice appreciated

[samhaine]

Classes: Feral Druid, and Resto/elemental shaman
Goals: both PVP and tank/healer for PVE instances

Hardware plan:
Wireless logitec keyboards/mice
2 identical dual core vista machines
2 22” wide screen monitors mounted on a DS100 vertical mount (I know 19” is best, but I already have the monitors and found the mount for 60 bucks on ebay!)

I am new to the scene and am in the planning/budgeting stages of my setup and hope to get some feedback and advice on my current plan before I jump in and start buying new hardware.

My primary challenge is to create a way to seamlessly transition between controlling one character or another on the fly. I do not want to think of either character as a main or secondary as much as I want to play both classes to their full potential simultaneously. I currently plan to accomplish this by binding one characters primary combat / movement keys to ctrl + x (secondary bars to alt + z) and the others primary, to alt + x (secondary bars to alt + z). I think this should accomplish my goal fairly well; however, I am not sure how I would go about creating an alt lock and ctrl lock key. Would multibox or synergy be required for this? It would also be nice to be able to hold down one key and be switch full control of another just until that one key was released. Is there a smooth way to accomplish this?

For party and raids I am thinking that it will be imperative to have an x-keys setup to more easily handle healing tasks while still tanking. I am familiar with and have used the nostromo n52’s system in the passed and really loved being able to click one button and have it automatically handle hitting different keys in a timed fashion. Is the X-keys macro system comparable?


Thanks for sitting through this long post and double thanks to anyone with some feedback. I am anxious to get started with everything, but Id rather take my time and do it right from the start.

-Jason

[hapiguy314]

I personally prefer AutoHotKey (AHK) when just dual boxing. Being able to control it without any hardware or server-client software makes it a lot easier. I actually play my main tank and healer on one machine split in two 22" monitors and my 3 dps on three other machines. Healing is just easier for me that way.

However, just curious on your vertical mount, doesn't the vertical view of having a 22" monitor suck? Unless I tilt it way way way max, I could barely see it since im way below it. I have to put pillows under my butt (only 5'10") at one point to be a little more even on the top monitors of my quad mount.

These are my four 22" monitors:

http://www.hossguild.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5252&stc=1&d=1181986124

PS
Still working on evening the edges ... hehe - they just wont fit :(

PSS
I already took the plastic cover hehe. I received my RMA'd monitor and all four are working well now.

[samhaine]

Thanks for your imput!

I am hoping I wont have the same display issues as you do, I have not got the mount in yet so I don’t know for sure; however, I sit about 2.5 feet back from where the monitor will be sitting and the top of 1 screen is below my eye level standing on its factory base. These are wide screen 22” so the physical height on each screen is a little over 2” less than on my standard 19” LCD; which is why I went with the vertical mount as opposed to the horizontal I think looking side to side on these would be more stressful then glancing up and down, but we will see. If it doesn’t work ill bite the bullet and get the horizontal mount.


In regards to autohotkey, I may end up going that rout, but I don’t know yet. I am sure any of the new dual core systems loaded with a pair of Nvida cards and 2+ gigs of ram, could dual boot WOW without much trouble, (is this correct?) but I am still a little concerned about the potential “3rd party program issue” it was my understanding from reading their TOS that their problem with third party programs primarily extended to software capable of taking information from the game in order to determine the action that character takes I.E. automated game play, but it also says that blizzard can ban you for any reason they want, so I’m a little uneasy about doing it if it can be avoided.

All of that said It looks like if I want to use x-keys ill still need to either shell out a few hundred bucks for a keyboard multiplexor or use something like synergy or multibox. Is there any cheap hardware solution to sharing one PS/2 keybaord with 2 computers? It seems a bit excessive to have to buy a multiplexor for 4 boxes when I only need it to run 2.

Thanks again for the help. :D

[Xzin]

Is there any cheap hardware solution to sharing one PS/2 keybaord with 2 computers? It seems a bit excessive to have to buy a multiplexor for 4 boxes when I only need it to run 2.

2 Wireless keyboards. Check my FAQ

[samhaine]

Is there any cheap hardware solution to sharing one PS/2 keybaord with 2 computers? It seems a bit excessive to have to buy a multiplexor for 4 boxes when I only need it to run 2.

2 Wireless keyboards. Check my FAQ

I have read all your FAQ's they are excellent thank you very much for taking the time to write them up! I should have been more specific with my question. I do plan on using the RF KB/Mouse method, but I am also interested in getting an X-keys pro to share between the two boxes as well.

thanks

[Xzin]

No way to do that without hardware multicasting and PS/2 X-keys. I know of no other hardware multicasters other than vetras. Believe me, I have looked.

You MIGHT be able to rig one up with a custom made X-Keys matrix board and some kind of custom circuitry..... or use a software broadcaster - Multibox for example.

Or bite the bullet and buy the $200 Vetra.