Single computer 5-boxing specs?

[xRelentedx]

Was wondering how well my computer could handle a 5-man boxing team.

Its an Alienware Aurora ALX,

Specs:

-Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7 975 Extreme (3.6GHz, 8MB Cache)
-9GB Triple Channel 1333Mhz DDR3
-Dual 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 240 - SLI® Enabled
-1.2TB RAID 0 (2x 640GB SATA-II, 7,200 RPM, 16MB Cache HDDs)

Pretty good internet connection.. Gets a better speedtest.net score compared to all my other friends.

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In Addition:

Would a 22-inch be big enough for my screen + 4 alts? Or should I pick up a small extra monitor for alt screens?

[confusedtx5]

should be fine.
I was 5 boxing on a 3.2GHz quad core (Q6600) and 4GB of ram.
screens are a personal thing, but really having your main on its own screen is alot easier, and having the alts so you can read something without having to hotswap to it is also a bonus

[xRelentedx]

Yeah I hope so. I just gotta cut back on a few things to pay for 5 memberships + 4 BCs and WotLKs

[Fizzler]

the 975 is pretty overkill paired next to the GTS-240 it is a diamond in a donkeys ass. What I mean to say is you went overkill on the CPU but skimped on the video card.

I am not a fan of Alienware it is a fine computer and all and will easily 5 box but you are paying for the label.

If it was me I would scale down the CPU and put a little more into the video card maybe get an SSD.

If your heart is set on this box than yes it will do what you want.

[Ualaa]

I'd probably go with an i7 920 for the processor.
You can overclock that a fair bit, with a half decent cpu cooler.
And 5-boxed, wow won't push the processor, even without any overclocking.

A GTX 275 or 285, depending on what you want to spend.
Would be much better then a GTS 240.
And if you upgrade the video, but downgrade the processor, you'll either have cash in hand or another upgrade.

I'll second the SSD recommendation.
Something with decent read speed, purely for the wow folder.
32gb is plenty of space.

If you build the system yourself, you'll likely save $500 over having Alienware build it.
You can buy the parts from Newegg.
There are online tutorials on how to assemble things.
Or find a friend who will help you, you supply the beer and pizza.

[Naysayer]

You know what I'd do if I were you?





I'd start 5 trial accounts so that I could test it out myself and get the answer to the question that I wouldn't have wasted time posting.

[Coltimar]

I 10 boxed on less of a system than that.

[zenga]

You know what I'd do if I were you?





I'd start 5 trial accounts so that I could test it out myself and get the answer to the question that I wouldn't have wasted time posting.
While that should give an idea if it's possible or not, my experience is that Av's, northrend/lich king content and dalaran to a certain extend gives a way better idea if it's possible or not. Hard to emulate that with trial accounts imo.

[merujo]

You know what I'd do if I were you?





I'd start 5 trial accounts so that I could test it out myself and get the answer to the question that I wouldn't have wasted time posting.

Someone is angry :(

[Venidor215]

I was 6 boxing eq 1 and now started 5 box wow on a core i7 965 extreme 3.2 ghz (not overclocked)
memory : 12 go ram 1333mhz triple channel - graphic : asus gtx 285 top 1go
for disk speed i took 2 raptors 300 go 10000rpm and put them in striping.
screen is a full hd samsung 40' tv and case is silverstone raven for silence.

I have yet to see any lag, i think it could easily run a few more sessions.

[Khemikal]

One wide screen will be able to handle 5 WoWs (tiles the 4 alts down one side). The problem as mentioned is that they will be small and really hard to read. A multi-monitor setup really does shine with multi-boxing.

And as mentioned, downgrade to the 920 and get a better video card. A single 275 or better (5850 or better on the ATI side) will beat those 240s in SLI. The 240GTS is a 9600GSO on a smaller process so it uses less power. There are other options for video cards, but I was staying with the newest generation of cards for both vendors.

[Zappy]

I agree that ditching the 240s for a GTX 275 or 285 would be better for 5 box. Keep in mind that WOW does not support SLI and you'll actually lose performance by having it enabled.

[VonHenry]

@All - Not sure where this got off track, but I'm pretty sure the OP isn't asking if he SHOULD get said configuration, but that he already HAS it.

So far a straight answer is best summarized this way:
1 - Your configuration will crush 5-boxing.
However,
2 - Keep in mind that WOW does not support SLI and you'll actually lose performance by having it enabled.

[xRelentedx]

Thanks for all the help.

[Auqiel]

While that should give an idea if it's possible or not, my experience is that Av's, northrend/lich king content and dalaran to a certain extend gives a way better idea if it's possible or not. Hard to emulate that with trial accounts imo.

I heartily agree with Zenga. I occasionally have problems that are environmental (i.e. where I am in the game). And funnily enough, I have the same problems five-boxing on a laptop with a dreadful GPU as with my reasonably high-end desktop. First, if all your five characters are in Dalaran, then 4Gb of memory is an absolute minimum. Second, AV is (for reasons I admit I don't understand) prone to lagginess occasionally when boxing. The best advice I can give you there is to leave the BG and let others take your place so that you're not hampering fellow players. It doesn't happen massively often (about one time in thirty, for me), so there's no harm in being altruistic.

Finally, graphics. Yeah, invest in a good couple of cards if you want to box with all the settings at full with all chars. But, seriously, why would you? I set everything down to minimum and just deal with it. The joy of boxing far outweighs the dubious pleasure of seeing something a distance away!

[thedreameater]

Was wondering how well my computer could handle a 5-man boxing team.

Its an Alienware Aurora ALX,

Specs:

-Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7 975 Extreme (3.6GHz, 8MB Cache)
-9GB Triple Channel 1333Mhz DDR3
-Dual 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 240 - SLI® Enabled
-1.2TB RAID 0 (2x 640GB SATA-II, 7,200 RPM, 16MB Cache HDDs)

Pretty good internet connection.. Gets a better speedtest.net score compared to all my other friends.

------

In Addition:

Would a 22-inch be big enough for my screen + 4 alts? Or should I pick up a small extra monitor for alt screens?


I have two screens but only ever use one - with ISBoxer. It is my computer - not nearly as pimp as yours - but there is far better performance with one vs. two monitors.

[KAC]

While that should give an idea if it's possible or not, my experience is that Av's, northrend/lich king content and dalaran to a certain extend gives a way better idea if it's possible or not. Hard to emulate that with trial accounts imo.

you dont need an alienware computer to run wows and you dont even need dedicated graqphics card. You are talking about running 5 instances on one monitor and unless you can read seriously small print and dont mind squinting then it might be playable. My suggestion is to get at least 2 monitors and preferably 3. I use 2 24" monitors and run 4 instances on one machine and my one main on the other. when you use keyclone to divide up the screen into 2 or more instances on the same screen it scales the resolution down to nothing so you dont need a dedicated graphics card on that machine. I use a micro atx board with onboard ati3200 graphics and it runs all four wows fine. the main thing you want is ram. I use 8gigs and a quad core in that machine and it will load dalaran up on all four wows at exactly the same time. wow has graphics that are so outdated almost any pos computer can run it at lower resolutions. as far as running 5 on that machine it will do it with no problem but you better get at least a 40 inch screen tv to use as a monitor if you want to enjoy iy at all.

[BobGnarly]

Someone is angry :(

No, he's just naysayer. :)

It's plenty of a machine for almost anything except Dalaran. Dalaran is the Crysis of WoW, NO machine runs good there heh.

[tist006]

I run a 3.0 dual, 4gb and haven't had any problems or hiccups running 3 accounts at once. Ran through ogrimmar, was fine too.