question for you guys/gals using one computer

[slongz]

I have been using 5 computers to 5 box
Fixing to get back into muti boxing what specs do yall recommend for a 1 box setup to play 5 toons on wow,evo etc
Without lagging in major towns.
Thanks

[Ualaa]

I'm playing on an i7 920, at stock speed.
Have 12GB of DDR3, 1600mhz.
A GTX275 1MB video card.
And a Patriot 64GB SSD (180mb/sec).

Dynamically, my main uses medium settings mostly.
Shadows and Weather disabled, View distance maxed.

My slaves use minimal everything, except medium view distance.

Nothing is overclocked, and the game is playable everywhere.
Stormwind is smooth with 80 players around the AH on a weekend afternoon.
As are all battlegrounds.
Mass PvP kind of pushes the system a little.

You could get a much better system, for comparable price.
Mine is more than a few years old now.

The i7 2500k or i7 2600k processor.
Some ram.
A decent SSD drive for the gaming folder.
A video card, that was new within the last 2 years.
Should play the game quite smoothly anywhere, as a 5-boxer.

[coglistings]

I have five boxed on just about all of the i7 series processors with 12 GB of ram and found them all to be acceptable. On the previous quad core processors, all of them had issues doing 5 clients in major cities and other issues when nearing at lvl content areas.

as you have seen if you have been forum trolling, you should also be considering a newer i5 processor. They are at the same or near same price point as an older generation i7 depending on what deals you can find intown / online. I think there are a couple of 5 boxers using the i5 overclocked setup and they are happy with their performance / sability, though people usually don't report when their system goes south, overclocked or not, so take it with a grain of salt.

I think that you will be happy with the reduced heat and power usage that your current setup to the new setup though.

Gl on your purchase

[Kekkerer]

i7 920
12 gigs of ram
gtx 285

1 wow on ultra
4 wows on medium view distance + projected textures and everything else on low.

[mikekim]

i7 980x running at 4.5GHz (w/c)
24GB ram
GTX 580 (w/c)
OCZ Isis 160GB

All 5 running @ 1920x1200 on ultra settings (low shadows) main at 60fps, slaves capped at 30

[MiRai]

I have been using 5 computers to 5 box
Fixing to get back into muti boxing what specs do yall recommend for a 1 box setup to play 5 toons on wow,evo etc
Without lagging in major towns.
Thanks


i7 980x running at 4.5GHz (w/c)
24GB ram
GTX 580 (w/c)
OCZ Isis 160GB

All 5 running @ 1920x1200 on ultra settings (low shadows) main at 60fps, slaves capped at 30
You recommend a $1000 water cooled CPU to accomplish what the OP is asking?

[Bollwerk]

My setup, just for reference:

i5-2500K (overclocked to 4.3GHz on air)
8GB RAM
MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard (one button overclock)
eVGA Nvidia GTX 570
64GB Crucial C300 SSD for WoW only
120GB OCZ Vertex 2 for OS
30" LCD

I use ISboxer with all 5 windows at 2560x1600. Settings for main are "Good" and all other slaves are "low" but with "good" draw distance. I could probably make the settings higher, but I hate changing when I go into big BGs. Most of the time I get 60FPS on main, 30FPS on slaves. Exceptions are Stormwind when crowded (drops a tad) and 40 man BGs (drops to around 15 on all)

[mikekim]

You recommend a $1000 water cooled CPU to accomplish what the OP is asking?

No, I was doing what other people have also done. posted their systems for reference. so the op can get a feel for what can be achieved with various levels of processor, ram and ssd combinations

[slongz]

thanks for the replys i am going to use a few of the specs some of you have mentioned one thing i need to know.
Back before when i was playing if i ever played more then 1 per pc it was told to have muti wow folders
The solid state drives seem to be alot smaller and the wow itself is close to 30 gigs now do yall still use 5-10 wow folders or have you switched to runing all from the same folder?

and looks like everyone but a few are using the i7 I am thinking of using the i7 2600
but a few have the i5.
Now adays what is better? and what motherboard would you recommend now adays to pair it with.
I Am not worried about spending a few more bucks to build a newer system to last a year or so.

[MiRai]

thanks for the replys i am going to use a few of the specs some of you have mentioned one thing i need to know.
Back before when i was playing if i ever played more then 1 per pc it was told to have muti wow folders
The solid state drives seem to be alot smaller and the wow itself is close to 30 gigs now do yall still use 5-10 wow folders or have you switched to runing all from the same folder?
Your choice of multiboxing software is dependant on how many WoW folders you'll need. If you plan on using anything current
like ISBoxer or HotKeyNet you won't have to worry about symlinking or having multiple folders. I would also recommend at
least a 64GB SSD for WoW since some folks who had smaller drives had problems with large patches and their drives
running out of space during the actual process of patching.


and looks like everyone but a few are using the i7 I am thinking of using the i7 2600
but a few have the i5.
Now adays what is better? and what motherboard would you recommend now adays to pair it with.
I Am not worried about spending a few more bucks to build a newer system to last a year or so.
There are 1366 i7's and 1156 i7's and i5's, all of which are the older generation. The new i7/i5 line up runs off of the 1155
chipset [AKA P67 or soon to be Z68.] I chose the i7 2600K myself because I like the hyper-threading for other applications
that I use. However, its little brother, the i5 2500K, does not have hyper-threading. Both of those processors come in K and
non-K formats -- K meaning it has an unlocked multiplier and can be very easily overclocked (if that is your thing.) K's are
more expensive but will have a better resale value later down the road if you want or are forced to sell your machine.

[Maat]

The solid state drives seem to be alot smaller and the wow itself is close to 30 gigs now do yall still use 5-10 wow folders or have you switched to runing all from the same folder?.

Junctions (http://www.dual-boxing.com/wiki/index.php/Junction) quite easy to set up.

[Ashley]

I am still running my ancient Q6600 (stock 2.4ghz), 1gb DDR2 graphics card and 6gb RAM...

I can do 5 boxing fine with everything on low lol...

My entire screen res is 2048x1152 btw (23" Samsung).


I'm over due an upgrade... but heres a fraps test in Shatt back in November 2010 (before Cataclysm pwned my fps)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_O7x3qxmoY&

[Durant]

I managed to 5 Box EQ2 on my build. I had no idea about the 2GB per instance until I read it here. I had almost no issues with only 9 GB of DDR3. Some Lag in highly populated zones but 90% time plain sailing.

I am considering going to a full group when I return (Left game last year but am considering returning) and I have allready upped my RAM to 12GB, considering getting a bigger case and new mobo to put a third 480 in.

__________________________________________________ _________________

Intel Core i7 965 3.20 GHz
Asus P6T6 WS Revo
12 GB DDR3
100 GB SSD
2 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480
Antec 900 Case
Antec Truepower Quattro 1000 PSU
1 x 23in, 3 x 22in Monitors
Razer Lachesis Mouse
Belkin Nostromo N52te Speedpad
Isboxer
Windows 7 (x64) – 7.5 Rating (7.5, 7.6, 7.9, 7.9, 7.9)

[Bollwerk]

The solid state drives seem to be alot smaller and the wow itself is close to 30 gigs now do yall still use 5-10 wow folders or have you switched to runing all from the same folder?
Those of us on ISboxer only have a single WoW folder. No need for more in most cases.

and looks like everyone but a few are using the i7 I am thinking of using the i7 2600
but a few have the i5.
Now adays what is better?
If all you do is game, the i7 is a waste of money (unless you have money to burn and REALLY want that extra stock 0.1GHz). So far as I've read everywhere, hyperthreading does NOT benefit gaming (no matter how many clients you run) because you're still limited to the same amount of PHYSICAL cores. Having more virtual cores only seems to help with some specific applications such as encoding.
and what motherboard would you recommend now adays to pair it with.
Personally, I LOVE my MSI P67A-GD65 with the ONE BUTTON overclock on the motherboard. I got an extra 1.0GHz on air cooling with no stability issues. Just by pressing a single button.

[Sam DeathWalker]

I have 6 computers to 31 or so box.

You are way way better to run 5 toons on 5 junk computers with 5 seperate monitors, instead of one computer.

You just need to run one keyboard / mouse to all 5 computers.

[Bollwerk]

I have 6 computers to 31 or so box.

You are way way better to run 5 toons on 5 junk computers with 5 seperate monitors, instead of one computer.

You just need to run one keyboard / mouse to all 5 computers.
Personally, I feel that if you're going to spend the money on 5 "junk" computers and monitors, why not combine that money into one powerful computer that can run 5 toons? If you already have the 5 "junk" computers and monitors, then that's fine.

Of course, part of this is a matter of personal preference and if you even have the space for 5 computers/monitors. =)

[Ualaa]

The one computer route is nice, especially if you do single player games and want top performance in those.

I don't think I have anything on my system any longer that really pushes it as much as boxing...
I'm playing Starcraft II, 5-box Warcraft, Birth of the Federation sporadically (and that runs on Win98/XP)...

[Tonuss]

You are way way better to run 5 toons on 5 junk computers with 5 seperate monitors, instead of one computer.
Now that quad/hex-core CPUs and powerful graphics cards are more affordable, I think that most people are better off with one PC capable of running five clients. A good quad/hex CPU is in the $200-350 range, a good motherboard is in the $150-250 range, and a good GPU is in the $170-300 range. You can build a pretty good five-boxing rig for $1500-2000 or possibly less if you research it carefully. You might be able to build five systems for $400, but I am not sure that they'd run WOW as well as the $2000 box.

I'm five-boxing on an AMD 1090T and a Radeon 5870 with all WOWs running off of a 750GB RAID 1 setup that is fairly old (7200RPM, probably 16MB cache), though my OS is on a 128GB Corsair SSD. I'm using 1920x1200 resolution, with the main window set to moderate/high graphics and the slaves at low. It runs smoothly, although I can't recall what performance is like in crowded cities (currently running my team through Northrend and Dalaran is empty these days).

[Selz]

I'm playing on an i7 920, at stock speed.
Have 12GB of DDR3, 1600mhz.
A GTX275 1MB video card.
And a Patriot 64GB SSD (180mb/sec).

Dynamically, my main uses medium settings mostly.
Shadows and Weather disabled, View distance maxed.

My slaves use minimal everything, except medium view distance.

Nothing is overclocked, and the game is playable everywhere.
Stormwind is smooth with 80 players around the AH on a weekend afternoon.
As are all battlegrounds.
Mass PvP kind of pushes the system a little.

You could get a much better system, for comparable price.
Mine is more than a few years old now.

The i7 2500k or i7 2600k processor.
Some ram.
A decent SSD drive for the gaming folder.
A video card, that was new within the last 2 years.
Should play the game quite smoothly anywhere, as a 5-boxer.

-------------------------------------
A GTX275 1MB video card.

ROFL :p

[slongz]

thanks all for the input i am ordering some stuff and stuck on the case.
What would you recommend for a case/fan combo i dont care about looks i just do not want it to be loud i had one years ago you couldnt hear tv lol

Whats the best cooling system /case thats super quiet?

[Apps]

I am still running my ancient Q6600 (stock 2.4ghz), 1gb DDR2 graphics card and 6gb RAM...

I can do 5 boxing fine with everything on low lol...

My entire screen res is 2048x1152 btw (23" Samsung).


I'm over due an upgrade... but heres a fraps test in Shatt back in November 2010 (before Cataclysm pwned my fps)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_O7x3qxmoY&


Reading these forums sometimes depresses me. My currently PC is an older setup too. Im glad to see someone else other than me, is using the max potential of older equipment. I thought (3) video cards was the way to go. It may still be, but for my system, it didnt give me as much as Id have liked. (4)GB DDR2 (800) RAM, on a dual core 2.4. (5) boxing just fine on low on everything, minus the main client on medium.

Been seriously considering upgrading the MoBo and RAM to an i7 and DDR3 system.

Given im playing now... Im having a hard time justifying the cost.

[Malgor]

One thing I've found that makes the one machine optimal over the five machine route (which I have done in the past) is to make sure to have two monitors. It's almost a must. My 27" Asus was only about 300 bucks on newegg and beside it I just run a 21" that is off an older Dell machine. That way you can put four toons on the smaller monitor and your main toon on your main monitor.

I also have used both Keyclone and ISBoxer from Lavishsoft.com and though it really took some getting used to how poweful ISBoxer is, now I prefer it and use it both for WOW and RIFT.

Good luck.

[MiRai]

My 27" Asus was only about 300 bucks on newegg and beside it I just run a 21" that is off an older Dell machine.
Malgor I have no idea what kind of video card you have but this is a note to everyone who uses nVidia 4xx and
5xx series video cards. Running different resolutions on different monitors will cause your GPU to never go into
idle status regardless of what you're doing. It has been a known issue and anyone can Google this for further
information.

Using 2 Monitors I Found:


1920 x 1080 + 1920 x 1080 OK! [2x Horizontal]
1920 x 1080 + 1080 x 1920 OK! [1x Horizontal // 1x Vertical]
1650 x 1050 + 1920 x 1080 NOT OK! [2x Horizontal]

[Malgor]

Malgor I have no idea what kind of video card you have but this is a note to everyone who uses nVidia 4xx and
5xx series video cards. Running different resolutions on different monitors will cause your GPU to never go into
idle status regardless of what you're doing. It has been a known issue and anyone can Google this for further
information.

Using 2 Monitors I Found:


1920 x 1080 + 1920 x 1080 OK! [2x Horizontal]
1920 x 1080 + 1080 x 1920 OK! [1x Horizontal // 1x Vertical]
1650 x 1050 + 1920 x 1080 NOT OK! [2x Horizontal]


Sorry I never made it back to this post sooner.

Fenril I'm running one at 1920 x 1080, and the highest resolution for the other is 1600 x 900. I tried making them both the same, but they seem all wonky.

I'm running a GeForce GTX 560 Ti

[Malgor]

Okay I set it up exactlly your way.

Everything works fine except the same thing... Each slot represents a toon, slot 1 being the main mage whom all the others assist.

Slot 1 - Shift-F1 - works great target is marked and focused.
Slot 2 - Shift-F2 - works great target is marked and focused.
Slot 3 - nothing happens when I select a target with main mage and hit Shift-F3. Though I can manually go to that window and click the button and it assists my main mage and marks and sets it as focus.
Slot 4 - exact same problem as Slot 3.
Slot 5 - Shift-F5 - works great target is marked and focused.

This is the same problem I was having with my other set up using my G keys. Slot 3 and Slot 4 don't assist. I know they are set up correctly as I'm using the exact same steps in each.

Is there some communication problem? I may have to ask Lax about this.

[Ashley]

Reading these forums sometimes depresses me. My currently PC is an older setup too. Im glad to see someone else other than me, is using the max potential of older equipment. I thought (3) video cards was the way to go. It may still be, but for my system, it didnt give me as much as Id have liked. (4)GB DDR2 (800) RAM, on a dual core 2.4. (5) boxing just fine on low on everything, minus the main client on medium.

Been seriously considering upgrading the MoBo and RAM to an i7 and DDR3 system.

Given im playing now... Im having a hard time justifying the cost.

I've just upgraded mine to a brand new i7 system with decent graphics, and seriously, it's so amazing.

[Apps]

I've just upgraded mine to a brand new i7 system with decent graphics, and seriously, it's so amazing.

LOL! ugh, dont tell me that LOL
Now im going to go spend money on new stuff.

I did get the MoBo upgrade, DDR3 RAM now, and i3 560 processor, and necked down to one 240GT vid card.

Can I ask, have you attempted a major city visit with more than 3 toons at the same time?

[Ashley]

LOL! ugh, dont tell me that LOL
Now im going to go spend money on new stuff.

I did get the MoBo upgrade, DDR3 RAM now, and i3 560 processor, and necked down to one 240GT vid card.

Can I ask, have you attempted a major city visit with more than 3 toons at the same time?

You mean like with 10 hunters? The frame rate dips are due to Fraps hitting the 4gb video limit.

g7t-clt6CHs

[MiRai]

You mean like with 10 hunters? The frame rate dips are due to Fraps hitting the 4gb video limit.

[ YouTube video ]

NO FRAME DIPS HERE! ^_^

zjEk-e-_zLg

I really just like giving Ashely shit about that since I made this video for him yesterday showing that I don't get
the same frame dip issue. When the big FILE CHANGE words come up on the screen is when FRAPS was
creating a new file while recording. True 10 boxers have established that a major city test is barely enough if
you're planning on doing PvP or raiding. This was a lame test as it was recorded at 3AM and the city is dead
although I am confident that this machine could handle 10 in a PvP-heavy situation.

[beeq]

My current setup for 5boxing on one computer is:

Asus P5QL Pro
Intel dual-core 3.0Ghz
2 sets of dual channel 2x1Gb kit DDR2 800MHz (4gigs together)
ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (can't really remember which one)
OCZ 2 60Gb SSD

and I can 5box easily with low settings without unnecessary addons.

also this computer can run 9 accounts with decent framerate with some lag spikes (pagefile swapping from SSD)

If you want to do it cheap and without ultra settings

[Sam DeathWalker]

Excellent video Fenril.

You have one main screen that you showed and then the alts are tiled 3X3 on the other monitor? Are the 3X3 resolutions same as the main? How fast is switching? Or in this video there is only one monitor and all the alts are in the background? What FPS in background? The follow looks very smooth though.

This is with a 3G 580 was that what you have?

We need to start posting our systems in our sigs or something ....

[MiRai]

Excellent video Fenril.

You have one main screen that you showed and then the alts are tiled 3X3 on the other monitor? Are the 3X3 resolutions same as the main? How fast is switching? Or in this video there is only one monitor and all the alts are in the background? What FPS in background? The follow looks very smooth though.

This is with a 3G 580 was that what you have?

We need to start posting our systems in our sigs or something ....
Yes, all windows were @ 1920x1080 with instant swapping. As for the rest, check the pic below. In the very
beginning of the video I had around 50FPS and it would seem that perhaps the water was causing it since
that was the only time I was really near water -- More testing needed obviously.

Screenshot was taken prior to the video test (where I sorta did a UI test as well). Main window MIGHT only
be on High settings in the screenshot I don't exactly remember. I didn't document everything since I didn't
think I would necessarily be sharing these before doing more testing. I still have some time left on the 10
day trials so I can maybe try something again in the next few days

http://www.dual-boxing.com/images/fenril/tenboxtest-full.png

[Apps]

...I would also recommend at least a 64GB SSD for WoW since some folks who had smaller drives had problems with large patches and their drives running out of space during the actual process of patching...



I read this before, and its still in my brain. I am considering this as an option also.

I still have an older model seagate 160GB HDD 7200 rpm. Is it better to have the operating system on the HDD and WoW on the SSD? or vise versa?

[MiRai]

I read this before, and its still in my brain. I am considering this as an option also.

I still have an older model seagate 160GB HDD 7200 rpm. Is it better to have the operating system on the HDD and WoW on the SSD? or vise versa?
When I picked up my SSDs I picked up 2 for this exact reason... because I wasn't sure which I would rather
have on a single drive since I do more than play WoW. I would guess that if I had to only choose one drive...
that it would be for WoW.

[Sam DeathWalker]

Ya you put wow not the operating system on the SSD.



You are using a lot of your system ram without any problems, 12G for 10 clients (let that be a notice to others that at 12G system ram you are really pushing the limit of 10 boxing). 16G minimum for acceptable10 boxing.

Otherwise looking like the 580 3G is the way to go.

[Sajuuk]

Ya you put wow not the operating system on the SSD.



You are using a lot of your system ram without any problems, 12G for 10 clients (let that be a notice to others that at 12G system ram you are really pushing the limit of 10 boxing). 16G minimum for acceptable10 boxing.

Otherwise looking like the 580 3G is the way to go.

Only if you're not cool enough to have more than one SSD.