Pwnboxer or ISBoxer?

[lofblad]

I've been playing WoW with Pwnboxer now for a couple of years on five accounts. It's been really fun and I have a ton of alts. Now I'm thinking about trying out ISBoxer and see what that's like.

Have any of you multiboxed with both those programs and can compare what is better/different between the two? I guess there's no need shelling out some more money if they are practically equal.

[Holmeser]

I have not used Pwnboxer, but i have used ISboxer, and from what i've read of people comparing them ISboxer is miles better both with what each multiplexer can do and the support provided by the owner.

Search in the forums for Pwnboxer and ISboxer and have a look at what people are saying about the two and then make your decision

[Ualaa]

You can get a one-week free trial of IS Boxer, which will give you more of an informed decision.

Posting here, or on www.isboxer.com if you have issues, or aren't sure how to do something.
Also the IRC on the isboxer site is a prime resource.

I've not used PB so cannot personally comment on the differences.
But I can say a few of the regulars on the other site have switched to IS Boxer after trying it out.
Cannot say that I know of anyone who has done the reverse move.

Doesn't hurt to try it out, see if it works for you.
Run the wizard and away you go.

[moosejaw]

It may take a while to get a PB user base going here since the prohibition has been lifted only recently.

I will say that the years of developer experience that Lax has really shows up in IsBoxer. Bugs are fixed very fast and new features are developed at light speed.

[Emo?]

Isboxer. Trust me.

[thefunk]

One thing to check for is the possible drop in FPS in switching to ISBoxer. I used keyclone a couple years back 5 boxing on a core2duo rig with 8meg ram with little problem. This became a bigger problem when I switched to ISBoxer where I had to play around with screen resolution of each window to get 30fps just on the main (10fps on slaves). Of course a) no idea how sillynameboxer does window switching and what memory it uses b) if you have 43 cores and 5 terabites of ram, it' may not be a problem (but if you claim you actually have this, expect Sam to post saying he's got 54 cores...)

Also compare features and check videos; what can take an hour with Keyclone now takes me 30 seconds with ISBoxer. The features I love are:

a) super accurate mouse broadcasting
b) region specific mouse broadcasting (i.e. always mouse broadcast in a specific part of your screen)
c) Jamba incorporated within automatically if you have it installed
d) dual-boxing.com
e) cake
f) Driving my 2 cars at the same time. But lag's a bitch.

[Selz]

I have tried PB on a friends machine, honestly thats history.
ISboxer has so much more to it and it works flawless.
Not to mention the support, and updates if there are any issues its fixed without hours.
I am pretty sure you would be confused to start with, but when youve been using it for something
Youll never look back.

[MiRai]

I have not used Pwnboxer either... but I have seen enough of it to say it looks like it would be sort of a Keyclone+. As others
have stated, if your choices are Pwnboxer or ISBoxer... then ISBoxer is the choice.

The free trial will definitely tell you more.

[Apps]

I did my homework before I selected one.

Octopus
ISBoxer
Keyclone
PwnBoxer
HKN

After all the chips fell, what was left was a realitively easy choice amongst Keyclone and ISBoxer. Those two being the most common, widely used, supported, as far as I could tell, and only two with Keyboard, Mouse and Video control...
ISBoxer is 10 times more technical, but once learned.. is a master of its competition.

Red Flags.....
Octopus, HKN, and several others... doesnt have Video boxing capabilities.
PwnBoxer has a shady history... NONE of all the other software out there has a shady history. <-- Huge Red Flag
All software, save for 3-4 of them are free... I am firm believer in, you get what you pay for. Paid= safer bet against virus and unapproved tactics.

If youd like to do your homework.. Try this link at a Nooby start.
http://www.dual-boxing.com/wiki/index.php/Software

Back to your thread title. If given the choice of PwnBoxer and ISBoxer...


... if your choices are Pwnboxer or ISBoxer... then ISBoxer is the choice.
...

Good luck with your choice.

[Lax]

Features aside, what you'll find with Pwnboxer -- this will sound similar to someone else's comment, and I'm not trying to be mean here -- is that Tim isn't an application developer, he is an advertiser . He builds web sites and sells things. This is why he was talking about hiring someone in order to get Pwnboxer 3 done, because he "bit off more than he could chew" (his words from his forums).

What you get with ISBoxer is me. I code a lot, and I multibox, and I code for my fellow multiboxers. I've spent years developing and supporting ISBoxer and its components, and similar tools before that. I know a metric fuckton of ridiculous details about hardware, performance, and other multiboxing issues based on both personal experience, and experience helping thousands of my customers over the years.

So... do you want to pay a marketing guy in order to promote further marketing of his product(s)? Or do you want to pay a developer guy in order to promote further development of his product(s)?

[zenga]

All software, save for 3-4 of them are free... I am firm believer in, you get what you pay for. Paid= safer bet against virus and unapproved tactics

That is - no offence meant - a pretty ridiculous statement. Reality proves you wrong.

[lofblad]

Thanks for all your opinions!

I downloaded ISBoxer and got myself a 3 month sub to try it out. I have to say, I'm a little overwhelmed :P LOTS of functionality.

What is the best place to go if you need somebody to help you out with configuring ISBoxer? This forum, the ISBoxer website, the ISB chat channel?

I'm looking specifically for help with the key broadcasting feature, I can't quite get that to work to my satisfaction. Another thing is a feature that Pwnboxer has called dockable clickmapping. Any tips on how I can duplicate that functionality somehow? Also, is there a way to switch between two window layouts on the fly?

So far I'm loving the fast window switch, extremely smooth feature. I like the integrated FTL stuff too, can't wait to get that to work. Right now, I don't really know where to begin.

[Lax]

Where to begin is with the WoW Quick Start Guide (http://isboxer.com/wiki/WoW:Quick_Start_Guide).

If you want immediate help, you should come to the chat room and ask any questions you need. I'm around quite a bit, and if not, there's other ISBoxer experts that hang out in the channel (and here, and the ISBoxer forums). Otherwise, I read everything on the ISBoxer.com forums and will get back to you as soon as I can. I read this site slightly less often but you will still get helped if you ask here too ;) Whichever you like is fine,

Dockable clickmapping = Click Bars (http://isboxer.com/wiki/Click_Bar)

Switching between window layouts on the fly may not be needed, what did you want to accomplish more specifically?

[Ualaa]

The biggest thing from going Keyclone to IS Boxer for me, was the difference between Keymaps and Repeater.
I'd imagine the same thing will apply to Pwnboxer to IS Boxer, too.

Repeater is straight broadcasting.
When you push "A" on the keyboard, all the others also receive "A".
So this is like the keys which are broadcast in PB, but it is everything including the mouse.
One of the examples in my IS Boxer Guide (see signature) is separating Key and Mouse repeater into two mapped keys.

Key Maps are groups of Mapped Keys.
At a basic level, most have a hotkey to activate.
And they do something.
Most of your previous PB hotkeys, where you push "1" and it broadcasts "1", you will want to convert into Mapped Keys.
Note: The wizard generates a bunch of mapped keys for you, notably 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, -, = are all FTL DPS Keys.
Which means if you put Fire Ball on "1" on a two Mages, Frost Bolt also on "1" on a third mage, Shadowbolt on "1" on the Warlock... and press "1" from any window, without any warcraft macros they will all assist the active window and cast whatever is on "1".



You can separately toggle on/off both Keymaps and Repeater.
If both Repeater and Keymaps are on, Keymaps take precedence -- meaning if you have the key T set to send the Lifetap keybind to your Warlock windows, pressing T will do that rather than send T to all windows.

When you're entering your password, you want Keymaps Off and Repeater On.
In the game when playing, 90% of the time you want Keymaps On and Repeater Off.
When chatting with a friend or in trade, you want Keymaps Off and Repeater Off.
When playing and you want everyone to click a portal or to select talents (same class/spec) at once, have both Keymaps and Repeater on.



The IRC is a strong resource, as there are people there 24/7.
Basically enter it, ask your question -- not ask if anyone is there.
Then wait...
If there's no immediate response, don't leave the IRC, it is just a browser tab.
Check back in a while.

The IS Boxer forums are a great place for support too.
Lax checks those several times a day; anytime I have a question it is answered quickly.

If the question is more generic or game related, and less of a technical question...
These forums rock, as there are a lot of users here every day (more so on weekdays).
And players have adapted IS Boxer's tools to their game.

[CheeseCake]

I started with keyclone myself then moved over to pwnboxer, tried isboxer but at the time it seemed way to confusing for me i just didnt have a clue i was just noob at multiboxing, so i went back to the simple use of pwnboxer i found it great, did what i wanted it to just fine, it even gave me more FPS than isboxer.

Then i wanted to have wow on 2 computers and since you cant do that with pwnboxer i looked into isboxer again.
Yes it was confusing to me yet again but lax has been making some amazing updates to it that i simply dont see myself ever going back to the other two, its simply surpases them in god knows how many ways.

Plus the support you get from lax and others has just been amazing.

Keyclone is one payment
Pwnboxer yearly i believe
ISboxer every 3 months

This may seem off putting to some paying like that but what you get and the support you get will make your multiboxing experience a whole lot better.
Im still keeping an eye on what will happen with pwnboxer 3. Hopefully something really good.
Keyclone i dont even know what goes on with that or if it still gets updates.

[Duane]

I would never buy a product from a douche like the Pwnboxer guy but that's just me.

[Ualaa]

Keyclone is one payment
Pwnboxer yearly i believe
ISboxer every 3 months


KC = $19.99 = Lifetime license for a single PC, which you can transfer to another computer even; you can network multiple PC's if each has a license.

PB = $35.00 = One year of usage/updates. Tim has mentioned, until the 3.0 version comes out he is not enforcing the one year thing; so currently $35 = lifetime... but a renewal at a reduced rate (not sure what it will be) will be required once 3.0 is finished and someone's year from date of purchase has passed.

ISB = $36.00 = One year of usage/updates. Thirteen months, not twelve if you mention a referral.

[washtana]

First time posting long time reader of this site. A couple years ago I started with Keyclone and then went to pwnboxer. After a few months of pwnboxer I switched to ISboxer and I would never go back. I have several teams and currently after watching team beeq amazing videos I'm leveling 5 mages which is a blast. The repeater regions, mouse broadcasting, video feeds and the other endless options with ISboxer are worth every penny.

Also, since i'm finally posting I want to send out a special thanks to Ualaa and others for their great detail postings and guides that enable people like me to play WOW without much downtime and frustration.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Then i wanted to have wow on 2 computers and since you cant do that with pwnboxer i looked into isboxer again.
It doesn't? Hell, even the free software has that feature.

[lofblad]

Thanks again for all your helpful tips and I'll be sure to check out that chat when I get into trouble, which I surely will :)

I like switching between window layouts, because I can do the full-screen thing on the master and quickly switch to seeing all the characters when I need to transfer something or interact with something in the world on the slaves.

[Apps]

That is - no offence meant - a pretty ridiculous statement. Reality proves you wrong.

Oh, definitely no offense taken Zenga. I know that reality is a matter of personal opinion, personal experience, and perception. Totally cool.

For me, its true to date. Ive downloaded software that was free and some was virus free, some was not. Having done my homework of course, ive not had a situation where I paid for software and found viruses attached. That was the point of my own personal experiences to that comment.

[Khatovar]

And you are not likely to find software posted or referenced to on this site that contains viruses or are otherwise malicious unless someone is specifically asking if it contains viruses. And just because something is paid is no guarantee that it is legit or safe. We've seen a number of paid and totally fishy programs come up over the years, which I'm not about to go digging up, but rest assured, they're out there.

Likewise, just because something is legit doesn't mean that you can't make it do things that aren't legit. The same goes for programs that aren't commonly "safe" but can be used in a totally by the rules manner. There was a time when Innerspace was shunned by a lot of boxers, as Svper pointed out in another post. It can probably still do "no-no" stuff, just like HKN or AHK or various other things. That doesn't mean it's a safe bet or a red flag, it means you, as a user, need to be aware of the rules that you need to abide by, and if you're not sure, it's your responsibility to ask.

[venndann]

I have used PB a lot, and have now switched to ISBoxer permanently. First, it supports everything PB did, and more. I am playing Rift now, and ISBoxer is working like a dream. It was trickier to set up only because it has many more features, giving you a lot more control. The getting started guides are well-written, and helped me get up and running with ISBoxer quickly.

For the price, ISBoxer is way better value, too. I like how the developer is involved in the forums and responsive to the community.

And listen, if I can get ISBoxer working so that I'm having fun with it at my age, anyone can. What else do you need to know. :-)

[drarkan]

At your age? How old are you? lol You sound like an old guildie on a server I played on. Tommat!

[drarkan]

I would never buy a product from a douche like the Pwnboxer guy but that's just me.

Really? What was your experience with him? Or was it the software itself? Making a statement like that makes me curious as to why one would come to that conclusion.

[MiRai]

Really? What was your experience with him? Or was it the software itself? Making a statement like that makes me curious as to why one would come to that conclusion.
The author of Pwnboxer was part of these forums back in the day prior to getting himself banned. He was
banned for a reason and that ban still stands to this day. He has a bad rep with most of the old school and
veteran members here. His reputation isn't the focus of this particular thread so please do not continue this
discussion here at this time. I'm sure if you dig deep in the archives of this forum you can find interesting
things.

[drarkan]

Ok. Well in either case it would be interresting to see what features PB3 will have, as I've watched his stream before and it doesn't look too bad so far.

However I do see ISBoxer has alot of functionality, which is why I picked up a copy last night, so I'm in the process of setting it up now, I see alot of support here for help, and there seems to be someone ready to answer a question.

[Kicksome]

Everyone I know, who boxes, uses ISBoxer. I have yet to find anyone who is less than happy with their subscription or for making the switch from another product over to ISBoxer.

The guy who wrote it, Lax, is active on the forums, and on IRC. If you ever have a problem, you can go to his Company's IRC channel. His company has been around for a LONG time doing game related software, ever since EQ I think. So he's been in this for the long haul.

IMO it's the gold standard for boxing.

I am saying this for selfish reasons, because I know the more people who subscribe to ISBoxer, Promote ISBoxer, mention it in their Youtube videos etc..., the better the software will get - as we have seen over the past year or more.

[ebony]

Lax is a star i had him make a few Hotfixs for me from talking to him on IRC (even though i took a few mins to work out what was wrong) then he fixxed it i tested it and it worked great how good is that for support....

ISboxer you pay a subscription ok more money but if your dualboxing then your paying the EG: blizzard a lot more a month in subscription's and to be fair Isboxer support is faster and there probey more updates then blizzards own support. No other softeare (but one i know of) has live support so its what you pay for.

Pwnboxer in the case is Tim's really poor support on Froums that can take days or weeks and even then it probey not be hotfixed intill the next Version.

[Acidburning]

I know a metric fuckton of ridiculous details

This is why I support ISBoxer.

[drarkan]

Well it hasn't been 20 hours that I've bought it, and so far I am very impressed with ISBoxers functionality. I asked a question in the forums, I was hanging out in the ISBoxer.com chat while I tinker with the program (its how I get to know it, i take it out to dinner, ask some questions, then later if things went well we get into some action IE: Play wow) and MiRai responded to my question right there in the chat, not minutes after I posted! Thanks guys!

[lofblad]

I got ISBoxer up and running smoothly after a few mishaps and misunderstandings. It's complex and not at all intuitive or user-friendly, but man does it work well once you get it going.

It has all that Pwnboxer has and so so much more. Seems to be a lot more stable too. Tons of features. Yeah I'm gonna stick to ISBoxer for a while that's for sure.

[Littleburst]

I got ISBoxer up and running smoothly after a few mishaps and misunderstandings. It's complex and not at all intuitive or user-friendly, but man does it work well once you get it going.

It has all that Pwnboxer has and so so much more. Seems to be a lot more stable too. Tons of features. Yeah I'm gonna stick to ISBoxer for a while that's for sure.

It can definitely be a pain to get it going. Gave me atleast 2 headaches before I got it going. Being a complete noob when it comes to software stuff though. Thank god there's a channel that can help out ;)

Enjoy it, I definitely did.

[Sajuuk]

Isboxer.

I started with innerspace before isboxer came out, and I will say the level of support Lax gave me and continued to give me while I multiboxed was beyond amazing.

[Ualaa]

I started with it, after using Keyclone for about a year.

Made a bunch of modifications, without really understanding the program.
Trying to have it work, very similar to my KC set up.
But checking use FTL Modifiers, for a lot of stuff was not a good idea.
Those are supposed to be for three mapped keys only, with everything else as 'default'.

A fair bit of support from Lax.
I believe the thread was 30 odd posts of.. I have this issue and this is how my config is set up.
Lax even asked for a copy of my toolkit file.
Which took six or seven posts, because I was clueless about putting it onto pastebin.com or a similar site.

Eventually got it all working.

Asked a bunch of questions over time.
How could I do this or that.
Always fast, accurate and friendly advice on how to accomplish whatever.

Eventually wrote my IS Boxer Guide, based mostly on Lax's instruction on how I would accomplish something.
But dumbed down to a right click here, select this option, left click there kind of deal; easy to follow.

A lot of it is auto included in the wizard now.
As are requests from others, plus anything Lax likes such as Clickbars, Video Feeds, etc.

Overall, very happy with IS Boxer.

[Zub]

I haven't used Pwnboxer yet but i've used Keyclone and ISboxer and from what I read it seems PB is closer to Keyclone than ISboxer.

In any case, here's the summary I wrote about ISB and KC when i made the switch:
http://www.dual-boxing.com/showthread.php?t=31275

[drarkan]

PWNBoxer is more for someone not used to multiboxing period. Even somewhat new to the game, granted if you non't know the mechanics of a game, shouldn't multibox at all till you know it :P However, it did cover what I needed for the year or so since I started boxing. IS Boxer covers alot more, makes alot more available, I mean the selective repeater zones?!?!?!? INGENIOUS!

[lofblad]

PWNBoxer is more for someone not used to multiboxing period. Even somewhat new to the game, granted if you non't know the mechanics of a game, shouldn't multibox at all till you know it :P However, it did cover what I needed for the year or so since I started boxing. IS Boxer covers alot more, makes alot more available, I mean the selective repeater zones?!?!?!? INGENIOUS!

Yeah I'd have to agree since starting out with Pwnboxer worked out very well for me too. I knew WoW fairly well, had a couple of alts and transfered to make my first team with PB.

Now, with a better understanding of multiboxing in general, ISBoxer is the choice for me, with all the features and configurability that comes with that program.

But for a beginner, yeah, Pwnboxer is a good alternative to start out with. The user interface is easier to get started with I think, and there aren't as many options.

[ALF]

I'm boxing now for 2 years, times 4 times 5 and that I do with isboxer and it is super thank Lax! See you on IRC.


MfG ALF

[EaTCarbS]

HotKeyNet and ISboxer are both superb.

[drarkan]

Still using ISBoxer and gotta say, just got my main team to 90, and now working on my Pally DK team. Now i'm not one for PVP so i'm not going to run them till I feel comfortable, however doing bloodfurnace right now and sure a couple wipes but thats due to macro imperfection, and or gear. I setup Death Grip on a Round-Robbin, and Death and Decay on a "Next Click". Did it in seconds, and got it working with ease. Gotta say that in the Year and 7 Months I've been using ISBoxer, I continue to be impressed. I still had Pwnboxer active when I switched over, and I found that after using ISBoxer, I had come to be accustomed to the advanced features, that Pwnboxer just couldn't cut it for me. I even had the update before my account went inactive, and I think some of the changes allowed for a form of click regions similar to ISBoxer, but nowhere close to the accuracy and efficiency of the VideoFX feature with repeater passthrough.

My official Rating
Pwnboxer 3/5 Stars
Due to its ease of use for simple boxability, mouse repeater lacks in accuracy and experienced bugs in it.

ISBoxer, 5/5 Stars
Due to its advanced features, fast window switcher, video FX feature, perfect mouse repeater, ability to turn on and off mapped keys and global repeater within wow without the need to tab out (or mouse over to another monitor). And the ability to get a free trial.

Overall:
Both cost around 50$, one offers 10x the functionality. You do the math. Would you prefer a Brick Cell Phone (http://www.retrobrick.com/moto8000.html) or a smart phone with internet abilities, texting, tweeting, 3D Gaming, need I go on?

[Refugeelcci]

Nice thread, I had asked a question about PWNboxer in another but this pretty much cleared it up. I have been watching Tims Vids on youtube due to him being one of the most up to date multi-boxer vid uploader. He seems like a nice guy but something was just so off about him. Now I realize it, he isn't really nice at all. He's just a marketer!

Thanks for all the info here, this thread is golden. Would make a nice sticky for the new multi-boxers confused about which program to use. Being an experienced veteran allows you an information database years old. Being a newbie such as myself, in terms of software you really don't know which way to turn.

When you have a guy like Tim mass marketing PWNBOXER and maybe if an inferior product. For a new person, that would be the first boat they board on this journey that is multi-boxing.

I personally had no idea what so ever about any other software besides pwnboxer. Tim is everywhere that WoW is. If I hadn't done the research for myself before a purchase. I most likely would of bought pwnboxer and that would of been the end. With that being said, there are a numerous amount of individuals who won't do that homework and be sold immediately without a second thought.