1 computer or multiple?

i have read just about everything on dual-boxing.com about software and hardware boxing and figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. i am going to start 5boxing and am going to need to get a new computer(s) and from what i have read the only major difference between 1 and multiple computers is that with 1 computer if it crashes all your characters are left dead in the water but with multiple computers if 1 dies you can just switch to another 1 and keep on going till you can stop and fix the computer that crashed. other then that it seems like the only difference is personaly preference and money. now what i am wundering is if money and time was not an issue, what would be the better option? like what would be simpler and easier to control + more efficent in the long run. it seems like for 5boxing on 1 computer a decent setup (mouse keyboard 2x moniters, the works) would run around $2,000+, and for 5 basic computer setups would run anywhere from $5,000-$10,000+. now if money was not an issue what would you sudgest? also i have read that you can save alot by building the computers yourself but i extremely dought i could do it myself, i don't think i would even trust myself to handle that amount of stuff lol. either way i go i would more then likely have my computer guy build them for me from the ground up, or he might be able to give me a crash corse on how to build them or something. i would love to have those clear acrylic cases. so basicly i just want opinions on what corse of action i should work towards, sofware or hardware boxing. all advice helps!! Thanks! ^_^ :thumbsup:

I'm a n00b as well, and won't be able to answer any of your questions, but building a computer is not hard at all.

It's pretty much just screwing things and and knowing where to connect them :thumbup:

heh well when handeling $2,000+ worth of hardware i would like to know what i am doing before i even start to touch it. but i do have some well nerdy friends that build there own comps that could help me out, i have been looking into it and it doesn't seem too complicated. it would also be fun to learn how to put 1 together, i love taking things apart and puting them back together lol ^_^

I use 2 computers, one runs 4 the other my main. I didn't spend all that much on my slave box, it's a E8400 with 4G RAM, 32bit Vista and a 9800GT. I have zero issues with it so far (of course, I am still <70 and Outlands is a ghosttown).

Now, I am also focused on PVE. I think if you were to PVP, you would like to have the fastest response possible. That would be either 5 computers or 1 really good one. I'd rather use 1 and not deal with the power consumption and heat and extra hardware. In addition, with 1 box you have to use software KVM. With 5 boxes you can go the hardware route, which is supposedly a faster response. Again, faster rsponse is probably better for PVP.

I recently just built a new box for my slaves, only due to my main computer (which is over 3 years old) having a problem - which I later fixed, go figure. The new box is a Q6600 with 8G of RAM running Vista64. I will keep my 9800GT for now, I doubt I will need to upgrade it. The new box cost me $700 CDN (probably $600 USD) [also I have $100 in rebates that I will get someday] (CoolerMaster Case, a Gigabyte P45 MoBo, OCZ DDR2 800 RAM, Corsair 650W PS and Intel CPU). I have not overclocked it so am using the stock CPU cooling fan (for now).

I don't think you need to spend even close to $5k+ for five separate boxes. That is way overkill for WoW...it's not that resource intensive at all. I'd guess more like $300USD or less plus monitors for each box.

[ As a side note, something I learned recently is that the max RAM speed you need is the FSB speed /4 X 2 (for DDR2). So in my case, the Q6600 is 1066MHZ, which is a 266MHZ FSB, so to match the RAM speed 1:1 I only needed 533Mhz DDR2 (if you overclock, it is going to change this). I have DDR2 800 since it's cheap and readily available but won't use it to it's full potential unless I overclock my CPU (my MoBo can go faster than 1066Mhz). My point is, don't get faster RAM that is more expensive since you normally don't need it (like I almost did - it was on sale, but still slightly more $).]

So, you need to decide:

1) PVP or PVE - what is your emphasis?
2) Software or Hardware KVM

hmm verey interesting. i think in the long run i am pulling more toward pvp. and the pricing i estimated just off of what i have read on these forums, probably a little dramatic but it was a rough estimate. i need to take the time and price out roughly how much it would cost to build 4 decent pc's and a little higher quality 1 for my main. my family has 2 desktop computers and a laptop but 1 of the desktops needs about 4 gigs more memory to even download WoW and the other desktop i currently use to play wow, well, i get on a good day 25 fps. but on average around 10-20 and 5 if i am lucky in major citys. lol and the laptop is used for work stuff so i am not able to put wow on it. but anyway thankyou very much for the info, it is much apreciated ^_^

There are a few ways to set this up, and yes a lot of it comes down to preferences.
Some of the differences I think you are over looking though would be:

1 comp, 5 accounts, 1 monitor: You have one large wow, and 4 small. This makes it difficult to see and interact directly on the slave accounts, however with Keyclone and a few of the other apps out there, they have excellent PIP swapping capabilities to allow you to instantaneously bring any of the slave computers to the lead. This does how ever require a bit more hardware to run efficiently.

5 comps, 5 accounts, 5 monitors: This will be the least resource intensive set up er machine, with the network KM software out there it would act as though you have 5 monitors on one machine and can be very smooth. One thing you have to be careful with is your field of view, if you get monitors that are too big it becomes hard to notice your slave accounts quickly. Also, unlike 1 comp, you can not swap slave accounts to your central location. Many people here are running a large wide screen for the primary and smaller standard screens for the slaves to help keep them all in their field of view.

3 comps, 5 accounts, 3 monitors: This is how I run mine, more so because I am using the equipment I have. 3 wide screen 24" monitors, the two "wing" monitors are turned vertically and two accounts are split equally on them. This set up has the same fall backs as 5 comps, not being able to swap wow locations on the fly. But it also keeps your accounts close together and requires a mid range amount of hardware.

There are of course many other combination that can be done, but I believe most would fall under one of those three categories.
The other thing to consider with the "no time or budget factor" is where the actually bottle necks in computer gaming are.

CPU = This bottle neck is mostly non-existent now, most processors you can find will handle wow without an issue
Video Card = For wow, this is also not so crucial anymore, find a card sitting right at the price break, Usually around $150
Memory = It's Cheap, get what you can. If your running a 32 bit OS, 3 gig's is your limit, if your on 64, 8 gig's should be overkill
Hard Drive = This is the most over looked and currently the biggest bottle neck today. There are some great articles written here about running Symlinked and solid state drives. If you can afford them, get them.
Network = This is one a lot of people over look, and really is only relevant on multiple machines. Make sure you get a gig switch and nic's, this will make your internal network traffic much smoother and reduce the lag and headaches while passing keystrokes and mouse movements.