graphics card for 5 box on 1 system

I'm planning hardware for a new system, and am thinking of the following, using Vista 64, or quite probably Windows 7 (I have Technet Plus, so will get the release serial number for Windows 7 when it RTM's).

i7 920, likely conservatively boosted to 3.2'ish, aftermarket cooling
12g of quality ram
raid 0 stripe for OS / game (4 spindles), backed up nightly ;)
symlinks between wow1 <-> wow2-5 folders for data, at the least

My undecided factor is the graphics card, I'd prefer to stick with nVidia 2xx series. Is there any benefit to running 280 vs. 285, or even 295? I don't mind paying if it's a reasonable upgrade, but given that I plan to run 4 windows on the right side using minimal graphics settings, and one main window using somewhat better graphics on the left, not sure how much horsepower would be required for 5.

Thanks for any opinions!

I'm running 5 on one box with the 280 and it's fine, i have it limited to 15fps on the backgrounders (with lowest gfx) and i am normally sitting at my 60 fps limit on the foregrounder while out in the world (with maxed gfx). I have still not been to Dalaran, but the lowest i've seen in Org when flying in over the AH on a busy day was about 30, and that didn't last for long, just the initial surge when everyone came into view.

If i had it to do over i'd probably go with the 285, since it's a slight upgrade, and leaves open the option to grab a second one later for killer 2 way sli when they start to go toward end of life.

Other specs: Q9450 on Gigabyte Maximus II mobo, 8gig ram, vista x64, acard 32gig ram ssd for wow folders, basic WD RE2 series main hard drive, no swap file.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if the other instances would even see a second card, or not. WoW in the past didn't seem to support SLI natively, and I'm too new at this to know if you could push other instances (say, 2-5) off to a second GPU.

**Disclaimer** I have a 280 OC in the mail on the way to me right now...

Currently I run 2 video cards, both with 2 DVI outs. I run 3 monitors, and typically run my main client on the center monitor, the slaves on the right monitor and I use the left for research, etc.

I've run several configs
#1: 8800gt running center and right monitor, 7600gt running the left.

The slaves seem to run fine, the main monitor is a nightmare in dalaran in that configuration

#2: 7600gt running center and left, 8800gt running the right. Much better, at least bearable in dalaran. Non issue for slaves.

#3: 8800gt running the center and left, 7600gt running the right. Pretty much the goldilocks zone. Slaves are slower than in config 2, but they really don't need to run that well. Main monitor no longer has issues during hectic fights.

My 2 cents/conclusion - I'll never run multiple monitors off of 1 card anymore.

My slave box runs 4 toons on a 23" monitor (1920X1200). It uses a 9800GT (or it might be a 8800GT, don't recall which one is in which). I have no issues in Dalaran or anywhere else. My slave toon graphics settings are set fairly low (no reason to do otherwise is there?).

Now, I don't PVP and haven't 25 manned anything, but a lot of the current setups I see posted seem way overkill for running even 5 instances of WoW. Technology has very much surpassed the requirements of a game like WoW.

Personally, I'd go for a 2 or 3 computer set up before I spent a lot of $$ on expensive components. This option is obviously better if you have older computers sitting around.

Anyway, I doubt you'll have many issues with a GTX280 =).

Understood, I'm just trying to make sure the main window can run with reasonable graphics settings. The others would be limited to 15 fps, and lowest settings; I just want whatever is the main window to look decent ;)

I've ordered the ram now, hope 12g holds me for a while. Am getting rid of my older boxes to family, and trying to only keep one "main" powered up.

Thanks for the thoughts here friends.

I'm running mine on 2 hd4850 in cross fire, which is probably cheaper than a 280. on complete resoulution of 1920 x1080.

I'm using a single ATI Radeon 4850 with dual monitor setup for it, with the slaves limited to 15 FPS and my main to 60 and I run no problems.

I do run them around Dalaran all the time, and as long as I don't mount up I'm fine, if I do mount I lose follow none stop (I also have 8 gigs of RAM, because when I had 4 it was a slide show in Dalaran)

Good to know, it sounds like even with Dalaran, folks are doing well with less than the absolute most expensive setups. I see no reason to buy too much above what I need, am hoping to buy a good single and bridge it later, as needed, per monitor.

I will of course keep the settings down /fps locked lower on the slaves than the master. Appreciate everyone's input here :thumbup:

I use a 4850 with no problems. I five box on a single 1920X1200 monitor (one big screen, 4 side screens).

Remember, Dalaran/Wintergrasp isn't a graphics problem. It's an I/O problem.