Hello all

[shawngell]

Well Ive been reading your forums for quite some time now, and the things you guys are doing is simply amazing. My question is is there anyone around in the Maryland area that mightbe willing to help me setup my new 5 box? I will pay for a room and supply all the food and also give you a fee for helping installation. I would really like to do this on my own but I just dont think this is feasable being im a Project Manager. So if there is anyone within range to Maryland please let me know or even a few emails might be able to help me out with setting up my 5 box. Sorry for the wall of text but I am very excited and could just use some help!

Thanks in Advance,

Shawn

[Ellay]

Most of us here are glad to help with any questions you have. It may feel like a daunting task but that's the fun of it! Once it's all complete, it's a great sense of accomplishment all on its own.

I'd say try to put it together yourself, and feel free to ask any questions you might have here

[zanthor]

Suddenly I find myself wondering if there is a place in the world for a paid multi-box consultant... Technologically speaking it can be daunting to setup, but there are plenty of people in the world who may desire to multibox and expense doesn't matter to them...

[Xzin]

Well - I normally charge $600 per hour if you are going to hire me hourly. If I work for myself, I can make more so yes, it is more than justified.

My client list includes (consists only of):
Xzin

Not willing to travel.
Already busy with other engagements.
Most of my knowledge has been put online for free.
I have never actually worked for anybody else.
I don't have any plans of actually doing so.

Hmm.... can't imagine this is going to be a well paying consulting job

But damn if I couldn't put together a KICK ASS setup for somebody who had the money to spend. But would it make sense? Probably not. I never expect to make any money with this hobby (if anything, it has cost a ton but provided enjoyment) and that is perfectly ok by me.

There may be some other cash strapped people here (Brad?) that are interested.

[shawngell]

point taken xzin

[keyclone]

here is my suggestion.
----
1. decide whether you want to use a software solution for your multiboxing (ie: keyclone/ahk). if no software, go to next post.

2. if you are going with keyclone (my bias is showing here )... try starting with just 5 characters on 3 machines, saving you a bit of money until you get the hang of it.

3. go to the local best buy and buy your machines (ask for exact specs if needed)

4. buy a netgear firewall router (if you don't already have a NAT firewall router)

5. plug your computers into the router and boot each

6. turn off windows firewall on your machines (no need while gaming behind a hardware firewall)

7. install wow on each machine and log in

8. download and activate keyclone on each machine

9. on each machine, add your wows to keyclone (ask if more needed.. should auto-add by default)

10. on keyclone, type in the ip and port (located in the keyclone title bar) of your main keyclone box and hit enter or the 'connect' button

11. you are now multi-boxing. setup your follow and assist macros as needed

if you need more, we can chat via phone. i also have friends in the washdc metro area if need be (you should be ok without it)

[Xzin]

Don't underestimate how complex these setups can be.

You need to consider hardware or software routes.
If hardware, what hardware? Combinations?
If software, what combinations? What bugs will you encounter?
Input methods?
Heat / electricity concerns.
Monitor arrangements, wiring, hard drive mirroring.
KVM, multiplexing styles.
Desk design, layout.
UI mods....

Etc etc.

It took me about 6 MONTHS to design and build everything I have now. Granted, I did it all from scratch and my setup is far above what you would simply need to 5 box. But even then, knowing that much of the work has already been done - expect it to be a bit more complex than it might seem at first glance. I HIGHLY doubt you could be completely up and running with a prefect 5 box setup in under a month. It just doesn't happen unless somebody does all of the work for you and packages it. Business opportunity? Maybe. Not one I plan on working on though.

[Xzin]

Alright - I will give you that I can get a bit obsessive about doing things right. But still.

Yes, you can get a basic setup going in a few hours provided you have the hardware handy and are willing to go software only. But you will not be able to actually DO anything. You will still have to setup macros, tweak your UI (at least some to monitor health), setup your input method(s)....

To do it the *right way* is one thing...

to do it so it works is another but I still urge you to not underestimate the time it takes to even get the basics going. It is a bit more than you might think. Can you get a working setup going in a few weeks of part time work? Sure. Will you be able to PvP with it? Probably not. Can you PvE well and grow and expand as you go? Probably but don't expect to be "slaying a lot of dragons" right away. You will be lucky if you can do more than follow and fireball. Which can get you amazingly far in a game like WoW, at least from a PvE perspective.

But software is inferior to hardware solutions (although much cheaper). Huge strides are being made though by Keyclone, VMs and other software utilities though. Eventually, you will be able to 5 box on 1 machine with no problems at full resolution. Of course you lose a LITTLE redundancy though

[Tonuss]

I'm used to being around computers and tangled wiring, but some of the hardware setups make my blood run a bit cold.

Then again I only started dabbling in multi-boxing this past week after watching the videos and browsing the forums for a while. I am three-boxing at the moment on two computers and am going to see how it goes if I box a main toon on one computer and up to 4 on a second one. Might be time for some hardware upgrades (cackles madly).

Anyway, thanks to the people who run sites like this and write software like Keyclone, because I'm not sure I'd have actually taken that first step if I had to tangle myself in a few more miles of wiring!

[shawngell]

ok well Let me show you what im working with currently, and what i am planning on getting. If the hardware you are talking about is only 500 andis better than Cyclone than by all means I would rather get that.

Current CPU Link:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1186003686058

And yes i know I could have built a better one for cheaper I just dont simply have the time.

Here is what im thinking for the 4 other pc's I believe i saw these in someone setup here on the site.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/LAN_Party_Special/

And as for my monitor setup this is what i was thinking:
http://www.cinemassivedisplays.com/Trio_Gemini_17D.php

Please let me know your thoughts but please be reminded im stuck with the first mentioned pc which runs wow at full settings at 60+ fps.

If this setup is possible then I might need to get in touch with your friends in DC.

Thanks again,

Shawn