Quote Originally Posted by 'Vyndree',index.php?page=Thread&postID=128456#post 128456
Well most of the hardware boxers have been here for a WHILE -- literally before software was ever close to being confirmed "okie dokie" by the GMs.

My personal decision for hardware boxing was this:
  • Safety -- hardware multiboxing was at the time confirmed OK, but software was a "gray area" still. It's confirmed now, so it's a moot point, but it was part of my decision process so I'm keeping it in the list.
  • Resilience -- Hardware solutions will work for ANY game, as long as the hardware supports it. So since I used fairely average gcards and core2duo's, I should be able to multibox almost any game on the market and most future games for several years to come.
  • Speed and Reliability -- If one of my machines breaks down or reboots mid-fight, I can still control the other 4. Unlike software, where if your "main" machine goes down (or the only machine, in the case of single-box software solutions) your alts are sitting there unmoveable. Hardware also doesn't suffer as much from network latency or software latency -- with PS2 multiplexers, it's pretty zippy.
  • Upgrades -- If my hardware ever goes out of date, each individual machine is relatively cheap (~$500-600). Replacing one average component or machine in an outdated/broken system is cheaper than replacing a high end, state-of-the-art quad-core or its components.
  • Latency -- Even on my main PC (quad core, 4g ram) I experience "laggier" performance when I open two WoW windows. If I try to run 3-4 at the same time, I'll likely suffer from poorer frame rates, slower alt-tabbing, and overall performance. Of course, this depends on how "high end" your single-box rig is, but keep in mind better computers are often exponentially higher cost.
  • Viewing area -- If I were to use 1 PC, I'd have to split 5 WoW windows on one (or two) monitor(s). At the moment, the largest monitor we have on hand is 30" widescreen with a heavy little pricetag. I already had two 19" widescreens, and adding them all together in a 2x3 array means I have much larger viewspace. I also have room on the 6th screen for a browser window (to troll dual-boxing.com forums, of course). Adding some cheap 19" widescreens from newegg cost around $150 each, making the additional 4 monitors ~$600 ($900 if I replaced my two existing monitors). I was able to reuse my existing monitors and get a much larger viewspace than an near equivalently expensive 30".
  • Reuse for other projects -- Ever try rendering or processing something on a cluster?
Very well put, thank you.

And yes, I have done 3D movie renderings, so I can appreciate a clustered environment. Now being a software developer, I can also appreciate having multiple test platforms.