New Multi-Boxing Rig

[eternaldrk]

Ok, so here goes: I'm looking to build a new rig when I get back from my deployment and a couple of months ago I ran in to a video with someone 5-boxing WoW and thought, well that looks like fun. I was still in the states at the time and managed to successfully 5-box using Keyclone on my old laptop on the hotel's free internet. So, now that I'm going to be back, hopefully, in a couple of months, I'm looking in to a new rig to support 5-boxing WoW, or another MMO, as well as running other games. So here's the breakdown.

- I'd like to do a 6 screen setup, but will settle for 3 if money/performance/practicality demand. I'd like to get some opinions from folks who have done single, 3 or 6 monitor setups. If anyone has gone from one to the other, I'd really like to hear about it and why.


- While I was originally looking to build multiple machines to support this, for the fun factor if nothing else, I'm fine with making a much better, single system. These are my goals for it:
- Be able to 5 box WoW on high settings, with little or no frame hits in Dal. Having the slaves at a lower fps is ok.
- Be able to 5 box other MMO's if and when I switch, so some future proofing here
- Play current FPS and other titles with very high settings, with future titles still running well



Now, to the hardware specifics.

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) x 2
Radeon HD 5850 x 2

ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard or
ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
VisionTek 900296 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express Killer Xeno Pro Gaming Network Card
1000W PSU - Not sure this is really necessary for this setup. newegg's wattage calculator seems to be a little high
500GB HD
24 or 32GB SSD


This just leaves case, optical drive, and the monitors and stands.

For the monitors, I haven't found many good reviews of current monitors. Also looking for a recommendation on the triple monitor stand as I've only found 1 so far and it's $300. Don't know if that is the norm here. I imagine the stand will also dictate the monitor size as well.

Given the overall cost of this setup, I would likely start out with only 1 5850 and 3 monitors, and get the next set as money allows. I was originally looking at the 5770 and 4870 as alternatives. With the 5770, I didn't like the 128-bit memory limitation which actually causes it to be a little slower than the 4870. With the 4870, it's an older card that doesn't support DX11 and uses quite a bit more power than the 5850. In the end, I may be going with a much cheaper rig if prices keep climbing like they have in the last month. I'm hoping a couple of months down the road will see prices actually fall.

So, if anyone has ideas on how to cut some costs while maintaining performance, I'm all ears.

[Shodokan]

Monitor i use is the Asus 24" HD monitor... works like a charm.

[tbone4298]

The cheapest ones I've been able to find other than DIY ones are from Tyke Supply ( http://www.tykesupply.com/Products.html ). They have an Amazon store also sometimes the prices are cheaper at one or the other.