Greetings,

Here is an update on my search for data on the usage of GFX ram while multi-boxing on a single PC.
(some info was posted already but I'll do a summary for new comers).

Note : if you want to google for some info about GFX Ram, try and use the expression "videomemory" as it seems to be the techie word for it.

1. There is no utility available yet to check the usage of GFX Ram under Vista, due to the new "memory virtualization" concept introduced in Vista.
This will trick your system into believing that GFX Ram is always 100% available, no matter how many 3D apps are running.
A more detailled explanation here : http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=239156
Note : the poster called Unwinder is actually the programmer of the utility called Riva Tuner (aka RT), a popular ut. for tweaking GFX cards.
This thread comes from his own RT forum on Guru of 3D site, he reacted within 12 hours to my post, à la KeyClone here :thumbup: (still waiting for qualified answers on Tom Hardware forums).

2. Under XP, Riva Tuner can show the usage of GFX Ram.
But you need to activate the Plugin called VidMem.dll, under Hardware Monitoring -> Setup -> Plugin.
This will show both usage of the GFX Ram and how much of your system RAM is used -once the GFX Ram is maxed out-.

3. I ran Riva Tuner on my second system with a Duo Core 6850 and a Nvidia 8800GT 512 mo, with two 22" monitors at 1680 * 1050 res each.
Here's what I found.

- Main WoW client in windowed-mode, 1680 * 1050 res : approx 150mo gfx ram used.
- One alt client in windowed-mode, 830 * 525 res : approx 50mo each (I did an increment launch)
- Main Wow on screen 1 and 4 Alts on screen 2 : approx 350mo total.
Note : you can actually see the GFX Ram drop from 150mo to 50mo when you resize your main client from full screen to 1/4 of screen.

So basically, a GFX 256mo will suffer and rely on slower system Ram to compensate and reach the 350mo required.
While a GFX 512mo will be very comfortable handling those 350mo, plenty of extra gfx ram available.
Not sure what a GFX 1go -with similar GPU- would add.
TBH, I think I'll pass on the new uber 3870X2-1Go at 400euros until someone tries it for MB 8)

Hope this helps and again, this is just food for thoughts, no hard bullet-proof testing.

/salute
PS : running these tests on the Duo 6850 Win XP system with 3Go Ram reminded me how good the Quad 6600 (bios O/C to 3.0ghz) is more capable of handling 5-boxes.
The 6850 was at 95% CPU usage non-stop in front of IronForge bank and struggling.