5-box rig help (updated 20 Mar 08)?

[Krugontor]

Hey guys, I'm new to the dual-boxing community and my current computer is in no shape to dual-box, much less 5-box. I need help in refining the hardware (and alternatives) and peripherals required to get this thing running. Ideally, I want one monitor with my main, and the second with the 4 clones.

the edit: removed my current hardware, removed old proposed rig and compiled the following rig: (Full List Newegg Wishlist) - [link] - Total Cost: $1591.89

I posted previously all the components and links but they exploded into an html mess, so they were removed. The link above is a public wishlist with all the proposed components, feel free to suggest other alternatives.

[Gallo]

Your hardware selection looks good to me. With 4gb RAM, run Vista 64 Professional (if you can get it from work). I run it, and have never had problems.

Also, I only went with a Geforce 8800GT and it works great... and was only $220. If you have the money though, go with the card you stated.

Also, if you're into that kind of thing, get a big aftermarket CPU Heatsink/Fan. The Q6600 can overclock like a mofo. Just make sure your motherboard is overclocking friendly. I have a gigabyte motherboard and OC'ed my Q6600 to 3.0ghz. Also, if you go this route or ever intend to go this route, make sure that your Q6600 has "G0 Stepping".

[Krugontor]

Would you suggest 1x 8800 GT 512Mb [link] / 1x 8800 GTS 512Mb [link] or SLI either one of these cards?

The GT is $220
The GTS is $300

[Tamu]

I am going with the GTS (G92). It comes with Crysis too! 8o
In regards to the memory, is it better to go with 4x1GB or 2x2GB? Or does it matter?

[Krugontor]

Good observation, I honestly didn't think about that.

Most likely 2x2Gb, but I'm thinking about running Vista Ultimate, so, I'll actually probably change my setup slightly and go for the ddr2 1000, (only $10 more, lol), and probably going for 2x
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) [link] ... $200 for 8Gb of RAM with Vista.

Yes, it's complete overkill, I know.

[Nitro]

Your hardware selection looks good to me. With 4gb RAM, run Vista 64 Professional (if you can get it from work). I run it, and have never had problems.

Hmm . . From what I have read when running in a 64bit environment your OS and all your Apps will have double the memory footprint. If this is true then you dont actually start to enjoy the gains of a high end 64bit OS until you exceed 6GB of system memory.

Someone feel free to correct me if im wrong but if your goin with 4GB then go WinXPPro and enjoy 3GB worth rather then a 64bit solution that will feel like 2GB in comparison using the larger footprints.

[Anozireth]

Hmm . . From what I have read when running in a 64bit environment your OS and all your Apps will have double the memory footprint. If this is true then you dont actually start to enjoy the gains of a high end 64bit OS until you exceed 6GB of system memory.

Someone feel free to correct me if im wrong but if your goin with 4GB then go WinXPPro and enjoy 3GB worth rather then a 64bit solution that will feel like 2GB in comparison using the larger footprints.

I highly doubt that it doubles your memory consumption. I'm not an expert on 64-bit programming, but I would think that the only things that must be doubled in size across the board in native 64 bit mode are memory pointers, which is typically only a small amount of a program's memory usage. Also, unless a program is compiled in 64-bit mode, the OS must simulate a 32-bit environment for it (which does have some speed overhead I think), so it would only be using the same amount of memory as on a a 32-bit system. WoW does not have a native 64 bit version available.

It is known that Windows will expand it's memory usage as more is available, but this occurs in both 32 and 64 bit modes and is because it is trying to minimize use of the swap file (by keeping more data in main memory) to increase performance.

If I'm wrong on this, I'd love to know. 8)

[Anozireth]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit

The main disadvantage of 64-bit architectures is that relative to 32-bit architectures the same data occupies more space in memory (due to swollen pointers and possibly other types and alignment padding). This increases the memory requirements of a given process and can have implications for efficient processor cache utilization. Maintaining a partial 32-bit model is one way to handle this and is in general reasonably effective.

From reading that article, it sounds like I was pretty much on the right track. A 64 bit application will take up more memory than it's 32 bit equivalent, but not double the amount in normal cases. I would be interested to find what the common percentage increase is.

[Krugontor]

The main reason I only put 4Gb of memory in the wishlist build is to stay under $1600. I have both options available, 8Gb on vista -anything-, and 4Gb on 64-bit XP Pro.