PC and Equipment Guide for Multi-Boxing.. By Bradster

[gfunk007]

This is the Orignal Guide from Bradster sometime in 2007

After I setup everything the way I want it, i'll have tons of pictures. Mean time this is a guide in the making. I will continue to update it as much as I can.

Due to the nature of the beast I get a lot of questions on how I control so many characters at once! It’s a long answer. Xzin wrote up an extremely detailed guide on how to put something like this together and the costs. It’s a great read. http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=410 Xzin spent a lot of time with me helping me. He’s a pretty awesome dude. Most of us boxers hang out at http://www.dual-boxing.com it’s the number one resource for information about boxing. My forum name there is Bradster.


I only need 1 keyboard and mouse for PVP. My setup has a total of 3 mice and 2 keyboards.

Keyboard/mouse = Main Machine. Mouse controls only main machine. Keyboard controls all machines.

Mouse 2 Connected via wireless to 4 "Alt" machines. (For AOE targeting and mass quest accepting and such.)

Keyboard 2 and Mouse 3 is hooked up to KVM just for Individual control, such as rebooting, relog etc to "Alt" machines.


Any questions or details you may ask here or http://www.dual-boxing.com

One of the main questions that follows his guide is hardware and what to get. I've decided to share my hardware configuration. I do this to show you a known good configuration. Something you may use as a base. Took me over a month to build this. If I had someone to point the finger and say, get this, this and this I'd of been up and running in no time. There are some things listed in here you don't really need. Such as the 6th PC and the Core 2 system (my main machine). I get asked what the heck i'm running so here's everything. Anything as fast or faster then the Alt machines will be more then enough. Gaming on all the machines are smooth with no lag.

Note that my configuration is a bit custom compared to the guide, but its pretty close.

I'll break down the cost. I already had a good bit of the equipment. So it didn't cost me near as much for someone starting with nothing. Also note I’m listing retail prices. I have good business relationships that enable me to get good discounts, along with a heavy use of Ebay. Who wants to pay retail anyway?

If you want my help with setting up your own 5 boxing rig. by all means ask I will be more then happy to help. Just don't ask me for price checks. I've listed them here with links. By the time you read this the prices most likely have gone down. Google for the win

My Setup





Why I five box http://www.bradster.net/fivebox.htm





You can get a PC to run wow for about $380 with a decent video card. My four “alt” machines were $480 each. They include a gig of dual channel memory and nice video cards.

Quick links for computer parts
http://www.newegg.com
http://www.pricewatch.com
http://www.ebay.com


My four "Alt" Computers




7300 GT 256MB PCI-E


PC5300 667MHZ DDR2 MEMORY


INTEL P4 D915


160GB SATA-II 3GB/S 8MB 7200RPM HD



My main machine

$1700.

Core 2 3.0 Duo, I use this for video editing, this is my everyday main machine, I use this to play my "main" on wow as well. This is Black case PC that's next to my monitors.



INTEL CORE 2 DUO 3.0


3G CORSAIR DDR2 6400 XM2 EXTREM


COOLER MASTER LIQUID COOLED


ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775


Nvidia XFX PVT80GTHD4 GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI-E


Creative X-FI Xtremegamer (Best sound card i've ever had!)


Western Digital 500GB SATA II 7200RPM


KINGWIN ABT-600MA1S 600W Power Supply


ZALMAN Z-MACHINE GT1000-B Black Aluminum ATX





Monitors
Two 22" Viewsonic Wide screens. Was free, gift from my dad, he's the man.
http://www.newegg.com


Four Viewsonic 17" $150 each.
http://www.newegg.com


Mounter Mounts used Ergotron double monitor DS100
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=424121&Redir=1&description=Ergotro n-DS100%20Dual-Monitor%20Desk%20Stand,%20Vertical%20-%20Black-Monitor%20&%20Projector%20Accessories
$250 for each mount. That's over $500 + shipping. Prime example here, Ebay for both $40. Third one was a gift from dad, again he is the man.



Misc
Have this 6th crap machine running Linux that I use for looking up quests, watch stocks etc. I gave my wife my old 3.2G HT PC I build when I got my new machine. I didnt need much to look up quests and make a file server. I dont know how she used this thing every day

HP crap machine, retail value for the thing in its day I guess $800
This is hooked up to my other 22", for looking up quests, watching TV and other stuff while playing.


Here's the Keyboard I use for my Alt Machines hooked in to KVM2. The keys light up, It's normally pretty dark as I work 2nd shift and play when I get home.

Creative Fatal1tyKeyboard
http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=493&subcategory=495&product=1 5332


On the main machine I got this mouse Logitech mx1000 laser cordless mouse
If your looking for a good mouse that lasts days of heavy playing without charging, with a good feel.
This is your best bet.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-MX1000-Laser-Cordless-Mouse/dp/B0002UM0JW



Control

Mice Logitech cordless (RF) x 4 (for Alt machines) $25 each.
This allows me click on a vendor and repair, or select AOE target areas such as with Rain of fire.
http://www.newegg.com

[gfunk007]

Vetra Keyboard Multicaster this allows me to take the output of a single machine and send it to multiple computers.
$339.00
http://www.vetra.com




2 KVM switches (Explained later).
http://www.vetra.com
KVM ONE: 2 Port PS/2 - Very fast switching $150 (PVP a must have) Most KVMs have a 3-5 secound delay, in PVP that's way to long. The Vectra 2 port has up to a one secound delay.


KVM TWO: Startech - SV431USB 4 port USB. $80
http://www.newegg.com


Xkeys Pro $150
http://www.xkeys.com
This is hooked in to the Multiplexer as well to cast my commands to all the machines. With the use of just one keyboard I was running out of space fast for making bindings and macros. I wanted to be able to access things quickly without having to Press SHIFT CONTROL ALT T. It started to get that bad. I ran out of room and started using three multipliers.

With Xkeys you can program a single key to do what ever you want. So rather then holding down all those keys I can just press a single one on the Xkeys Pro and have it do the same thing


Y-Mouse $80
With the Y-Mouse this allows me to control all of characters at once including the main machine with a single keyboard. Without Y-mouse I would need 2 keyboards, one for my main and another to control all the alts.
http://www.piengineering.com/



Wire Layout (This could save you hours!)






Still working on the mock ups. More to be posted later.

PS/2 Mock up.

XKEYS PRO
|
KEYBOARD
|
| |-----[Y Mouse]------[PC A]
| | Port B |
|-----[KVM 1] |-- To Mutiplexer Port 1
Port A –[PC A] |
----------------------------------------|
|
|
|
| <- Input
Muti-Plexer
Output
1 2 3 4 5
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |-----Port 8 (Unused)
| | | | | | |-----Port 7 (Unused)
| | | | | |----To PC A
| | | | |----To PC E
| | | |----To PC D
| | |----To PC C
| |-----To PC B
|---To Y Mouse




KVM ONE - Port A takes my keyboard and links it to PC 1. This allows me to chat with other players with out all the PCS sending a message to a single person. Any time I need to reply to a tell I must hit a switch. When I hit the switch I loose control of all my other characters, that’s why if you’ve sent me a message in game I’m long to respond, that’s if I even reply. That's right everytime I send a tell or message I have hit a switch to turn off the other 4 computers from getting the signal.

Port B Connects to a Y-Mouse which then goes to the Multiplexer and then back to PC1.


KVM 2 Startech - SV431USB 4 port USB mock up.

Muti-Plexer
Output
1 2 3 4 5
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |-----Port 8 (Unused)
| | | | | | |-----Port 7 (Unused)
| | | | | |----To PC A KVM2 USB (For Separate Keyboard/mouse control)
| | | | |----To PC E <---------------------> Port D – KVM2
| | | |----To PC D <-----------------------> Port C – KVM2
| | |----To PC C <-------------------------> Port B – KVM2
| |-----To PC B <--------------------------> Port A – KVM2
|--->To Y Mouse



Do you have other options besides running 5 computers?
Well, yes. Software is a bit of a risk. The way the TOS is worded and the official statements released by Blizzard, any thing used with WOW that is software related is not allowed (so I think). I hope in the near future they evaluate some of these software packages and clear them as ok. As of right now no bans have been made for using boxing software.

There are great programs out there. The top dog being Keyclone. This program is specifically designed for Multiboxing. Pretty simple to setup. I’ve not used it but I’ve talked to the guy a good bit, and seen his customer’s responses. If you’re going to go software this would most likely be your best option.


I wanted a set and forget setup. Didn’t want to take any risks because of the amount of accounts I have. I went all hardware.



Interface Add-ons
None needed!

Here's my PVE UI. I remove some things from my UI in my videos so you can understand what's going on.




GL............. :thumbsup:

[Noxxy]

Thankyou Gfunk!

I have been looking everywhere for the mock up of the wiring diagram just for reference - even tried creating an account on Bradsters site but never got a reply.

Thanks once again - printing it off as I type

[Bradster]

Sorry about that guys,

I haven't played wow in a good year and donated the forums to guild in another game, they pretty much have control over it as I have no use for it. I'll want to make a few configuration changes, if I do anything interesting I'll be sure to post an update here rather then another location.

Thanks
-Bradster

[zero186]

i just started dual boxing but i am not a hardcore dualboxer just 2 acounts (mainly for the new bonuses from wow) and i am using two computers but its such a pain to have to use both 2 keyboards and two mice and b,c of that i am losing alot of time in casting and just speed of everything over all so i thought of a hardware solution. any way to take what you did for two i already have the computers and everything just need the connection hardware

[eagleeyee]

i just started dual boxing but i am not a hardcore dualboxer just 2 acounts (mainly for the new bonuses from wow) and i am using two computers but its such a pain to have to use both 2 keyboards and two mice and b,c of that i am losing alot of time in casting and just speed of everything over all so i thought of a hardware solution. any way to take what you did for two i already have the computers and everything just need the connection hardware

http://www.iogear.com/solutions/kvm/

Check out IOGear I just saw a 2port kvm ps2 or usb for $25 assuming you have the extra monitor for the 2nd computer. Also try and read Xyzin post about the whole thing. Nice setup by gfunk though.

[Osiris]

If people want to connect computers for cheap, you can buy a wireless keyboard, then call the manufacturer and order more "receivers."

I wanted to five-box, so I bought two wireless keyboards (in case I break one) and then ordered 4 more receivers (so I have six in case I step on one or the dog eats one). I think the extra receivers were $10 each. The customer service rep sounded surprised when I asked for four, lol. The keyboard I bought came with a wireless mouse.

I connected 2 computers, and 3 laptops. So I have individual keyboards for the 3 laptops. I had the laptops for work, so that's why it became the cheapest option for me.

The one thing I haven't figured out is leaderless swapping. Basically I play on the main, if they die, I move my hand to a different part of the keyboard ("I","J","K","L") for movement on the 2nd toon and switch to a dedicated mouse. If that guy dies, I try to keep targeting on the same guy, and if that doesn't work I start single bloxing on the three laptops...usually at that point our imminent doom is approaching anyway in Arena or BGs.

I am thinking of buying one more computer so I can try the 5 in 1 box, and for potential 10 boxing.

But I thought I'd post since it is a cheap option, I would think especially for two boxers or three who have the computers and just want to link them.

[DaBreed]

Hello there i love the orignal post i was wondering is Vetra the only KVM company who makes that type of multicasting kvm switch. They are abit pricey and was hoping for a cheaper route but without buting mulitple recievers like the other nice gentilemen.

[Fursphere]

Ya, Vetra is the only affordable one.

If you think $400 is expensive, other companies sell them for MUCH more (and they are harder to find).

[DaBreed]

Wow that sucks i have one of the switch between the two computer but would have loved to find an affordable one that can send signals too both computers at the same time. Ohh well guess i will either have to save or not multibox lol