5 in 1 - How to improve frame rates

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Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 GHz Processor (1333MHz FSB) (6MB Cache)[/font]

For the same amount of money, I'd rather have a Q9300 2.5GHz CPU. You're running multiple CPU-intensive games, and having more cores is definitely better than higher clock rate. My E6600 at 3.4GHz is still slightly slower than my stock-clocked 2.4GHz Q6600 in the same machine for 4-5 instances of WoW. If a strict budget is involved, you could save $60 and I'd bet a Q6600 at 2.4GHz would be at least comparable (and probably better) to an E8500 for running 5 instances of WoW. There wasn't an architectural change in the E6600 to E8500 aside from +2MB cache, so if a 3.4GHz E6600 is slower than a 2.4GHz Q6600 for 5x WoW, it's safe to bet that a E8500 at 3.16GHz will also be slower than a 2.4GHz Q6600 for 5x WoW.

All 4 cores will be used in 4-5x WoW, so get the Q9300 for the same price as an E8500.

Also, for the sub-$200 price point, you can't beat an ATI HD4850.. and this is coming from a life-long nVidia fan. I built a new box for a friend last weekend using an HD4850, and I was more impressed than the last 9600GT and 8800GT boxes I've built. (None of which use Vista 32. If you're going into Vista, don't limit your memory to 4GB from the start. Go with Vista 64 or stick with XP-32.)

Edit:
Based on current benchmarks, reviews, and experience, here's what I would buy for myself as a new minimum-spec/lowest-price machine for 5-boxing:
Intel Q9300 ~$210
Asus P5Q-E mobo ~$160
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS DDR2 800 memory ~$85
MSI 9600GT videocard ~$135 (but I'd seriously consider Asus HD4850 videocard ~$195, given that it's faster than a 8800GTX, which is faster than a 9600GT.)
Seagate Barracuda 250GB 16MB hard drive ~$55
Corsair (SeaSonic) 550W power supply ~$100
Vista 64 Home Prem. ~$110 (I've got enough machines with XP, and the Vista machines I've built have been smooth for the most part.)
Samsung CD/DVD Burner w/Lightscribe ~$30

That's about $885 pre-shipping.. and you could cut costs by re-using a hard drive, CD/DVD drive, case, keyboard, mouse, display. I'd stick with the new power supply - they do wear out over time, and SeaSonic makes some of the best.

Case/Keyboard/Mouse/Display is personal taste.. and varies by how much cash you want to spend.

[Gurblash]

Video is a Geforce 8400< with 128MB dedicated graphic memory.

That is your bottleneck and FPS problem. You only have 128mb of ram which is not nearly enough. I run an 8600M GT 256mb in my laptop and it runs aces.

[Talos]

seeing this is a laptop your talking about im more concerned about the videocard...

there is enough ram and good CPU, so there is no bottleneck there... but the video, is it integrated/shared videoram ? or a seperate card ?
and if so what brand and how much meg of Ram

Video is a Geforce 8400< with 128MB dedicated graphic memory.

That is your bottleneck and FPS problem. You only have 128mb of ram which is not nearly enough. I run an 8600M GT 256mb in my laptop and it runs aces.

Aye as gurblash mentioned... your video is a On-Board geforce 8400 with 128mb dedicated memory (and probable also 128mb shared memory, which CUTS into your Ram)
google on your laptop spec, some newer laptops have the option of upgrading the video card.
if not... sell it and try again, or be contempt with the current fps

[r0guenj]

i run 5 accounts on my dell xps m1710 without any issue (4gb ram, sometimes i run the proc overclocked to 3.0ghz from 2.16 stock, and 512mb video card).

main window is 1600x1200 (sometimes a little smaller)
4 windows on 800x600 with all settings turned down.

all using a single install directory.

[wowphreak]

If yeh end up buying a new box with vista get the 64bit version with about 8 gigs of ram.


What I would do in yer place is get a copy of XP. The laptop probaly said it was "vista ready" its not :P

[Ozbert]

The GeForce 8400m GT really isn't a very powerful graphics solution.

A common alternative option in Dell laptops is the 8600m GT which is a bit better, certainly enough to run a single client at max detail at 1440x900 at 40fps.