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#1 2009-07-14 3:05 pm
- Maya
- Member
- From: Santa Clara CA 95050
- Registered: 2001-03-20
- Posts: 316
Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
Am looking for some advice on hardware for running about 5 accounts of WoW on the same computer. Anyone one got any thoughts?
"Maki, Can I do it now? Please let me shoot someone!"
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#2 2009-07-14 3:39 pm
- NightCougar_37
- For Gallia!!
- From: The back of my Twilight Drake
- Registered: 2001-07-22
- Posts: 9143
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
Everytime i've heard of folks doing more than one, they seem to run into a lot of problems. Can look into it but last person I knew who tried only 2 caused his machine to behave erratically and also overheat.
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#3 2009-07-14 3:48 pm
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
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- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 13835
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
Just buy 4 used mini-macs and run them through a KVM switch.
Problem solved. Now you only have to find the money for the minis.
I'm not dead yet.
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
"There are few things graven in stone, excepting your date of death."
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#5 2009-07-14 10:40 pm
- groid
- Some Kind of Monster
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- From: OMG I live in Chicago now!
- Registered: 2001-01-09
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Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
My thoughts are killing me.
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#6 2009-07-15 12:42 am
- Bat
- Flawless Cowboy
- Royal Wombat
- From: Björk, Björk
- Registered: 2001-05-14
- Posts: 28541
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
sturner wrote:
Just buy 4 used mini-macs and run them through a KVM switch.
Funny, this was bound for another thread (and will likely get there), but something in it seems especially apropos here. Xbit labs just did an article on "Contemporary Mainstream Graphics Cards in Popular MMORPG," and this is in the WoW section:
It is rather hard to find out the true performance of a graphics card in World of Warcraft because the network adapter can affect the frame rate greatly due to the dense population of WoW servers.
Has rather the ring of truth. I wonder if the newer, cheaper version of that gaming NIC might actually help in this case.
In any case, the KVM idea seems RIGHT OUT!! 
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw
"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."
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#7 2009-07-15 1:30 am
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
I've never run 5 accounts before, but 2 was no problem on a dual core G5.
Honestly 5 accounts will probably be fine on any fast dual core Mac, but if I had the money I would go for a quad core Mac Pro.
You can always go with a hackintosh to get Mac Pro performance for a Mac mini price.
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#8 2009-07-15 9:37 am
- dv
- Negusa Negest
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- From: Minneapolis, MN
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- Posts: 18103
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
I multibox EVE-Online; does that count? 
I've always used the lowest graphics settings, so my GPU is far from stressed. RAM hasn't been a problem. However, I definitely see hideous lag if I run more instances of EVE than I have CPU cores. (regardless of the minimum CPU requirements; when it comes to multitasking, a 3.2 GHz CPU is NOT the equivalent of 2x 1.6 GHz CPUs.)
I have a quad core. I can handle 5 clients, but 3 seems to be the sweet spot. Running Hulu or online Flash browser games reduces the number by one - Flash must be more of a CPU hog than I thought.
I can only assume WoW would have similar requirements. Figure 1 CPU, 512 MBs of RAM, and 128MBs of VRAM per account, or thereabouts.
Yay Mac Pro.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
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#9 2009-07-15 10:03 am
- sturner
- Royal High Poobah
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- From: Carrollton, TX USA
- Registered: 2000-01-31
- Posts: 13835
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
/me loves my Mac Pro.
I'm not dead yet.
There are 3 types of people, those who can count and those who can't.
"There are few things graven in stone, excepting your date of death."
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#10 2009-07-15 1:42 pm
- macnuke
- just a plano guy
- Moderator
- From: North Dallas 40
- Registered: 2004-05-16
- Posts: 7134
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
sturner wrote:
/me loves my Mac Pro.
/ditto
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#11 2009-07-16 2:38 pm
- nayrk
- User Error
- From: Outland
- Registered: 2004-05-01
- Posts: 769
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
I use a MacPro.
On each of my harddrives I install a copy of the game. As this is supposed to help with lag. (at most I run 4 accounts)
Then you just keyclone. As far as addons for wow i use Japser (I think its called)
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#12 2009-07-17 9:32 pm
- Maya
- Member
- From: Santa Clara CA 95050
- Registered: 2001-03-20
- Posts: 316
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
At the moment I can run 3 accounts fairly well on a 2008 Imac, loaded up with 4 gb of RAM, as well as a bit more hard drive space and the graphics settings turned down. I use CloneKey .4 beta and Jamba to help manage the /follow and group invite and such. 4 Mini's would not be a bad idea if they was all running Windows, but I would rather prefer to avoid Windows for this setup if possible.
"Maki, Can I do it now? Please let me shoot someone!"
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#13 2009-07-17 9:49 pm
- Maya
- Member
- From: Santa Clara CA 95050
- Registered: 2001-03-20
- Posts: 316
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
Bat, That link was a interesting read, and solidified what I was thinking of for the graphics card.
"Maki, Can I do it now? Please let me shoot someone!"
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#14 2009-07-22 3:17 am
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
Here's a thread I posted quite a while ago (before my toon's nameand sex change): http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/threa … &sid=1
it's not hard at all. Just requires more than on account. On the thread, I post my computer specs and graphic settings iirc.
Apple MacBook Pro 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2GB RAM 120GB int HD ~~SOLD~~ - Apple iPhone 3G S 16GB (white) - http://aguysfit.wordpress.com/ - Core i5 750 @ 2.66Ghz - P55 UD3L mobo - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4890 - OCZ 2x2GB DDR3 - Samsung 500GB HDD - WinXP - Completed Oct 9, 2009 - Coming: W7-64, OC'd GPU & CPU, Replacing 4890 w/ GTX 260 - Xbox Live: Comedybility
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#15 2009-07-22 3:26 am
- Bat
- Flawless Cowboy
- Royal Wombat
- From: Björk, Björk
- Registered: 2001-05-14
- Posts: 28541
Re: Anyone Multibox WoW under OS X
Maya wrote:
Bat, That link was a interesting read, and solidified what I was thinking of for the graphics card.
You're welcome. We aims to please.
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion - George Bernard Shaw
"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."
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