2 groups 1 pc

[overgrower]

hey i am new to eq2 but am a long time eq1 player. I have done a lot of boxing in eq1 and loved being able to do things by myself.

So i have 2 groups i have been lvling and they are getting close to 90. everyone wont have 280aa for a while but i was waning to start boxing some raids. I was wondering what raids i could 2 group at lvl 90 with my guys. they all have around 160aa right now.

 

[Kannkor]

hey i am new to eq2 but am a long time eq1 player. I have done a lot of boxing in eq1 and loved being able to do things by myself.

So i have 2 groups i have been lvling and they are getting close to 90. everyone wont have 280aa for a while but i was waning to start boxing some raids. I was wondering what raids i could 2 group at lvl 90 with my guys. they all have around 160aa right now.

Honestly, no "current" content (Skyshrine, Drunder). You may be able to do some DoV1 easy mode. Having said that, DoV1 easy mode is NOT worth your time, unless you're doing it for the "experience" of doing it. The gear is just too old. You get much better gear from heroics in skyshrine (instances or contested).

 

[pr517]

It would probably be very difficult given the few AAs and likely the lack of gear as well, but... In terms of "minimum required number of characters", you can two group the first name in HM Sullon's Spire. I haven't tried since the Dagarn change, but you could two group all of Betrayal of the Underdepths except Sevalor. You can try farming the trash in the Skyshrine raid zones for drops. Catch up by doing the heroic zones until you are geared to near raid quality from significantly easier content. Then when you are ready, give raiding a try.

 

[battleaxe]

Ignoring the group lvl/gear/aa toughts, I'm more curious how one managed to get 12 toons running on a single pc without a slideshow framerate. I dont see 12 instances of ogre being resource friendly. What kind of hardware are you running this on? I'd be tempted to run a 2nd PC for the 2nd group and use the remote uplink.. Just too fond of decent framerates.

 

[pr517]

PC is i7 2600k, 16GB, and GeForce GTX 580. Laptop is i7 2820QM, 8GB, and Dual Radeon HD 6970M. With only 8GB, the laptop struggles to get all six so I just do 7 and 5. The old zones required half of much memory and I was able to run 15 and 9 for a full x4 raid. Now if you want to run 2 groups on 1 PC, you'll just need more memory.

 

[Taubstumm]

Two groups on 1 pc boggles my mind. 12 characters on two computers impresses me. If I run a 4th toon on my new computer, it groans and overheats. I need to become more computer savvy. What do I need to be looking for in computers to handle this kind of gaming? I'm about to ramp up to 12 accounts (currently at 7 on two comps) and would prefer just to upgrade the computers I have instead of getting a 3rd tower and monitor.

 

[Kannkor]

Two groups on 1 pc boggles my mind. 12 characters on two computers impresses me. If I run a 4th toon on my new computer, it groans and overheats. I need to become more computer savvy. What do I need to be looking for in computers to handle this kind of gaming? I'm about to ramp up to 12 accounts (currently at 7 on two comps) and would prefer just to upgrade the computers I have instead of getting a 3rd tower and monitor.

Don't buy from big box stores. They put 1-2 decent items, promote them, and dump the rest of fucking garbage into them. Not sure any of them come with after market coolers (so it doesn't overheat).

Ideally, you find a local person who builds computers at a fair price. An i7 should be able to handle 6 clients fine. I can load 8 "fine" (1 per core). There are some zones that are just WAY more laggy than others (PoW) for example, so running 8 on 1 computer does slow things down a bit.

Anyways, back to the point.

You'll want an i7 proc that you can overclock (2700k or 3770k) but you NEED an aftermarket cooler. I'd recommend an asus MB with the 3770k personally, it's what I have, and you can do a small overclock (3.5ghz to 4.2ghz) with 1 click of a button. Just remember, you generally get what you pay for. If you try to get important parts for < $50, you WILL get garbage. So don't look for cheap MBs

 

[Taubstumm]

Thanks Kannkor. I feel smarter today than I did yesterday. Pushes in the right direction make a great difference.

 

[Quigly4000]

I'm looking to build a new pc as well. Here are some of the parts I'm considering. Basically willing to put anywhere between 2 and 3 grand into a computer that will tear up as many instances of EQ2 as possible (and run all the latest and greatest games as well).

Asus Maximus V formula
EVGA GTX 680 (considering the 690 cause i've never splurged so hard before and it benchmarks so amazingly well)
i7-3770k 3.5 ghz
Samsung 830 256gb SSD
Corsair vengeance 32gb (4x8gb)
Corsair hx750 750w PSU

What kind of aftermarket coolers do you guys find to work best? I'm not interested in liquid cooling.

Think I could get 2 full groups to function on this rig?

 

[Kannkor]

I'm looking to build a new pc as well. Here are some of the parts I'm considering. Basically willing to put anywhere between 2 and 3 grand into a computer that will tear up as many instances of EQ2 as possible (and run all the latest and greatest games as well).

Asus Maximus V formula
EVGA GTX 680 (considering the 690 cause i've never splurged so hard before and it benchmarks so amazingly well)
i7-3770k 3.5 ghz
Samsung 830 256gb SSD
Corsair vengeance 32gb (4x8gb)
Corsair hx750 750w PSU

What kind of aftermarket coolers do you guys find to work best? I'm not interested in liquid cooling.

Think I could get 2 full groups to function on this rig?

How many instances do you want to run? I know you said as many as possible... with the i7-3770k, you can do 8 fine. If you want to go above 8, you need to look at a six core with HT (so 12 virtual threads/cores). There isn't an ivy bridge 6 core on newegg, but the 3930k/3960k sandy bridges are there (the 60 will put a hurt on your budget though).

If you're fine with 8 or less, then the 3770k is exactly what I would buy.

For EQ2, the 680 will be fine, but if you want to go pure beast mode, get the 690

Get a good case, do not go cheap. My personal favourite, I use it exclusively.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100
Antec 1200

As for a cooler, many others can probably provide more specific information, but something like this is a good one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103176

 

[Quigly4000]

Thanks for the input.

I was considering this case. -- COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1)

I mentioned at the end of my last post that I was hoping to get 2 full groups.. but really only if it is truly playable. Can't be sacrificing a bunch of DPS from the bots just to say i can run 12 toons on one comp haha. If it can only run 8 then I have enough computing power between some old pc's (and definitely enough if my wife lets me use her laptop

The 3960k -- any idea if it runs 500 dollars better than the 3930k? Am i really losing anything forfeiting the ivy bridge technology? Seemed in my research that ivy bridge's main advantage was integrated graphics which is completely irrelevant in this build.

EDIT: Also looking at the 3930k many people are saying that it basically requires liquid cooling if you want to overlock it at all. I was trying to avoid liquid cooling since i'd read it takes a little more maintenance and upkeep than I'd probably like (cleaning out tubes and checking regularly to make sure no leaks). Maybe this isn't as big a deal as I'm imagining but it sounded annoying. The MoBo i chose supports liquid cooling so maybe i should look more into it.. i'm just intimidated by things i've never done before!

 

[Kannkor]

Thanks for the input.

I was considering this case. -- COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1)

I mentioned at the end of my last post that I was hoping to get 2 full groups.. but really only if it is truly playable. Can't be sacrificing a bunch of DPS from the bots just to say i can run 12 toons on one comp haha. If it can only run 8 then I have enough computing power between some old pc's (and definitely enough if my wife lets me use her laptop

The 3960k -- any idea if it runs 500 dollars better than the 3930k? Am i really losing anything forfeiting the ivy bridge technology? Seemed in my research that ivy bridge's main advantage was integrated graphics which is completely irrelevant in this build.

EDIT: Also looking at the 3930k many people are saying that it basically requires liquid cooling if you want to overlock it at all. I was trying to avoid liquid cooling since i'd read it takes a little more maintenance and upkeep than I'd probably like (cleaning out tubes and checking regularly to make sure no leaks). Maybe this isn't as big a deal as I'm imagining but it sounded annoying. The MoBo i chose supports liquid cooling so maybe i should look more into it.. i'm just intimidated by things i've never done before!

I've heard good things about that case, never used one personally. But doubt you'll have issues.
Well, the 3960k has a high core speed, which is important... is it $500 better? It's hard to say, higher core speed does lead to better eq2, period.

I've never done liquid cooling, so I can't really comment on it at all. I'm in the same boat as you, it's more than I really want to deal with, unfortunately.

 

[macker0407]

EDIT: Also looking at the 3930k many people are saying that it basically requires liquid cooling if you want to overlock it at all.

This is nonsense. A high end air cooler will let you get the 3930k to 4Ghz without much effort. It's only if you're aiming for 4.5Ghz+ that water starts to become a necessity.

edit: and no, the 3960X is not worth the $500 over the 3930K, at least not with EQ2.

 

[Quigly4000]

Well i ended up pulling the trigger on a build.

Cooler Master CM Storm Trooper Case
ASUS Rampage IV Formula LGA 2011
Intel i7-3930k (3.2ghz) Six-cores
Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler
GeForce GTX 690
Corsair HX850 850W PSU
Corsair Vengeance LP 4x8GB DDR3 1600
Samsung 830 Series 256GB SSD
Western Digital 500GB 7200 RPM HD
ASUS 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor

Seems with the Noctua CPU cooler i can expect to easily break 4ghz on an overclock with this CPU. The only downside to the cooler is how gigantic it is. Actually had to cancel my initial order (glad its a weekend so they hadn't shipped it out) since i realized the RAM i had was too tall to be compatible with the cooler. I was able to get RAM identical to the RAM i chose initially though just that it was "low profile."
Seems kinda silly that manufacturers put these fancy heatspreaders on their RAM and apparently they serve almost no purpose at stock speeds.

So now to wait! I'll be sure to report back when i see how well serves my purposes.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Quigly4000]

Well after toiling for a while getting the OS to install on my SSD this build is finally up and running.

This comp dominates 12 instances of eq2. Will try loading more on at some point but i'm happy for now running 12 instances smoother than i could previously run 6.

cpu easily overclocked to 4.2ghz stable under prime 95 (only ran for an hour but felt like it was enough for me!) and max temps were in the mid 60's.

 

[bob_the_builder]

How do you manage food/drink/gear and ADORNMENTS for 12 toons? I can barely handle 6...

 

[battleaxe]

food/drink/ammo => ogre craft + guild hall amenities + a couple pack ponies

note, i recommend multiple provisioners.. it just plain takes longer to make food/drink then ammo

Adornments is another issue.. but if you got a full x2 team, then it's not hard to farm gear for transmuting.

 

[Kannkor]

food/drink/ammo => ogre craft + guild hall amenities + a couple pack ponies

note, i recommend multiple provisioners.. it just plain takes longer to make food/drink then ammo

Adornments is another issue.. but if you got a full x2 team, then it's not hard to farm gear for transmuting.

The biggest thing I do that help swith adornments, is keep a TON of adornments on a toon. When you get an upgrade, adorn it and equip it right then and there. This means you never forgot to upgrade, and you stay up to date on your adornments.

I personally keep stacks of everything. For exmaple: My priests have a stack of the following:
Pot- Red
Pot- Yellow
Power - Red
Power - Yellow
Crit - Red
Crit - Yellow

In their inventory.
My adorner, has probably 200 pre-made adornments (some of everything I use).

An upgrade drops, bam, it's adorned and equipped.

 

[Kevinshp]

The biggest thing I do that help swith adornments, is keep a TON of adornments on a toon. When you get an upgrade, adorn it and equip it right then and there. This means you never forgot to upgrade, and you stay up to date on your adornments.

I personally keep stacks of everything. For exmaple: My priests have a stack of the following:
Pot- Red
Pot- Yellow
Power - Red
Power - Yellow
Crit - Red
Crit - Yellow

In their inventory.
My adorner, has probably 200 pre-made adornments (some of everything I use).

An upgrade drops, bam, it's adorned and equipped.

I do the same its the reforging that's the worse or when you give the toon a stack and forget to trade back the leftover and forget what toon you gave it to 5 days ago lol.

 

[Kevinshp]

I am currently building a new comp I have my cpu 3930k and trying to decide on graphic's card, cards?

660 sli $700
670 sli $800
or 690 solo $1000

kinda stuck in cost vs performance and what makes the most sense.

 

[Kannkor]

I am currently building a new comp I have my cpu 3930k and trying to decide on graphic's card, cards?

660 sli $700
670 sli $800
or 690 solo $1000

kinda stuck in cost vs performance and what makes the most sense.

Is this primarly for EQ2? Cause it SLI is pointless for EQ2. I run 660 ti's (1, not SLI), and the bottle neck is still the CPU, not GPU. Even with 8 sessions loaded on a 4.2ghz proc, it's still the proc that has the bottle neck. (EQ2 hardly uses the GPU).

Unless you have uses for it elsewhere, SLI isn't worth the money.

 

[Quigly4000]

Yeah for eq2 the GPU really doesn't matter much at all. If you wanna be able to tear apart new games in your other free time though I'd go with the gtx690 which iirc narrowly beats out 680's in SLI. You pay a little more but you get a superior product.. and you could SLI another gtx690 down the road for lulz. With that said.. gtx 690 or those other cards in SLI are really only necessary if you are running massive resolutions and/or several monitors. Pretty sure its absolute overkill for pretty much any game on a single monitor running in 1920x1080.

 

[Kannkor]

Yeah for eq2 the GPU really doesn't matter much at all. If you wanna be able to tear apart new games in your other free time though I'd go with the gtx690 which iirc narrowly beats out 680's in SLI. You pay a little more but you get a superior product.. and you could SLI another gtx690 down the road for lulz. With that said.. gtx 690 or those other cards in SLI are really only necessary if you are running massive resolutions and/or several monitors. Pretty sure its absolute overkill for pretty much any game on a single monitor running in 1920x1080.

Oops, apparently I was mistaken before... I run a 560 ti, not a 660.

So far, I haven't found anything my 560 even chokes on. Admittly, I don't play that many of the new big blockbusters, but diablo3 runs perfect with maxed everything.

 

[Kevinshp]

Oops, apparently I was mistaken before... I run a 560 ti, not a 660.

So far, I haven't found anything my 560 even chokes on. Admittly, I don't play that many of the new big blockbusters, but diablo3 runs perfect with maxed everything.

I run three monitors how much does that effect it? Or am I better off running two

 

[Sunomi]

Well after toiling for a while getting the OS to install on my SSD this build is finally up and running.

This comp dominates 12 instances of eq2. Will try loading more on at some point but i'm happy for now running 12 instances smoother than i could previously run 6.

cpu easily overclocked to 4.2ghz stable under prime 95 (only ran for an hour but felt like it was enough for me!) and max temps were in the mid 60's.

I know this is an older thread but I wanted to check in and see how this build was holding up now that some time has passed. Is it still solid and/or what would you have done, if anything, differently in the build?

I can easily manage 6 accounts on my current rig which is well over 3 years old but I'm considering stepping up to 12 accounts to play around with.

 

[Quigly4000]

I know this is an older thread but I wanted to check in and see how this build was holding up now that some time has passed. Is it still solid and/or what would you have done, if anything, differently in the build?

I can easily manage 6 accounts on my current rig which is well over 3 years old but I'm considering stepping up to 12 accounts to play around with.

Still running strong. I get between 15 and 30 fps depending on the zone and number of mobs i'm fighting. The overclock is important. Without being over 4ghz my fps suffer tremendously.

 

[bob_the_builder]

So thought I'd ask since were talking about 10 or so toons running on one PC ...

My scenario:
- Wife plays a Tank and can run 3/4 toons on her PC
- I play a tank and just run 1 toon on the PC
- We have a super duper laptop that easily runs 10
** (So we can run 12+ toons) - We usually have a few sitting in the RAID that we don't use but are there for loot in case.

Now my question. If she uses the MCP and connects to the laptop and so do I ... will things work between the two of us. Like if she hits the CS-JO-JI button and then I use the JOUST-IN and JOUST-OUT will the toons on the laptop listen to BOTH of us?

And is there a way that we could just split it up. Say I setup 5 toons to listen to me and 5 to listen to her (even though all 10 are running on the same machine)

Basically I want me and my wife to be able to control at any time any of the 10 toons on the laptop.

Possible?

 

[Kannkor]

So thought I'd ask since were talking about 10 or so toons running on one PC ...

My scenario:
- Wife plays a Tank and can run 3/4 toons on her PC
- I play a tank and just run 1 toon on the PC
- We have a super duper laptop that easily runs 10
** (So we can run 12+ toons) - We usually have a few sitting in the RAID that we don't use but are there for loot in case.

Now my question. If she uses the MCP and connects to the laptop and so do I ... will things work between the two of us. Like if she hits the CS-JO-JI button and then I use the JOUST-IN and JOUST-OUT will the toons on the laptop listen to BOTH of us?

And is there a way that we could just split it up. Say I setup 5 toons to listen to me and 5 to listen to her (even though all 10 are running on the same machine)

Basically I want me and my wife to be able to control at any time any of the 10 toons on the laptop.

Possible?

Sort of.. but realistically no.

Many of the commands take a 'forwho' parameter. So you could technically make 5 buttons (or make a custom button with 5 lines) that would control 5 toons. You're talking about a lot of work to split it.