Tech - New Rig - Multi-Grouping

[Stilin]

Looking at a new rig to be able to run 2 groups. I currently use a 10 year old laptop and is limited at 16gb of RAM. I can run 7 toons ok at around 600MB of memory each. When i load the 8th i cap and it gets really bad.

I've built many gaming computers but really want to keep it to something simple, small and under a grand. Is anyone using something like an Intel NUC to box 12+? (or the AMD version) I have tons of old equipment that my wife always complains about sitting around the house and would really like something small and not a noisy power sink.

 

[Monkeyman618]

Looking at a new rig to be able to run 2 groups. I currently use a 10 year old laptop and is limited at 16gb of RAM. I can run 7 toons ok at around 600MB of memory each. When i load the 8th i cap and it gets really bad.

I've built many gaming computers but really want to keep it to something simple, small and under a grand. Is anyone using something like an Intel NUC to box 12+? (or the AMD version) I have tons of old equipment that my wife always complains about sitting around the house and would really like something small and not a noisy power sink.

hp Elitedesk g1 800 TWR
is a awesome pc for that

 

[MadaSnave]

i was able to run 12+ accounts on my i4 4600k with 16 gb mem and a 1050 ti back a few years ago. with the improvements to lower resorce useage by alt accounts in mq2 you can likely get 12 accounts on almost any rig just the dedicated gpu will be costly.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/P98Bqm something like that is close to your budge and could pull it off, easily tweeked to be a little cheaper. like getting a windows key from other means and such. and has room to be upgraded later.

 

[Silverspaceman]

Those USFF prebuilts are the way to go.

HP Elitedesk 800 (or Prodesk 600) g1-g4 you can pick something up under $200 with 1 dim of RAM @ 8GB (check the bios screenshots) and grab another 8GB stick.
You can get a 6th or 7th gen i5-6x00 or 7x00 4c/4t or 4c/8t or i5-8X00 or higher end model 6c/6t or 6c/12t. the x500 & x600 models don't have hyperthreading while the x700 model does.

Lenovo and Dell both sell similar microsystems, though I don't remember those off the top of my head. There are hundreds out on eBay at any time decommissioned from office environments. 12 accounts on my HP Elitedesk g3 i5-7700t (iGPU, 4c/8t) w/ 16GB RAM works ok. It's a tiny power sipper. It sits next to my main rig as I picked up a smaller 1080P travel monitor so it's not a headless system.

 

[Phalanx]

Those USFF prebuilts are the way to go.

HP Elitedesk 800 (or Prodesk 600) g1-g4 you can pick something up under $200 with 1 dim of RAM @ 8GB (check the bios screenshots) and grab another 8GB stick.
You can get a 6th or 7th gen i5-6x00 or 7x00 4c/8t or i5-8400 or higher end model 6c/12t

Lenovo and Dell both sell similar microsystems, though I don't remember those off the top of my head. There are hundreds out on eBay at any time decommissioned from office environments. 12 accounts on my HP Elitedesk g3 i5-7700t (iGPU) w/ 16GB RAM is no problem. It's a tiny power sipper. It sits next to my main rig as I picked up a smaller 1080P travel monitor so it's not a headless system.

Just wanted to second this post. HP Elitedesk 800 with 32 gb of ram is what I used. Easily loaded 18 toons. After that the processor makes things studder. Definitely can do this WAY under 100 dollars. Probably like 300. Don't forget to check Craigslist if you live in a city... can get a good deal their too and no shipping =).

 

[Silverspaceman]

If you want a modern micro-system, the Minisforum Elitemini HX90 would be my choice. The 32GB+512GB SSD prebuilt is on sale for $689, which is still below your budget. AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 8c/16t processor with Radeon Vega8 iGPU will not even break a sweat on EQ. Your CPU usage for 2 groups would be 10% or so and even with the iGPU 32GB RAM for 2 groups will leave you plenty for memory hogging browser windows as well. In terms of full capability, the perf/price blows the older options out of the water, but those would be great budget ideas for anyone else thinking about a secondary dedicated EQ box for a group or three without spending more than a couple hundred bucks, which was my use case.

 

[Gekko]

I build all my computers myself. Current setup is:

Asus B-550 Motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
32 GB Corsair Vengeance RAM
Samsung 980 Pro (Prinary NVme drive)
Samsung 970 Evo Plus (Secondary NVme drive)
EVGA RTX 3050 video card
Liquid Cooled with a 5 year old Corsair H100i v2 AIO (240 mm radiator)

That setup for me runs anything I want at 1080p with very good frame rates. For EQ alone, it is probably over kill but I can run my 6 accounts with my Brave browser open as well and I am seeing 150 FPS in my focused EQ window. As always, consider what you want to do and the budget you have to work with.

Be well. Happy gaming.

 

[Redbot]

My desktop runs two groups just fine.

Intel Core i5 4670k
GeForce 750 Ti
32GB RAM

Parts all purchased in 2014 or earlier.

I love small computers and power efficiency, so I was an early Intel NUC adopter but mine would overheat and there weren't any real cooling options. Perhaps it was a lemon.

 

[seanzback]

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 32gb of ram
500gb WD Black Nvme SN750 x2 1 storage 1 OS and games
AMD R9 390 8gb Video Card.
I have loaded up 12 accounts at one time with zero issues. I could probably load double that if I HAD to.
Built myself. I think for right at $1,100 USD like 2 years ago.