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Discussion - Post your IRL Setup (1 Viewer)

Sic

[sic]
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Recently @LamahHerder posted some cool pictures of his computer setup and I though i've shared my setup on discord, I thought a thread would be a cool thing to do and have some discussion and share some tips/tricks etc.

** Should go without saying - RG is a nice place - let's be kind and not shame anyone for their setup - no one is trying to brag or flex on anyone, and no one should feel bad if they don't have the resources to have a "cool setup" **

My setup has drastically changed in the past 6 months - my wife's work was tossing some monitors out (I am not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination so despite this looking #baller, I can assure you that is NOT the case --- i did give away some of the extras also).
I Manually multiboxed on 2 pcs for YEARS before finding out about mq2 (or even ogrebot for eq2) and have used 3 monitors for the longest time (always crap i found on the side of the road or whatnot - many monitors end up having the capacitors blow out in the power section which is replacable for 30 minutes of your time and like 2$ in supplies.

I am a very new programmer and never been in a situation where I need/wanted to be constantly editing something and watching it work - I guess the absolutely insatiable fixation with programming has led me to this current state of affairs!

Top Left Monitor is a couple of the Lenovo Mini-PCs on a KVM switch - I usually don't keep too much running on these (haven't got my whole setup organized and completed yet since all my toons got wiped last year) - mainly for testing and farming like lower lvl mats and such

Bottom Left Monitor is for my 2nd group - dedicated old ass PC (my pc before my main pc was built a few years ago) - this thing isn't so great, but it can easily run 6 toons with no issue/lag etc - usually run my 2nd group here, this is the group that i keep all silvers to PL new toons for testing/plugin stuff. I also use this monitor for a "backup" discord if I'm deep in PMs giving someone support in my usual bottom-right discord - allows me to peak over if someone else needs something quickly.

Top Middle Monitor - I usually have "resources" here, like a reference, or a website, redguides, gitkraken - something that i can quickly look at to read, but not need to spend a bunch of time looking at --- or maybe netflix youtube if i'm half-watching something

Top Right Monitor - MySEQ - this is near 100% dedicated to Myseq - this monitor was dropped at some point and the coloring sucks and causes headaches, but it functions great for myseq as a quick external map reference for what i'm doing in game (or run another instance to see what other computers are doing)

Bottom Middle Monitor - this is where i keep EQ and Visual studio (sometimes I'll move VS to top monitor if I'm building/testing/adjusting/rebuilding/testing frequently.

Bottom right Monitor - Discord - pretty much full time discord - you can see i have some folders poking out of the bottom which i use to quickly navigate to things as i need

Other Peripherals:
I am an ergonomic keyboard fan - I use a microsoft elite natural or w/e and have used a variation of this keyboard for YEARS - I type like crap on a non-ergo keyboard until my brain adjusts, but on this thing i can FLY

left keyboard is some steelseries mechanical keyboard i got when i was heavy into competitive csgo - i love the feel and response, but wish i had an ergo mechanical one (they're expensive af)

the far back left keyboard is a little keyboard on top of the KVM for the micro PCs.

My main mouse is a G-Wolves SKOLL mouse my friend gave me (very nice of him) - this is the best mouse i've ever used I absolutely love it.

other two mice are for the second PC and for the KVM (tho I use Input Director and i can "drag" my main keyboard and mouse to all the PCS connected)

I have some poopy logitech 30$ speakers which work fine, and a Blue Yeti mic

I use VoiceMeter Banana for all my sound management - allows me to feed sound across my network PCs through my main PC and manage all of that very simply.

This desk my friend threw in the trash in 2002, so I guess i've had it for 18 years - it has been through some rough times. since I have short legs i even cut a few inches off of it so i could sit my chair maximum to the ground. Unfortunately i didn't measure and it was too short - so i have my desk up on wooden blocks. I'm pretty handy and i keep meaning to build a new desk, but I feel too crappy to do so most of the time these days :'( feelsbadman

Shrunk the img, but you should be able to click to enlarge if you want to see the dusk, dirt, and how cheap everything is =p

SicDesk.jpg


My Main and Second PC are "real PCs", but the ones on my KVM are more things my wife's office was throwing away
A bunch of these little lenovo thinkcenter things.
I have a few of the 8gig ram i5 version - and they box 6 just fine - i use them for traders, or low lvl mat farming
while they are still like 300-500$ new - you can get them on ebay for 75-100$ pretty regularly.

the natural HDD that comes with it is one of those weird hybrid drives - i recommend tossing that shit in the trash, and grabbing a $30 120g ssd off of amazon
load up the free "Activate Windows" windows 10 version (minor inconviniences like can't modify your background (shh, you still can) and you get this activate windows thing on your screen - but since i'm using it to farm mats or be a trader - doesn't bother me in the slightest
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If i were looking for a real cheap way to get a second box setup with some toons - like buffing or oog, or even just a little farm crew - very cheaply can you get that going
 
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I envy you guys with multiple monitors. the WAF not affected at all? I have 1 monitor in the living room with 2 groups. tv with a ps1, ps2, ps4, x-box360, ps4 and a pi2 retrobox ( I may have missed a few game boxes, lol). monitor in the mancave bedroom with 2 groups, monito in the middle "server room" with 2 pi 2 running pihole and granfana a kvm plus a server for my vm addiction with jellyfin, plex, playon and streamio with kodi frontends. I would show but its not prettied up yet or finished



WAF = wife acceptance factor
 
Nice setup Sic, only thing I don't see listed is what monitor arm/mount do you use?
this 6 arm monitor mount was some cheap pos from amazin for like $120 --- its solid but i wish i could "tighten" in the side ones at a tighter angle to me --- my 3 monitor stand i used to use i could make them real tight

What's WAF in this context?
 
bottom of post is the explanation of WAF wife acceptance factor
my wife and i have been together since high-school (i was 16, and 36 now) - and we have a very wonderful relationship. my wife is very supportive of my hobbies and endeavors and i've never gotten anything but love, support, and encouragement. my home office is pretty large and i keep all my music gear, business stuff, and computer stuff back here out of the way - even painted the wall green for the green screen lol. When I say i'm the luckiest dude i know, this is why. She's an amazing person.
 
I pretty much do what I want in the mancave and the server rooms, where I play however is a bit of restricted space and the WAF goes down drastically in that area.
 
My Tanks are the two right most monitors for my high level groups
Left most monitor are 3 groups, and then some random guys, mostly running the overseer macro, or foraging.
I have my groups organized from the left Healer, Mezzer, DPS, DPS, DPS

Maybe I will think about getting some more monitors to put above these.

IMG_20200601_183615 (1).jpg
 
should this be the june contest?

sounds like a splendid idea.

does anyone have a good way to compare mounts to determine if they can hold mixed monitors? For example, I have a new curved Samsung and an older not curved Samsung with a different mount connection in the back. I’d love to find a way to get them mounted together (curved on bottom, flat on top).
 
sounds like a splendid idea.

does anyone have a good way to compare mounts to determine if they can hold mixed monitors? For example, I have a new curved Samsung and an older not curved Samsung with a different mount connection in the back. I’d love to find a way to get them mounted together (curved on bottom, flat on top).
couple things are very important for me (tho i don't have a direct answer to your question).

I personally always have gotten a stand with a base - I do not trust some of those very small little cheap c-clamp style fixtures that you attach to your desk. I want something with some heft, and not something that might jiggle loose over time.

directional articulation is really important to me - I usually end up using washers and longer bolts to manipulate the angles a little better in the back to be something that is actually useful - this is particularly important for this current stand, as it would be great from 5+ feet away, but up close its not so great.
 
Figured I'd add in mine but I'm at work right now so i can't go into the detail Sic did :). All my wall mounts are just the 30 buck specials from Walmart and refurbished monitors.

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Nice!

is that a standing desk height or a small door or am i crazy or wut?


Its actually a small dining room table that I got on the low low. I am going to turn into a standing desk at some point. Its big 45 inches deep and 72 inches long but I love it.
 
2 monitors to the left are on my main computer, other two are on two old workstations who I saved when work was upgrading their stuff.

Have my main group running IHC and driving my warr. mq2eqwire ftw
comp2 110 group doing farming , unless my daughter wants to play Minecraft or something
comp3 110 group farming

and yes, the computers are on an old hat shelf (?). Makes cleaning so much easier.

setup.jpg
 
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2 monitors to the left are on my main computer, other two are on two old workstations who I saved when work was upgrading their stuff.

Have my main group running IHC and driving my warr. mq2eqwire ftw
comp2 110 group doing farming , unless my daughter wants to play Minecraft or something
comp3 110 group farming

and yes, the computer are on an old hat shelf (?). Makes cleaning som much easier.

View attachment 21977
ooh - that little shelf thing is legit af

I notice myseq - /salute fellow myseq user
 
My setup. Alienware is a HUGE upgrade from Dell for a warranty replacement they f'd up. So its running i9 with 64gb ram, 2 (1tb m.2 raid) and a GTX 2080 vid card. Solid overkill for EQ. The laptop weighs a tonne and requires two power supplies to power. Middle main monitor is my first ever 165hz screen and I love it. The other 2 are 60hz and I hate it. So much potential for me to multibox but I cannot run stuff the way you guys do.....I have SIC envy....including how nice his wife treats him!!

Nice set ups boys and gals!

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My set up.
Also have an old kitchen table as a desk. Plenty of space. Think the mousepad is something like 5x3 ft crazy. Notebook to write down all my missing spells on Rizlona. Cold one to enjoy the weekend with.

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Center 2 monitors are on 1 machine, all other monitors go to seperate machines, also have a laptop off to the side on a monitor/laptop extension arm so i and swivel it out of the way. All Audio is piped into my mixer to my left side and gated and compressed with the box under my ps4.

IMG_1289.jpg
 
Thanks Sic, for starting this thread, the detailed introduction to your setup and the final revelation with pictures. (indeed, I didn't see it until after reading!).

Recognition as well, to the other posters who've pushed photos of their environments.

These are all inspirational, as I sit here with a couple of old(ish) laptops.
They were Win 8, now upgraded to Win 10, i7 with 8 gigs ram.

When it comes to 'does the job' standard, I think these tick the box. I can run couple instances of EQ on each, have browser pages available, see discord activities etc - yet, "alt tabbing" frequently can be a pain. In some cases, EQ runs "square" (4:3) on these widescreen (16:9) display so I have a few inches of web page or discord space to the side.

With regards Visual Studio, tend to work on one - and perhaps test locally, push copy of binary artifacts to the other machine to evaluate further, rather than have projects etc on both. You could say, "dev" and "test" environments.

Am I sat here, with envy? Sure. But I don't take that in a negative way, I take it as inspirational, source of ideas of what could be done.


Robban, you're getting points for cuteness. I thought for a moment, "his and hers" so they game together, then saw reference to daughter. I think that's really nice, to be able to share a space and do your things socially together. Diverse, EQ and Minecrafts, but together enjoying company and hobbies.

Seriously impressed by the thoughts and efforts you guys have made to your setups.

Thanks for sharing, and looking forward to seeing more.

Regards.
 
pretty neat. i'm in the process of adding a second group, so 12 total. what are your recommendations on how to dedicate a monitor strictly for the status of all chars? what would it take? 2 groups would be run separately but i was wondering if a dedicated status monitor is possible. moving my head all over the place is annoying so i drive off of a 34 uw 2k. but i do have other monitors setup where i wouldn't mind just a quick check of status. thanks
 
pretty neat. i'm in the process of adding a second group, so 12 total. what are your recommendations on how to dedicate a monitor strictly for the status of all chars? what would it take? 2 groups would be run separately but i was wondering if a dedicated status monitor is possible. moving my head all over the place is annoying so i drive off of a 34 uw 2k. but i do have other monitors setup where i wouldn't mind just a quick check of status. thanks
well if you just run using eq windows you can move them to whatever monitor you want. if you use isboxer you could set up your instances to do just that - primary on big shit, and other toons on other screen (and would change when you changed focus etc)
 
Short time after i made this thread i decided to build a new desk.

My previous desk my friend threw away over 15 years ago, and i grabbed it from him and had it since. Lots of additional 2x4s, screws, and glue keeping that thing together, but it was time.

Unfortunately I didn't have a table saw - so my cuts are poopy.
I also don't have a planer so the top is kinda poopy too.

I went with the "pipes" farmhouse style frame - which is really nice and open and i realy love how much "breathing" room it gives

Please excuse the mess =p

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I'm not acutally "outside". my office is the addition to the house, and the previous owner kept the original kitchen -> outside window in place

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well if you just run using eq windows you can move them to whatever monitor you want. if you use isboxer you could set up your instances to do just that - primary on big shit, and other toons on other screen (and would change when you changed focus etc)

hey thanks. haven't used that since the early to mid 2000's lol. I will dl and mess around with it tonight and see how it goes.
 
Not shown in picture is my Plex server or TV setup.

And yes, that is Sub-Zero's facemask. I wear that when I go out in public. I get lots of intrigued looks lol
 

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I rebuilt my whole basement, added in a man cave. Have my computer setup, futon, closet and TV with wires all running in the walls.

Thats my Riz 12 box using ISBoxer on two screens. Other screen is free for w/e.




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I run 6-10 accounts on a single laptop, single screen. I operate mostly on shortcuts and toggling between the boxes as necessary. This is only achievable through heavy automation (thanks y'all!). Very jealous of the clean setups and ambient lighting I'm seeing. When I'm actively playing for months I burn through laptops every year or two.

I do the same on my workplace beast though, it's a Dell Precision 7740 Data Science laptop (Intel Xeon, 64gb, 2tb ssd, etc ) and two external SSDs. I've always wanted to load up EQ on it.
 
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Glad someone besides me runs a single monitor. I used to run a curved one but the living room needed an upgrade. That is when I get time to play again.
 
Discussion - Post your IRL Setup

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