Going virtual

For setting up your first virtual machines you first of all need a server, depending on how many virtual machines you want to have your server need different specifications.

On my server I run 6 bots and have the following specifications:

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 @ 2.8GHz

RAM: 4x2GB (8gb)

Graphic card (GFX): Geforce 9800 GT 1GB

Harddrive (HDD): 80GB Intel SSD (Solid State Drive)

For every instance of an virtual machine you will at least be needing 1024mb RAM and 0.5-1 processor core each, depending on what processor manufacturer you have.

Additionally you should have 1-2Gb RAM for the hosting operating system. The AMD ones are cheaper then Intels, but if you are using the new Intel core i7 you can run approximately 2-2.5 virtual machines on every core, using AMD you can probably run 1-1.5 virtual machines on every core.

The virtual machines I run on my server each got 1100mb RAM and 1 processor core. I put 1100mb RAM because i think it's better to have a bit over the recommended (1024mb) to avoid the bots running slow. Also i'm pretty sure that my processor can handle more than 6 bots at the same time, but as I said about the RAM, it's always better to have more than recommended!

By looking on the MTGO interface and the bot interface we can clearly see that it's not a heavy graphical software, so you really don't need to have an expensive GFX card. Mine was very expensive when I bought it, about 3 years ago, but I bought it for gaming purposes. But the evolution of computers are going so fast forward so now my GFX card is pretty much useless for playing games, but still works perfect for running MTGO bots.

When choosing HDD rather choose one with a high RPM (Revolutions Per Minute, the speed the HDD rotates, depending on what RPM the HDD has it can read/write data at different speeds, higher RPM equals faster readings and writings.) than big HDD space, each virtual machine only need about 10Gb HDD space.

For running 4+ bots on the same server i would recommend an Raptor disc (15.000RPM) or an SSD disc as I use. SSD is the new HDD system which don't use a spinning disc and is much faster.