Blizzard releases Cataclysm system requirements
by Michael Gray 
Oct 19th 2010 at 6:30PM
The minimum system requirements for World of Warcraft are:
Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1):
Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1):
- Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500
- 1GB or more of RAM
- NVIDIA® GeForce® FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better
- DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability
- 25 GB free hard drive space
- A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported
- You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play
- Intel Core Duo processor
- 2 GB RAM
- 25 GB free hard drive space
- A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported.
- You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play
The recommended system requirements for World of Warcraft are:
Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1) Windows 7:
- Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2
- 2 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista users)
- 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™
- 2600 or better DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability
- Broadband Internet connection
- Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor
- NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better
- 4 GB RAM
- 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA 7600 class card or better
- Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended
For more tips on putting together a computer system that works for your gaming and your budget, visit our special series by guest blogger Derek Day:
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.Filed under: News items, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)
Welshy Oct 19th 2010 6:33PM
I'm not really computer literate, but my Mac has an ATI Radeon HD 2600, should that run Cata just fine or will it give me a little trouble?
martamius Oct 19th 2010 6:37PM
Looks like it falls within the 'recommended' category to me.
SaintStryfe Oct 19th 2010 7:00PM
you're fine. They just dont' want a Mac with integrated graphics, ala the prior generation Macbooks with Intel 950 graphics.
Kreor Oct 19th 2010 9:20PM
first time ever posting on WOW insider so be gentle. my question is will my new computers sound card be able to handle WOW? nForce 570 high definition audio controller. already checked everything else and this is the only thing that seems would have a problem. thanks for any help.
lee3821 Oct 19th 2010 10:29PM
Honestly, I suspect it'll still run on my laptop with its epic Intel(r) GMA X3100. I'll just need a ton of RAM (gotcha), and to turn the settings way down. That's one thing I love about WoW...I could probably play it on something with the computing power of a toaster.
I'd be surprised if anyone is truly UNABLE to run wow at more than 5 fps (yes, the game is actually playable at 11 fps, even though it sucks). It's always been very good at conservative requirements on low end rigs. One thing it does really want, though, is memory. If you get to virtual memory, you're royally screwed as far as FPS go.
My advice in a nutshell:
Your computer'll probably still run WoW. If your FPS sucks, see if WoW's going to virtual memory. If so, upgrade the memory first.
Fearmemortals Oct 19th 2010 10:42PM
@Kreor
Hey mate, your sound will be fine. For future reference the reason they don't list Audio specs for games is because its a one size fits all kind of category. Your basic motherboard comes with more than adequate sound and it can only go up from there!
btard Oct 19th 2010 10:39PM
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
^ is what I have in this MBP. Hoping that's enough or else WoW and me are over.
Austin Oct 20th 2010 1:05PM
Just a quick note: you might want to get a bit more than 1gb of RAM if you're falling short. I had a friend who went out to buy memory for a different game and got screwed over because most memory companies mark 1gb as 1000mb rather than 1026mb like it should; this leads to the game determining that you have less than a gig.
waycooler Oct 20th 2010 3:27AM
"They just don't want a Mac with integrated graphics, ala the prior generation Macbooks with Intel 950 graphics."
FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU-
Sounds like it's time for an upgrade.
Calavera Oct 20th 2010 1:23PM
Problem is though that WoW seems not to be as optimized for OSX compared to Win, strange considering Macs should be easier to optimize for.
My Mac Pro (2x2.66GHz Dual-Core Xeon, ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB, 11GB 667MHz FB-DIMM, 2x 500GB RAID0) couldn't really run WoW at full settings in crowded areas well, when friends with less firepower on Win machines seemed to do just fine.
Might there be a fix for this?
Rimar Oct 20th 2010 6:07AM
My current system is *barely* able to handle WotLK content. During 5-man heroics I see 4-5 fps during a fight. Outside of a WotLK dungeon I go up to 11-12 fps. In Azeroth I am at 17-27 FPS depending on where I am and how many players are in the same area at once.
This is with every graphic settingat LOW, game music OFF, sound channels at minimum. Filtering in grfx is Bi-linear (the lowest setting possible).
I have an AMD Sempron 1000Mhz with 1.5GB system ram and an ATI Radeon X800 Pro card with 256MB ram. I run Windows XP (sp3). There are no unneeded programs running in the background during play except for Avast anti-virus. Since I am directly connected to the internet (no router) I feel the necessity for an AV program.
I live in another country (from America) because this is where my wife and daughter were born. Money for us is so tight we cannot even afford non essential things like snack foods. My wife's internet is provided by the government here (Ukraine) as she is disabled. 4 of us are living on about 300 dollars a month so that means money is tight.
It's a shame because this computer barely runs wow (and at times it is unplayable). I do not see myself being able to afford a better system for the foreseeable future.
I expect that Cataclysm will be a final deal-breaker for my wow play. :-(
Asaoirc Oct 20th 2010 7:08AM
@ Poster above me from Ukraine
This won't help with your monetary problems, or the fact that your toons are on an american server (from the sound of it), but a European Server might increase your FPS.
Of course, then, you may have to... erm... pay to transfer your characters...
Oooh, Sorry.
(Totally not mean or sarcastic, just thought it out - that sucks. I feel for you.)
C Oct 20th 2010 12:02PM
@Asaoirc. What in the hell are you talking about? FPS != latency. There is no correlation there what-so-ever.
His poor frame-rate is due to his sub-par system specs. Increasing his bandwidth will do nothing. His only option is to pony up for a better video card or a completely updated system.
ryanthered Oct 20th 2010 7:00PM
Note to Mac users:
There are currently a few bugs with the Nvidia drivers in 10.6.4 that's causing all kinds of low FPS and crash bugs. The current workaround is to set the graphic engine to OpenGL mode. To do this, open your Config.wtf file and add SET gxApi "OpenGL" to the file, save and relaunch WoW.
Hopefully this will be fixed in 10.6.5 as I miss my water and sunshaft effects.
QQinsider Oct 21st 2010 9:32AM
"My Mac Pro (2x2.66GHz Dual-Core Xeon, ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB, 1GB 667MHz FB-DIMM, 2x 500GB RAID0) couldn't really run WoW at full settings in crowded areas well, when friends with less firepower on Win machines seemed to do just fine."
You expect to run WoW at full settings with a 5-year old graphics card and 1GB of ram? No chance, and not on Windows either.
Robbie Oct 26th 2010 12:32AM
ryanthered
You wouldnt happen to know a similar fix for the ATI Radeon 5750? Tried your work around but didnt work so i reverted the WTF file (worth a shot) Just recently got a new iMac but hasnt been able to go past Fair (keeps asking for 10.6.5 which isnt out yet)
Scomparsa Oct 19th 2010 6:34PM
Ooooh. Good thing I'm about to upgrade my graphics card and slap 2 more gigs of RAM into my rig :D
alcomenow Nov 20th 2010 5:33PM
As of 4.0.3 patch my 4 yr old system gets about 30-40 fps in crowded areas and 25 mans but had to overclock my cpu from 2.2ghz to 2.7ghz to improve performance framerate in 25 man raids.
The game settings are all set to lowest except view distance (good), projected textures (on) and resolution (1080p).
winXP
cpu amd x2 939 (opteron 185 @1.8) oc @2.7ghz
2GB ram
8600gt nivida 256GB
also recently added a 128GB SSD card and noticed much faster load times
I'm happy with my current system and don't plan on upgrading soon (unless I get a raise at work).
Slartibartfast117 Oct 19th 2010 7:03PM
I see Blizzard games can still run on toasters from the 70's :P
Eddy_D Oct 19th 2010 8:07PM
Yah, the newer "Talkie Toasters" are not recommended, OS sucks.. stick with the older toasters.
:)-