Looks like it falls within the 'recommended' category to me.

you're fine. They just dont' want a Mac with integrated graphics, ala the prior generation Macbooks with Intel 950 graphics.

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.

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.

@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!

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.

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.

"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.

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?

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. :-(

@ 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.)

@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.

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.

"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.

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)