Warlords of Draenor Characters

As we continue to move towards the release of World of Warcraft's next big expansion, Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard Entertainment reveals the game's PC system requirements, giving players a little time to figure out how their PCs compare.

Low end specs are incredibly tame and most PCs should be able to meet the minimum threshold, but for those who want to play WoW while taking in all the new character models and other performance improvements, the recommended setup is what you want to pay attention to most. There's nothing worse than buying a game on PC, only to discover that your current setup can't run it very well.

It's easy to forget that World of Warcraft has been up and running since 2004. In the last 10 years, the game's had a wildly different list of requirements (as you can see here) and it originally launched to run on Windows 98 and XP. Safe to say, though, the PC that could run original WoW would probably have a hard time with the game now.

Earlier this year, players approached Blizzard with questions asking if the new models would cause performance issues and if people should consider buying a new computer. Initially, Blizzard neglected to respond, but eventually addressed the concerns. According to the studio, while the newer models would need more processing power, steps are being taken so that everyone playing can enjoy all the new visuals. Said Community Manager Taepsilum back in April:

"I'd say that you shouldn't be worried about any big drop in performance; things will most likely remain very close to what you are experiencing right now. So if you're satisfied with what you have right now, then there shouldn't be any need to change anything."

As posted in the Battle.Net forums, the PC requirements for Warlords of Draenor are as follows:

Minimum System Requirements:

PC:

  • Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows7/Windows8 (latest Service Pack)
  • Intel Core2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom X3 8750
  • NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, ATI Radeon HD 4850 or Intel HD Graphics 3000

Mac:

  • OS X 10.8
  • Intel Core 2 Duo
  • NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT or ATI Radeon HD 4850

PC/Mac:

  • 35 GB available HD space
  • 2 GB RAM
  • Broadband Internet connection
  • Keyboard/mouse
  • DVD-ROM drive
  • 1024×768 minimum display resolution

Recommended Specifications:

PC:

  • Windows 7/Windows 8 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
  • Intel Core i5 2400 or AMD FX-4100 or better
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470, ATI Radeon HD 5870 or better

Mac:

  • OS X 10.9 (or latest version)
  • Intel Core i5 or better
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M or ATI Radeon HD 6750M or better

PC/Mac:

  • 4 GB RAM
  • Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor, the fifth expansion for the game, releases on November 13, 2014 for PC and Mac. You can download the 6.0.2 patch now to prepare for the full game's release.

Source: Battle.net Blog, Battle.net Forums