Would WoW work on this PC?

[wowownz]

I know this is prolly a question asked alot but i just moved to my dad's and thats a different pc, here are the specs.

Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz 3.07GHz, 384MB RAM, ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 series.

tell me!

[clevins]

processor's fine. Video sounds integrated but is probably workable. But 384M of ram is way too little. You really want 1gig, ideally 2. RAM is pretty cheap - google for the make and model of the computer and the word 'memory' and you can prolly find some easily.

[steveinater]

there is a good site that tells you if you can run games or not on your computer:

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

just choose world of warcraft from the drop down option and click "can you run it?"

[Kalos]

We have a Technical forum, for technical questions, where technical people hang out to answer said technical questions. Please post your topics in the right forum. Thread moved.

And do ready the sticky threads in said technical forum, we're even got the below automated system scanner linked in those stickies on the Technical forum.

I wouldn't try playing WoW on that, there's just far too little ram. The intergated video doesn't help, but both combine in a very ugly way for general gaming and WoW use.

[wowownz]

We have a Technical forum, for technical questions, where technical people hang out to answer said technical questions. Please post your topics in the right forum. Thread moved.

And do ready the sticky threads in said technical forum, we're even got the below automated system scanner linked in those stickies on the Technical forum.

I wouldn't try playing WoW on that, there's just far too little ram. The intergated video doesn't help, but both combine in a very ugly way for general gaming and WoW use.
then i guess i wont be playing at all because i cant save up $80 dollars for a new video card and $40 dollars for RAM, but what i dont get is when i start the computer and i press F2 it shows the system stuff and it says "512MB ram" but when the computer is done starting up and loged on it says 312 ram.

[Kalos]

then i guess i wont be playing at all because i cant save up $80 dollars for a new video card and $40 dollars for RAM, but what i dont get is when i start the computer and i press F2 it shows the system stuff and it says "512MB ram" but when the computer is done starting up and loged on it says 312 ram.
That's most likely because your current graphics card is stealing it away. Another reason why your current graphics solution + low amount of ram = bad. It's a cheap bargin solution, that runs on the principle of having no ram of its own, and taking some of the system ram instead. Combine that with the fact you have next to no ram on that thing and you have a machine that should be confined to office work. It just isn't in a gaming state, and I wouldn't recommend parting with the money for the poor gameplay it'll deliver. Its about half a decade too old and wasn't an expensive machine back then, today many of the old Pentium 4 machines are ending up in China and being melted down for their base materials which are worth more than what seemed intricate genius when first fabricated. It's an old design that was neither cost effective nor powerful, just well marketed. A slight tagent, but essentially the machine is not in a great state.

In brief, there's 512 MB physically loaded, but only 312 can be used for regular program operation because it is being taken away by the graphics solution, making a bad situation worse, and below minimum spec.

[wowownz]

That's most likely because your current graphics card is stealing it away. Another reason why your current graphics solution + low amount of ram = bad. It's a cheap bargin solution, that runs on the principle of having no ram of its own, and taking some of the system ram instead. Combine that with the fact you have next to no ram on that thing and you have a machine that should be confined to office work. It just isn't in a gaming state, and I wouldn't recommend parting with the money for the poor gameplay it'll deliver. Its about half a decade too old and wasn't an expensive machine back then, today many of the old Pentium 4 machines are ending up in China and being melted down for their base materials which are worth more than what seemed intricate genius when first fabricated. It's an old design that was neither cost effective nor powerful, just well marketed. A slight tagent, but essentially the machine is not in a great state.

In brief, there's 512 MB physically loaded, but only 312 can be used for regular program operation because it is being taken away by the graphics solution, making a bad situation worse, and below minimum spec.

so in other words id never be able to make it run good even if i got some more ram and a better video card? How can I make it run good, on my other computer I had a 1.06GHz intel pentium prcessor and 512 MB ram and 7500 Nvidia Geforce video card and it ran great, so i figure i just need 1gb ram and better video card right? But that will lead up to money I dont got.:sad:

[Kalos]

so in other words id never be able to make it run good even if i got some more ram and a better video card? How can I make it run good, on my other computer I had a 1.06GHz intel pentium prcessor and 512 MB ram and 7500 Nvidia Geforce video card and it ran great, so i figure i just need 1gb ram and better video card right? But that will lead up to money I dont got.:sad:
To get it going for WoW all you'd need is a new graphics card and replacement ram sticks. It just isn't an ideal computer for upgrades. You'll most likely have to use older and more expensive DDR (now known as DDR1) instead of the cheaper and faster DDR2 modules, and you'd most likely have to get an AGP card instead of a PCI-E one which once again would be slower and more expensive. That'll get it running okay. Not brilliantly, but get it off the ground and playable in most situations.

[wowownz]

To get it going for WoW all you'd need is a new graphics card and replacement ram sticks. It just isn't an ideal computer for upgrades. You'll most likely have to use older and more expensive DDR (now known as DDR1) instead of the cheaper and faster DDR2 modules, and you'd most likely have to get an AGP card instead of a PCI-E one which once again would be slower and more expensive. That'll get it running okay. Not brilliantly, but get it off the ground and playable in most situations.

well ive got Oblivion on my computer and I just turn the view distance and stuff like that down and it works ok and thats oblivion and that has way way higher graphics and needs then WoW so i dont get whats so old about my computer are you sure you are thinking of the same brand and kind?

[Tunga]

WoW is slightly unusual in that its requirements are skewed more towards RAM than most games are. In this case that's the single weakest part of your machine. I would expect WoW to run on that machine but I wouldn't expect it to work very well. Expect a lot of slowdown in any busy areas and it may be unplayable. It's very difficult to say exactly.

It sounds like you already have an account anyway (since you sa this is a different computer, suggesting there was a previous one. Just install it and see. If you've not played before then you can download the client and try the 10-day trial. Then you'll know.

[Wintrow]

The graphics card can be crap and it'll still run adequately. If the ram is lower than 1G you'll run into trouble in big cities. If it's lower than 512MB I wouldn't even start wow up.

I played just fine on a Athlon 1400 with 768MB RAM and a GF4MX 32MB so long as I stayed out of Ironforge.

[Kalos]

whats so old about my computer are you sure you are thinking of the same brand and kind?
You have told me no brand or specific kind, I have been assessing on a component by component basis, the actual things the PC is made out of. Unless you have different components than as stated, the age of product launch is indispitable. Pentium 4 3.06 Ghz launch date = November 2002; as I said half a decade a go. What is so old about the computer...is the age of the components.

As Tunga said, WoW relies on ram, and the machine has a poor ram setup. It may be possible in it's current state, but it'd kill in cities.

[wowownz]

You have told me no brand or specific kind, I have been assessing on a component by component basis, the actual things the PC is made out of. Unless you have different components than as stated, the age of product launch is indispitable. Pentium 4 3.06 Ghz launch date = November 2002; as I said half a decade a go. What is so old about the computer...is the age of the components.

As Tunga said, WoW relies on ram, and the machine has a poor ram setup. It may be possible in it's current state, but it'd kill in cities.
so i should get some more RAM then i guess

[wowownz]

well case closed. I installed it and got a pre-paid card and it works fine on my computer suprisingly, although i still plan on buying 1gb of ram and a bit better video card in the future, thanks for all your help!