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I've seen many posts on this (and the official) forum about system-specific lag, and I would like to take the time to try and explain why this might be, and try and help you with your questions if they arise.
I've been in the computer business for around 6 years now, and I deal with hardware every day. I am very familiar with World of Warcraft and what it requires to run the game, and run it well. Let me try and answer the specification concerns as simply as I know how.
First off, the minimum specs (PC-wise) for World of Warcraft are as follows:
800MHz or higher CPU
256MB or more of RAM
32MB GeForce 2 or better
When Blizzard lists a minimum specification list, it is not saying that the game will run "great" or even "good" on said computer, but that the game will not run at all if your computer is less than. Now, with that being said, World of Warcraft (and any successful major MMORPG, for that matter) is a RAM hog. It is safe to say that 512MB should be considered the minimum amount of RAM required to play the game decently. This brings me to my next point: games are very rarely solely dependant on a single system resource. That is why I find it rather... odd that people think that lower-end computers with bulks of RAM run the game.
World of Warcraft should ideally have a 1.8Ghz or 1800+ rated CPU/processor. This is, obviously, due to the fact that much information is being rendered in the game, including AI. Obviously if you have a 1.6Ghz or 1.2Ghz you'll be ok, but to make sure that you're hiccup-free you're best off with something in the 1.8Ghz+ range.
Now we get down to the largest culprit of lag in World of Warcraft: the video card. Many people, when they think of computers, might not nessicarily know very much about them, which is why it comes to no suprise that the video card is not something the general consumer/user would take into consideration, even when playing games. This is the very same reason why those with 2.6Ghz CPUs and 512MB of RAM are very confused when WoW doesn't run well. They figure "hey, if I have the processor and RAM, why the heck won't it run?".
Well, basically you'll need one of the following (or better) to be able to play WoW decently. That's not to say other cards that might be lesser wouldn't run the game, but that these are the most common cards.
nVidia:
GeForce 2 (does not include MX)
GeForce 2 Ultra
GeForce 3 (or Ti series)
GeForce 4 (or MX)
GeForceFX 5200 (does not include XT)
GeForceFX 5250
GeForceFX 5600 (or XT)
GeForceFX 5700 (or XT)
GeForceFX 5800 (or Ultra)
GeForceFX 5900 (or Ultra, or XT)
GeForceFX 5950 (or Ultra)
GeForce 6
ATI:
Radeon 9000 (or Pro)
Radeon 9100
Radeon 9200 (does not include SE)
Radeon 9500 (or Pro)
Radeon 9600 (or Pro, or XT)
Radoen 9700 (or Pro)
Radeon 9800 (or Pro, or XT)
Now let me conclude by giving you a couple of examples of system configurations.
Can play WoW:
Pentium 4 2Ghz
512MB RAM
GeForce4 Ti4200
AMD AthlonXP 1700+
1024MB RAM
GeForce2 Ultra
AMD Athlon64 3000+
512MB RAM
Radeon 9100
Can not play WoW:
Pentium 3 600Mhz
1024MB RAM
Radeon 9800 Pro
Pentium 4 3.6Ghz
256MB RAM
Radeon 9500 Pro
AMD AthlonXP 2100+
512MB RAM
GeForce 256 (otherwise known as GeForce 1)
Of course, the last system (with the GeForce) might be able to play World of Warcraft. Of course, so could a computer with 384MB of RAM (or even 256MB RAM if you get desperate), as CPU/RAM/GPU are not the only things that determine overall system performance. However, the guide above is a general overview of what one needs to know when attempting to troubleshoot lag. In the end, you're best just trying what you've got (as you most certainly would do anyway) and seeing, as this is meant more as an informative and comparative guide, if nothing else.
Please feel free to ask questions if you have them, I (or somebody else, surely) will try to answer them to the best of my ability. Hopefully a mod can sticky this (or similar) post in the hopes of avoiding multiple other posts from popping up, as they seem to go.
If you're looking for a new video card for World of Warcraft, let me take a moment to recommend some models, and give some prices on those models. All of these video cards run World of Warcraft, meaning all are compatible. This list will be in order of cost (and performance) from least to greatest.
Obviously the more expensive you go, the better the computer you're going to need to get the maximum potential out of the card. That's not to say you can't buy a Radeon x800XT and just get a new computer later and re-use the card, it's just that a Radeon x800XT isn't going to be "as fast" in a Pentium 4 2Ghz as it would be in a Pentium 4 3Ghz.
Though I suggest staying away from the GeForce FX series and the LE/SE versions of both Radeon and GeForce cards as they are usually OEM versions which have some corners cut compared to their retail counterparts.
I would really suggest getting at least a Radeon 9600 since most cards which are older than that do not have Direct X 9.0C support.
Well, you're half right. All the cards posted here have their full 128-bit memory buses intact, I made sure of that, so no corners have been cut. But this is for all people, not just those who want to spend $100. If you're only playing World of Warcraft, you really needn't spend $300 on a video card. :)
If you're looking for a new video card for World of Warcraft, let me take a moment to recommend some models, and give some prices on those models. All of these video cards run World of Warcraft, meaning all are compatible. This list will be in order of cost (and performance) from least to greatest.
Obviously the more expensive you go, the better the computer you're going to need to get the maximum potential out of the card. That's not to say you can't buy a Radeon x800XT and just get a new computer later and re-use the card, it's just that a Radeon x800XT isn't going to be "as fast" in a Pentium 4 2Ghz as it would be in a Pentium 4 3Ghz.
I recommend never getting the se for any version of any card... just go for the best version of the set before. for example when i bought my card i wanted to buy the from 9800 series, but i could only afford the se, for the same price i went for the 9600 pro and the bechmarks are much higher
I have 256MB RAM, just got myself the 9600XT, and a 1.8+ processor. The game runs great, except when I first start out(in the Inn), and sometimes when there is a lot of action.
Im looking to update my RAM for sure, but I got that 184-Pin RAMBUS RDRAM and it always says 16 bit RDRAM needs to be used in pairs....
Hi there. I'm currently running an HP Pavilion computer...that is hopeless for gaming.
It boasts:
1.8 ghz celeron processor
368 mb DDR ram
Intel Integrated 'graphics card' - not really a graphics card at all.
Now I'm looking to upgrade...but I only have about 250 dollars american or so to spend. I know almost nothing about computing..let alone what I should be looking to upgrade.
Should I got video card or processor or memory card? A lesser video card and some RAM?
Sure it lagged sometimes.. but so it did for everyone in the OB... about the thing that you can't run WoW on 256 Mb RAM, you can actually...
But I will for sure get a new computer, I'm not saying that the game ran perfectly smooth but you could definatly play it!!
AMD Duron 1Ghz (995 Mhz)
320 SDRAM (256 + 64)
Radeon 9600 Pro running at 4x cause thats all my mobo supports!
Game ran fine in low population areas, however, serious lag was encountered in heavily populated areas such as Brill or the Crossroads.
Also lagged badly during flights between major centers (but i still made it!), and even stalled out once during the opening sequence of the night elf character start.
:lol:
Anyway, the game will run on such a crap system, and yes, i do plan to upgrade soon. I even suspect upgrading to 512 of DDR ram will help immensely.
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