Hello ladies and gentlemen of ZAM. I was wondering which forum I should use to ask computer questions regarding WoW. My account isn't up on WoW so I can't use those forums, so I came here.
Any help will be deeply appreciated.
Just wondering if a certain desktop I have my eye on will run WoW well.
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Which forum should I use?Follow
I'm sure there is at LEAST one topic on the front page about this. If not, do a simple search.
Get at least a Dual core processor, a dedicated video card, and enough RAM to run Windows, Firefox, WoW, and a Music Player (the most common combo), and only be consuming up to 75% or so of memory.
Get at least a Dual core processor, a dedicated video card, and enough RAM to run Windows, Firefox, WoW, and a Music Player (the most common combo), and only be consuming up to 75% or so of memory.
Linky
Quote:
Minimum System Requirements
Windows® System XP/XP64/Vista/Vista64/7** OS (with the latest Service Packs or updates):
- Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
- 1 GB or more of RAM
- NVIDIA® GeForce® FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better
- 25.0 GB available HD space
- 4X DVD-ROM drive (Downloadable Installer also available)
- Broadband Internet connection
- Keyboard/mouse
Mac® OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.4, or newer:
- Intel processor
- 2 GB RAM or higher
- 25.0 GB available HD space
- 4X DVD-ROM Drive
- Broadband Internet connection
*Note: Due to potential programming changes, the Minimum System Requirements for this game may change over time.
Recommended Specifications
Windows® System Vista64/Windows 7 OS:
- Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2
- 2 GB RAM
- 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better
- Multi-button mouse with scroll-wheel
Mac® OS X 10.6.4 or newer:
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor - NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better
- 4 GB system RAM
- Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel
Windows® System XP/XP64/Vista/Vista64/7** OS (with the latest Service Packs or updates):
- Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
- 1 GB or more of RAM
- NVIDIA® GeForce® FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better
- 25.0 GB available HD space
- 4X DVD-ROM drive (Downloadable Installer also available)
- Broadband Internet connection
- Keyboard/mouse
Mac® OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.4, or newer:
- Intel processor
- 2 GB RAM or higher
- 25.0 GB available HD space
- 4X DVD-ROM Drive
- Broadband Internet connection
*Note: Due to potential programming changes, the Minimum System Requirements for this game may change over time.
Recommended Specifications
Windows® System Vista64/Windows 7 OS:
- Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2
- 2 GB RAM
- 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better
- Multi-button mouse with scroll-wheel
Mac® OS X 10.6.4 or newer:
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor - NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better
- 4 GB system RAM
- Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel
That monster in the mirror, he just might be you. -Grover
Unless you're buying a netbook or some other "just surf the net and play my facebook games" system anything sold these days by reputable company should handle WoW just fine.
I play it on my laptop which is 4 years old, I get a bit of lag so I don't instance with it but do solo stuff like achievements etc.
WoW doesn't have that strenuous of requirements, though you should aim for more than the minimums. Get one with a video-card too rather than on-board video, throw as much RAM as you can afford / motherboard can handle.
I'm always "surprised" by the difference people see in their computer when they stop limping along with 512MB of RAM and have 2GB or more in there. WOW, my computer feels new, guess I don't really need a new one.
For forums under cross-site there is a computer hardware one if you have more specific questions related.
Edited to break-up the wall into more coherent thought steps that indicated I'm actually advocating doing more than "meeting" minimum requirements
Edited, Dec 7th 2010 5:01pm by Gwenorgan
I play it on my laptop which is 4 years old, I get a bit of lag so I don't instance with it but do solo stuff like achievements etc.
WoW doesn't have that strenuous of requirements, though you should aim for more than the minimums. Get one with a video-card too rather than on-board video, throw as much RAM as you can afford / motherboard can handle.
I'm always "surprised" by the difference people see in their computer when they stop limping along with 512MB of RAM and have 2GB or more in there. WOW, my computer feels new, guess I don't really need a new one.
For forums under cross-site there is a computer hardware one if you have more specific questions related.
Edited to break-up the wall into more coherent thought steps that indicated I'm actually advocating doing more than "meeting" minimum requirements
Edited, Dec 7th 2010 5:01pm by Gwenorgan
See, Gweno, my opinion on what is 'needed' is different. You say your computer works, but it causes you to not be able to fully experience the game (Can't run instances!)
To me for a computer to 'acceptably' run a game, it has to be able to run all of the games primary features.
To me for a computer to 'acceptably' run a game, it has to be able to run all of the games primary features.
7 posts
Do any of you mind if I link the computer I have my eye on? I just want to make sure I'm not spending too much money, when I get the money.
Link away.
Though these kinds of questions can get interesting...
Though these kinds of questions can get interesting...
That monster in the mirror, he just might be you. -Grover
When I don't want to solo I log on my desktop with its dual video-cards and 4GB? 8GB? whatever more RAM more way more processing. I'm quite capable of moving between them WHEN my internet co-operates. I haven't been able to get on the net on my desktop in over a month now. And the laptop only works at the kitchen table when I'm at home or from the truck if I'm in town but at -25C outside its too darn cold to sit in the truck for long. Cell-based internet works great if you're in the city where you should have other options available in the first place, but out here where its a 50 mile round trip for me to get groceries, I've yet to find a carrier that reliably gets a signal where I live.
1/2 mile down the road from me all carriers have full-signal. Where I'm at, it bounces between no signal or one bar of signal depending on weather, temperature and who knows what else. I'm moving to the city for the winter, reliable internet I'll get back into instancing / logging in, I haven't been ingame since September due to internet problems.
The better specs you can get the more enjoyment you'll get for sure, but for solo stuff I don't need more than the laptop offers.
1/2 mile down the road from me all carriers have full-signal. Where I'm at, it bounces between no signal or one bar of signal depending on weather, temperature and who knows what else. I'm moving to the city for the winter, reliable internet I'll get back into instancing / logging in, I haven't been ingame since September due to internet problems.
The better specs you can get the more enjoyment you'll get for sure, but for solo stuff I don't need more than the laptop offers.
7 posts
http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-FX6840-55-Desktop-Black/dp/B003ZUXX4C/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3DVRPSEHA7I8T&colid=3E9ROLXKO2NY5
I'm not sure I made it into a link but there it is.
I'm not sure I made it into a link but there it is.
If it's an HP, anything over $600 will 'run' it. A Dell, shoot for $650ish, Gateway don't buy, Acer look for $6-800.
That's all the major PC Desktop manufacturers these days, right?
At those prices, I assume a boxed set with a monitor, around 3G of slow-RAM, and some random ATI card. It'll probably be around a 500GB 5400 RPM HDD, a DVD burner (HPs tend to come with Lite-Scribe so you can waste more money on discs). It'll have a keyboard, maybe one with basic media support, and a scroll-wheel mouse.
It'll RUN WoW, but you'll see your limits at 5 mans, raids won't be likely.
That's all the major PC Desktop manufacturers these days, right?
At those prices, I assume a boxed set with a monitor, around 3G of slow-RAM, and some random ATI card. It'll probably be around a 500GB 5400 RPM HDD, a DVD burner (HPs tend to come with Lite-Scribe so you can waste more money on discs). It'll have a keyboard, maybe one with basic media support, and a scroll-wheel mouse.
It'll RUN WoW, but you'll see your limits at 5 mans, raids won't be likely.
7 posts
I've played WoW on a couple of different computers in the past, and none of them have run WoW the way I've always dreamed of. I have a laptop right now and this desktop but two months ago the screen started going crazy (on the desktop). I finally got around to doing a virus scan and bam, no more crazy screen.
If you don't mind me asking, what is wrong with Gateway?
Edited, Dec 7th 2010 5:08pm by goblinsaretall
If you don't mind me asking, what is wrong with Gateway?
Edited, Dec 7th 2010 5:08pm by goblinsaretall
Sorry dude, just now saw your link.
Well, you get specs, but the custom builder in me dies when I see $900 for a rig with no monitor with those specs.
I know nothing about ATi cards, maybe someone with more knowledge of them can tell you wether it's equivalent to what Nvidia card?
Overall, it's not TERRIBLE. Try finding it on Newegg or Tigerdirect (The supplier of Gateways) and see if it's cheaper there.
The specs are great. The problem with Gateways tends to be TONS of bloatware, inferior manufacturing quality (Taiwan), and inferior part quality (Taiwan).
It's a pity that neither of the good Asian tech countries (Korea and Japan) make desktops we can reliably buy here in the Americas. I bought my little bro a Samsung notebook recently and that thing is a BEAST. Tough little ******* with great specs.
At a base level, I'd be wary of buying a computer from any website that doesn't offer the entire spec sheet of said computer. There's a lot of little things they don't tell you on Amazon, such as RAM speed, HDD speed, and stuff like that. I'm also a little disturbed that computer can weigh more than 30 lbs, sounds like they're RAPING you on shipping.
Well, you get specs, but the custom builder in me dies when I see $900 for a rig with no monitor with those specs.
I know nothing about ATi cards, maybe someone with more knowledge of them can tell you wether it's equivalent to what Nvidia card?
Overall, it's not TERRIBLE. Try finding it on Newegg or Tigerdirect (The supplier of Gateways) and see if it's cheaper there.
The specs are great. The problem with Gateways tends to be TONS of bloatware, inferior manufacturing quality (Taiwan), and inferior part quality (Taiwan).
It's a pity that neither of the good Asian tech countries (Korea and Japan) make desktops we can reliably buy here in the Americas. I bought my little bro a Samsung notebook recently and that thing is a BEAST. Tough little ******* with great specs.
At a base level, I'd be wary of buying a computer from any website that doesn't offer the entire spec sheet of said computer. There's a lot of little things they don't tell you on Amazon, such as RAM speed, HDD speed, and stuff like that. I'm also a little disturbed that computer can weigh more than 30 lbs, sounds like they're RAPING you on shipping.
7 posts
Thanks for all that Jaysgsl. I love stumbling upon people that KNOW computers. I think I'm going to try the forums on computer websites like newegg as well, never know who I might stumble upon there. I'd rather not spend $900 on a computer just for WoW. Maybe one day when I'm living on my own lol.
jaysgsl wrote:
I know nothing about ATi cards, maybe someone with more knowledge of them can tell you wether it's equivalent to what Nvidia card?
Tomshardware puts the HD 5570 in the 9th tier if it has GDDR5, 10th tier if it's DDR3 - the closes Nvidia analogue would probably be the GT 240, 8800 GS/GTX, or 9600 GSO/GT.
If you've ever worked on a car, a Kinect set, or even LEGOs you could just build a computer and cut a few hundred off the cost.
The most you'll need is a clean surface, a hard chair, a couple screwdrivers, and MAYBE an allen key set (haven't seen that problem in years). Have patience and the ability to do things one step at a time in the proper order and you'll come out of it a little more experienced and with a much heavier wallet.
Take me as an example. I'm not exactly a smart feller, and I don't KNOW computers (I have trouble explaining how a dual core works even, or why you SHOULD buy RAM in pairs), but I've built a good few of them, with only one catastrophic failure. On that note, I should mention that your motherboard has spacers you have to put on BEFORE the motherboard goes on. >.>
The most you'll need is a clean surface, a hard chair, a couple screwdrivers, and MAYBE an allen key set (haven't seen that problem in years). Have patience and the ability to do things one step at a time in the proper order and you'll come out of it a little more experienced and with a much heavier wallet.
Take me as an example. I'm not exactly a smart feller, and I don't KNOW computers (I have trouble explaining how a dual core works even, or why you SHOULD buy RAM in pairs), but I've built a good few of them, with only one catastrophic failure. On that note, I should mention that your motherboard has spacers you have to put on BEFORE the motherboard goes on. >.>
7 posts
So how much do you believe a NICE computer would cost if made from scratch. What I mean by nice is, plays WoW at 50 fps easy.
You'd be surprised.
In March of '09 I built my rig for $350. You would have to add the cost of a disc drive and a power supply, so I'd say my rig would cost $450 with those.
I play on high / ultra settings in Cata (beta) EXCEPT for shadows (good, any other setting above that caused odd things in the beta) and EXCEPT for Anti Aliasing, at 1600x1200 resolution. So, basically, high settings at a common resolution range.
I average around 70 FPS, 150+ inside buildings, 40ish during 10 man raids, 25ish during 25 man raids.
Another year past, and you can get newer components for around the same price. I'd say you could EASILY average 50 FPS in a raid with $500. The following list is the order in which you should buy the parts, for compatibility's sake.
Throw in an AMD dual core processor and a compatible motherboard. Important things to look for are PCIe 16x (I think the highest interface is 3.0 or something, but you don't NEED that!), and a 1333 bus speed or higher, supporting DDR3 RAM. All of that info is easily found on the part's spec sheet. I prefer ATX mid sized boards, but that can be a large rig.
Add 2 sticks of 2GB RAM, 1333 or faster.
For a baseline, start with an Nvidia 9800GT or ATI equivalent. You can go higher, but the 9800 is still a GREAT card and can be found for dirt cheap.
Put around a 500GB HDD (7200 RPM SATA), more if you store a ton of music or videos, or play a LOT of games.
You'll need a case and a power supply. Get the case to match the motherboard, and at least a 500w power supply. The faster the computer, the more juice it needs, and the worst feeling is starting up WoW to hear the good ol' pop from your power supply. Been there, done that.
Get fans for the case. Cases tend to come with a single fan, but have the space for more. My case has an HDD fan at the front, a side fan, a top fan, and three rear fans. I never got around to buying the HDD fan, and there's one empty rear fan slot, meaning I have 3 fans. This is adequate (exhaust top and rear, intake side btw) to keep the computer around 50*c while gaming. Again, more powerful components require more cooling.
If you use discs still, a DVD drive will be one of the least expensive things you buy.
You could also throw in a nice Sound Blaster audio card if you have a good speaker system. I use a 10 year old Sound Blaster Audigy to this very day, works great for 5.1.
In March of '09 I built my rig for $350. You would have to add the cost of a disc drive and a power supply, so I'd say my rig would cost $450 with those.
I play on high / ultra settings in Cata (beta) EXCEPT for shadows (good, any other setting above that caused odd things in the beta) and EXCEPT for Anti Aliasing, at 1600x1200 resolution. So, basically, high settings at a common resolution range.
I average around 70 FPS, 150+ inside buildings, 40ish during 10 man raids, 25ish during 25 man raids.
Another year past, and you can get newer components for around the same price. I'd say you could EASILY average 50 FPS in a raid with $500. The following list is the order in which you should buy the parts, for compatibility's sake.
Throw in an AMD dual core processor and a compatible motherboard. Important things to look for are PCIe 16x (I think the highest interface is 3.0 or something, but you don't NEED that!), and a 1333 bus speed or higher, supporting DDR3 RAM. All of that info is easily found on the part's spec sheet. I prefer ATX mid sized boards, but that can be a large rig.
Add 2 sticks of 2GB RAM, 1333 or faster.
For a baseline, start with an Nvidia 9800GT or ATI equivalent. You can go higher, but the 9800 is still a GREAT card and can be found for dirt cheap.
Put around a 500GB HDD (7200 RPM SATA), more if you store a ton of music or videos, or play a LOT of games.
You'll need a case and a power supply. Get the case to match the motherboard, and at least a 500w power supply. The faster the computer, the more juice it needs, and the worst feeling is starting up WoW to hear the good ol' pop from your power supply. Been there, done that.
Get fans for the case. Cases tend to come with a single fan, but have the space for more. My case has an HDD fan at the front, a side fan, a top fan, and three rear fans. I never got around to buying the HDD fan, and there's one empty rear fan slot, meaning I have 3 fans. This is adequate (exhaust top and rear, intake side btw) to keep the computer around 50*c while gaming. Again, more powerful components require more cooling.
If you use discs still, a DVD drive will be one of the least expensive things you buy.
You could also throw in a nice Sound Blaster audio card if you have a good speaker system. I use a 10 year old Sound Blaster Audigy to this very day, works great for 5.1.
7 posts
That was very helpful. I will definitely write all that down or just save this page, this desktop's screen still goes crazy despite me thinking it was a virus doing it. I have to study so I'll be back. Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it. I love WoW but every system I've used has been ****. Oh and one more thing, which internet provider would you recommend using? ...if you know about that kind of stuff. I don't know if it's just me but I've had a lot of different connection problems with Comcast. I used to NEVER have problems then they came, and went. They came back again and have not left. I haven't played WoW for about two months but when I'm playing Black Ops on my 360 I will randomly get disconnected... a bunch. The disconnecting comes and goes as well, and it happened in WoW as well.
Edited, Dec 7th 2010 8:38pm by goblinsaretall
Edited, Dec 7th 2010 8:38pm by goblinsaretall
Where I live, it's Comcast or DSL, so needless to say I'm happy with my Comcast. I hear Roadrunner has great cable internet if that's in your reason.
Don't go with Cox or Charter, that's for sure.
Don't go with Cox or Charter, that's for sure.
goblinsaretall wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-FX6840-55-Desktop-Black/dp/B003ZUXX4C/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3DVRPSEHA7I8T&colid=3E9ROLXKO2NY5
I'm not sure I made it into a link but there it is.
I'm not sure I made it into a link but there it is.
That computer was fine, but you could probably find something better for the same or even less somewhere else. Try here.
As for internet, if you live in a densely populated area, where many of the people in that area are likely to have high speed internet, DSL is the way to go. Cable internet bandwidth is shared by everyone in the area who uses it.
People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome. ~River Tam
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