Every so often, maybe every half hour, my frame rate drops to around 2.
It will stay like this for about 5 minutes then revert back to normal.
While this is happening, I have tried adjusting all my settings to the minimum and the FPS stays the same.
I have also checked in the Task Manager and my hardware usage is the same when this problem is occurring. There is no spike in CPU, GPU or RAM usage.
Does this suggest a software rather than hardware issue?
An additional piece of info that may be useful is that when this problem occurs the rest of my computer, including other games, works fine so I am guessing it is an issue with the World of Warcraft program.
The computer is a Mac (3.4Ghz Quad Core, 16GB, AMD 560) with a Windows partition that I use for gaming. I have tried deleting the entire partition and reinstalling Windows (and WoW) from scratch and it has not had any effect.
Any other ideas?
Thank you.
I am assuming you’re rebooting and running Windows in order to run WOW ? (ie you’re using Boot Camp)
Have you tried updating all the Boot Camp drivers and the GPU drivers ?
Apple provide information on how to install the latest Boot Camp ‘stuff’ here:
For GPU drivers you’ll need to visit AMD’s website.
Apart from that the usual troubleshooting for WOW kicks off with disabling all your addons and resetting your User Interface. You can see how to do that here:
By the listed specs this sounds a lot like the 2017 Retina iMac, which does have a little bit of a reputation for running hot under full CPU load.
As such I’d also suggest to have a look at potential temperature issues - if the hardware was pushing towards the respective limits it’d throttle its performance temporarily to cool down, which would yield quite similar symptoms.
Thank you both.
I didn’t actually realise you had to manually get the updates - I’m not too computer literate! - assumed they would be part of Windows Update however I have found some updates for the GPUs which I am just installing right now so let’s see what they do.
Yes the computer is a 2017 iMac retina, that would make sense about the heat so I’ll keep an eye on that.
Thank you again.
Automatic driver updates have never really been a “thing” with computers, as opposed to consoles.
However AMD’s Catalyst software will notify you that a driver update is available, and give you a button “Download” to… err… Download the new driver, followed by another button “Install” to… err… Install it.
The reason automatic driver updates have never been a thing on PC’s is due to the vast range of hardware configurations a PC can have, automatic updates can (and have) caused hardware conflicts.
Windows Update only provides Microsoft drivers. AMD is not owned by Microsoft.
Thanks for the info.
I’m still experiencing the issues even now the system is up to date which led me to look at the heat.
The CPU does not seem to be being used much (15%) but the GPU is almost completely in use and running at 80 to 85°C. (Odd as I heard WoW is CPU rather than GPU intensive?) Is this temperature high? Would that explain the problem?
I appreciate the machine is quite old by todays standards (and is a Mac so not optimal for games) so maybe time for a new machine. 
Thank you.
GPU usage will vary depending on zone and RX 560 is very basic GPU. If you are playing via Windows then run “userbenchmark” before running the game and then second time while the game is running and post both result urls via the preformatted text option.
80°-85° Celsius is very much reaching areas where many GPUs would automatically begin to throttle their performance, so chances are this is indeed where the symptoms are stemming from.
It may be possible to improve matters here by cleaning the fans/cooling vents of the computer to improve airflow and heat dissipation, but that can be a little tricky to do on iMacs as their cases are not usually meant to be opened by “regular” users. Your local Apple-bar may have that available as a service option though. 